Japan's Defense Ministry is looking at deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system to augment the nation's existing missile defenses, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, July 2).
The country today employs the sea-based Standard Missile 3 and the surface-to-air Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile system. The island nation plans to fully deploy its missile shield within two years, fielding the PAC-3 at 11 bases and the SM-3 on multiple navy vessels.
A PAC-3 missile can fly roughly 12.4 miles. A surface-to-air THAAD interceptor has a range about five times that distance; it could protect the entirety of Japan from North Korean missile threats if installed at three or four bases, according to the Mainichi newspaper(Agence France-Presse/Google News, July 5).