Japan likely to drop plan to buy F-22 fighters : Report
Dec 29, 2008
Tokyo: Japan is likely to drop its attempts to buy state-of-the-art US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter planes since it expects the United States to stop producing them, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Japanese government had been trying to persuade the United States to sell it F-22 Raptors to replace its own aging F-15 fleet, despite Washington's reluctance.
Tokyo, however, is now abandoning the plan amid signs that US President-elect Barack Obama's new administration may halt production of the aircraft, the Daily Yomiuri said, quoting government sources.
"We have a firm impression that its production likely would be halted," a high-ranking official at the defence ministry was quoted by the daily as saying.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, reappointed to stay in the post under Obama, has said publicly that he favours halting production of the F-22.
Washington is also said to be skeptical about continuing production of the expensive planes due to the financial crisis and declining tax revenues.
US law prohibits export of Raptors as Congress remains anxious over the possible leaking of details of the Raptor's state-of-the-art technology. They are built to evade radar detection at supersonic speeds.
Japan's possible alternatives are the Eurofighter Typhoon, jointly developed by NATO members Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany, said the English version of the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Among other candidates are the US fighter F-15FX and the F-35 Lightning II, produced by the United States, Britain and other countries, it reported.
Some ministry officials favor the F-35, a high-performance fighter with sophisticated bombing capabilities, but this plane has not even been deployed so far by US forces, the daily said.
Japan has been officially pacifist since its defeat in World War II but has one of the world's largest defence budgets and is gradually expanding its military role.
Launch of Vessel Prompted by China's Growing Submarine Force
Japan's launch of a helicopter-carrying destroyer may signal its ambition to expand its naval capabilities and eventually join international coalitions abroad.
The 13,500-ton DDH 181 Hyuga, launched on Aug. 23 at the IHI Marine United shipyard in Yokohama, was viewed by some as Japan's first aircraft carrier since World War II.
The Hyuga has some similarities to an aircraft carrier or amphibious warfare ship, including a flush landing deck and starboard island structure.
But the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) classifies the vessel as a helicopter-carrying destroyer dedicated to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and humanitarian/logistic support.
A total of four are planned to replace the two Haruna-class and two Shirane-class DDHs in the ASW role.
"The ships are designed to serve as flagships for the JMSDF flotilla, making use of command-and-control functions while operating its shipborne helicopters to conduct ASW, MIA operations, etc., unilaterally or in concert with U.S. forces," said Sumihiko Kawamura, deputy director of The Okazaki Institute, Tokyo. "The Hyuga is a big step forward to demonstrate Japan's capability to construct full-fledged aircraft carriers in the future."
The ship includes the FCS-3, a small version of the Aegis phased-array radar.
"The Hyuga will operate in conjunction with the Atago and Kongo classes, providing an integrated ASW and AAW capability within the FEF [Far Eastern Fleet]," said Richard Dorn, naval analyst for U.S.-based AMI International. "No doubt, the Hyuga, like the Atago and Kongo classes, will be able to integrate with the U.S. fleet, as many Japanese systems are either U.S. systems or based on U.S. systems."
One Japanese defense analyst with close ties to the Tokyo government suggested the new warship will engage in operations beyond those involving simple helicopters, and may be outfitted with more advanced fighters in the future.
"It cannot be denied that the launch of Hyuga is targeted at carrying the Harriers or F-35s in the future," the analyst said. "It is only natural given Japan-U.S. joint operations in the future."
Public images of the ship were not made immediately available.
The ship will carry three SH-60J anti-submarine helicopters and one CH-53E Super Stallion multipurpose helicopter. It can handle 11 aircraft in its hangar. It also has surface-to-air missiles, ASW torpedoes and two Phalanx air defense systems.
"Just as the JMSDF's other Aegis-class ships are understated as destroyers, so is the SDF Hyuga understated as a destroyer," Peter Woolley, author of the book, "Japan's Navy: Politics and Paradox," said. "It is a light carrier. But it is similar to light carriers maintained by European nations including Britain, Italy and Spain. Thailand also has a light carrier exported from Spain."
The ship is named for a World War II-era hybrid battleship/carrier that could carry 22 fighters, a decision not lost on defense analysts.
"The DDHs are designated as destroyers so as to avoid the taboo on Japan's possession of aircraft carriers. The DDHs, though, are a different sort of vessel," said Christopher Hughes, author of the book, "Japan's Re-emergence as a Normal Military Power."
Hughes said the class are destroyers "in the sense that they have the Aegis system, the [vertical launch system] for missiles, and the helicopters, all allowing Japan to engage in anti-submarine warfare," he said.
"But they also clearly are following the trend with other navies by giving Japan a flexible asset suitable for a number of roles, including anti-ship activities, support for amphibious landings, search and rescue, emergency evacuations, etc."
"The DDHs really are a form of mini-helicopter carrier, although still relatively small in tonnage, but allowing Japan to rehearse helicopter/aircraft carrier technologies," Hughes said.
Japan's decision to build an ASW pseudo-carrier was partly motivated by the growing Chinese submarine force. China has acquired eight Russian-built Kilo-class diesel subs over the past 10 years, and recent intrusions into Japanese waters by Chinese submarines have unnerved Tokyo.
"China's submarine force expansion may have been one of the motivating factors for Japan to develop this class of new ships, but Japan had already maintained a formidable ASW capacity since the Soviet era," said Yoichiro Sato of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu. "Its fleet of land-based P-3C Orions is fully capable of ASW operations in Japan's neighborhood."
The ship's expanded aviation capabilities will give the Japanese Navy more flexibility in humanitarian and logistic support for U.S. and U.N. operations.
"While the new ship may enable Japan to conduct ASW operations in distant waters, the more immediate and likely applications seem to be disaster relief and logistic operations," Sato said. "These operations, however, often require interoperability between the Maritime SDF [Self-Defense Force] and the Ground SDF, and Japan is notoriously poor at that."
Woolley agrees: "The launching of JDS Hyuga is a confirmation that in the post-Soviet era, Japan intends to maintain a modern and extremely competent naval force, expand its range of capabilities at sea, and prepare for the possibilities of participating in U.N. or U.S. coalition operations further abroad."
It's good signs that the Japs begins to show teeth in international relations and defence matter..all this while they are behaving like a castrated nation...since the lost in the WWII
U.S. defense officials are preparing a version of the stealth F-22 Raptor that Japan has expressed strong interest in buying.
While the Department of Defense is working to design an export version of the Raptor, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, this week sent a letter to Japanese Ambassador the United States Ichiro Fujisaki saying that the F-22 would likely carry a price tag of $290 million.
Japan has made it known it would like to buy 40 F-22s, made by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, so the potential value of the deal is more than $11 billion.
Japan is looking to upgrade its air capabilities, which are anchored by 1970s-era F-4 Phantoms, made by McDonnell Aircraft and Mitsubishi, and F-15 Eagles, which was flew in 1972 after production by Boeing predecessor McDonnell Douglas.
It has taken some time for U.S. and Japanese negotiators to get a deal together for the F-22. And it will take several years of development to get an export version off the ground since there is a large amount of sensitive technology that U.S. officials believe needs protection. Aviation Week estimated it would be 2017 before delivery of the first aircraft to the Japanese air self-defense force.
Japanese defense officials are reportedly looking at other aircraft, including Lockheed's F-35 and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is manufactured by a consortium of Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems and EADS. Neither have all the stealth capabilities of the Raptor, making them substantially less expensive. The Typhoon is estimated to be about $105 million per plane.
"We are still seeking the possibility of acquiring the F-22 but if that does not work out, we will have to consider not just the F-35, but others as options," Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told Kyodo News Agency. "As of today, we still want to seek the F-22."
The Japan Times said the Eurofighter group may be willing to sweeten the Typhoon deal by allowing Japanese manufacturers to take part in building the aircraft.
Inouye's letter is seen as a spotlight to keep attention focused on the F-22, but even with congressional and Japanese interest in a deal, it comes down to a decision by the Obama administration.
The Office of Management and Budget, a White House Cabinet-level office, suggested President Barack Obama turn back budget requests for additional F-22s, which could put a hole in production timelines and force the price to Japan even higher.
Jepun berjaya lancarkan kapal kargo angkasa lepas pertama
11/09/2009 2:48am
TOKYO 11 Sept. - Jepun berjaya melancarkan kapal kargo angkasa lepas yang pertama sejurus selepas pukul 2.00 pagi waktu tempatan tadi.
Agensi Penerokaan Aeroangkasa Jepun (JAXA) telah melancarkan Kenderaan Pengangkutan H-II (HTV) yang berjaya terpisah daripada roket H-IIB kira-kira 15 minit selepas pelancarannya.
Roket itu berlepas dari Pusat Angkasa Lepas Tanegashima yang terletak di sebuah pulau di selatan Jepun dengan HTV mengangkut 4.5 tan bekalan termasuk makanan dan keperluan untuk enam krew Stesen Angkasa lepas Antarabangsa (ISS), di samping peralatan uji kaji.
Crew from the Japanese “research” whaler Shonan Maru No 2 said they had been subjected to three hours of harassment by Ady Gil in Antarctic waters yesterday.
A statement issued by the Japanese whalers read: “The activists onboard the Ady Gil repeatedly irradiated a green laser device aiming at the Shonan Maru No 2 crew. They fired ball-like objects with a projectile launching device.
“Neither injuries to the Japanese crew nor damage to the Shonan Maru No. 2 resulted from the Ady Gil attack.”
The Japanese-controlled Institute of Cetacean Research urged the New Zealand and Dutch governments to take appropriate measures against their protest ships.
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Post time 31-12-2008 03:04 PM
