Japan to research new fighter jet missile system

Tokyo, Sept 25: Japan is set to start research on a new fighter jet guided missile system that would use radio waves to detect enemy ships and planes without emitting detectable radio waves, a Defence Agency spokesman said today.

The decision comes nearly three months after North Korea unnerved East Asia with a barrage of missile tests.

The agency will request 1.8 billion yen) for three years of research into the system starting from April of 2007, the spokesman said.

Current weapons systems, such as those deployed on F-15 fighter jets, emit radio waves to detect enemy ships and planes, waves that can also be picked up by an enemy and used to discover the location of the weapons system.

Waves emitted by the new system would not be detectable, the spokesman said.

''This research is not aimed so much at North Korean missiles but more at detecting enemy ships and planes,'' he added.

A decision on whether to deploy the new system will be made once the research is completed.

The Defence Agency said last month it was seeking to raisen missile defence spending by more than 50 percent and planned to request 219 billion yen for missile defence in the year starting next April, up from 140 billion yen for the current financial year, although spending proposals are generally whittled back before the budget is passed.

Of that, about 23 billion yen is earmarked for new projects.

North Korea test-fired seven missiles in July, including for the first time a long-range multistage Taepodong missile.

REUTERS