Japan has unveiled its largest military build-up since World War Two in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine and growing worries that China may strike neighbouring Taiwan. The core of that strategy is the new missile force Image Courtesy Reuters
Tokyo: In an effort to counter China from deploying military force and further its territorial ambitions in East Asia, Japan has given contracts worth 378 billion yen ($2.84 billion) to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), its largest supplier of defence equipment.
According to a statement by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the four contracts cover land, sea, and air-launched missiles as well as a hypersonic ballistic warhead that will be used starting in 2026.
Japan unveiled its largest military build-up since World War Two in December. The East Asian country will treble defence spending over the next five years, in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine and growing worries that China may strike neighbouring Taiwan.
The core of that strategy is the new missile force, which should be able to attack ships and ground targets more than 1,000 kilometres away from Japan.
Japan also said in February that it would purchase a large quantity of US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles from Raytheon Technologies Inc (RTX.N) to boost its defences before deploying those home-built weapons.
It has not yet said how many it will purchase, perhaps 500 or more, according to local media reports.
(With agency inputs)
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.