Arms Production in Japan: The Military Applications of Civilian Technology by Reinhard Drifte

Author:Reinhard Drifte [Drifte, Reinhard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Technology & Engineering, Social Science, Arms Control, Political Science, World, Asian, Regional Studies, Military Science
ISBN: 9780429712333
Google: lgScDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-03-13T06:27:51+00:00

The Development of Missiles

Japan's defense planners recognised very early that missiles were a major improvement in firing accuracy, that they required less personnel to operate (very important in a professional army) and that they were more versatile. Missiles have therefore always been regarded as the most appropriate weapon for the defense of a country such as Japan, which has no space for in-depth defense.4 Missiles are equally important given the domestic context of the security debate in Japan where many people are still attached to the war-and-armament-renouncing constitution and where security issues until recently have been taboo. One response by the Government to the collective silence about security has been to promote the concept of "defensive defense" (senshu boei). In this context short-range missiles are seen as the ideal weapon, although it is clear that they lose their assumed defensive character and acquire offensive capabilities when further developed to medium or long-range missiles or installed on far-reaching weapon platforms.

As a result the Defense Agency in October 1954 created a Missile Study Committee, and the TRDI was ordered in 1955 to conduct basic research. In September 1953 the Defense Production Committee of Keidanren had organised the Guided Missile Subcommittee in order to bring together interested companies. In 1955 the agency bought a surface-to-surface training missile from Oerlikon and began research into antitank missiles, Sparrow-class air-to-air missiles, short-range surface-to-air missiles, and so on. In 1963 a group of Japanese companies finished Japan's first domestically developed and produced missile, an antitank missile.5

At the same time Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and other companies developed an air-to-air missile, the AAM-1. Originally Nissan was the prime contractor for this missile, but pulled out of the project in 1961 due to financial difficulties. As a consequence Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could establish itself as the dominant prime contractor in missile production, which contributed in no small degree to its position as Japan's foremost arms manufacturer. Production of the AAM-1 was stopped after a run of 350 missiles. The AAM-1 is comparable to the U.S. Sidewinder, which was operational ten years earlier. The AAM-1 cost four times as much as the Sidewinder. However, as in the case of other licensed productions, costs and performance are subordinated to the goal of building up an independent arms manufacturing capability and broadening the technological base for military as well as civilian production.

In 1964 Japan started to manufacture the antitank missile MAT Type 64 with a reach of 1,500 m. It was followed in 1979 by the antitank missile of the second generation, the HMAT Type 79 with a reach of 4 km. The R&D effort covered FY 1966-77. The prime contractor in both cases was Kawasaki Heavy Industries. At present the TRDI and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are developing a third-generation medium-sized antitank missile (CHU MAT), which will be laserguided.

In the 1970s Japan developed a short-range surface-to-air missile, called Tansam, which was produced by Toshiba and introduced into the SDF in 1981. It is said to have cost approximately around $75 million to develop and its R&D phase covered FY 1966-79.

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