Defense Ministry expects to have a bolstered intercept system by late 2020s
As China, North Korea and Russia make hypersonic weapon advances, Japan has been researching the basic technologies behind railguns. (Photo courtesy of The Japanese Ministry of Defense)
TOKYO -- The
Japanese Defense Ministry will develop a means to intercept hostile missiles
using magnetically powered projectiles, sources told Nikkei Asia, as the nation
scurries to respond to the hypersonic weapons being developed by China, North
Korea and Russia.
The ministry is focusing on railgun technology that can launch
projectiles with power generated when an electric current is applied to a
magnetic field. The projectiles are faster than those shot from conventional
intercept systems and can be fired continuously.
Together with long-range missiles, the next-generation system
will provide Japan with multilayered intercept capabilities.
Hypersonic weapons, which travel faster than five times the
speed of sound, are thought to be close to coming into practical use. In
November, the Financial Times reported that four months earlier China was able
to fire a missile from a glide vehicle traveling at hypersonic speeds over the
South China Sea.
The speed of sound is about 343 meters per second.
Other countries apparently have similar technology. North Korea
has claimed that a missile it launched into the Sea of Japan in September was a
hypersonic device, and Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to deploy
hypersonic cruise missiles this year.
Japanese policymakers see hypersonic weapons as the next
generation of military weaponry and believe the country must urgently
strengthen its deterrence, especially in regard to China.
Japan is developing a railgun system not to intercept missiles
but to deter any from being shot in the first place, a policymaker told Nikkei.
Hypersonic missiles fly along irregular trajectories, so
conventional intercept systems, which attack ballistic missiles flying on
parabolic paths, cannot stop them.
The new system will reinforce Japan's missile response
capabilities, which have been described by some experts as the "hole in
Japan's defense." In addition to adding railgun interceptors to its
existing missile defense system, Japan is considering long-range missiles that
would allow it to return volleys from a distance. Together, the systems would
create a three-tiered deterrent.
The Defense Ministry's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
Agency has been researching the basic technologies behind railguns. An earmark
of 6.5 billion yen ($56 million) has been included in the fiscal 2022 budget
for the development of prototypes of military-use railgun equipment. Planners
intend for the system to be ready for actual use in the second half of the
2020s.
Existing intercept missiles are limited to speeds of about 1,700
meters per second. Interceptors fired from electromagnetic railguns are
expected to reach speeds of over 2,000 meters per second. During the research
stage, a prototype achieved a speed of nearly 2,300 meters per second.
Increasing speeds raises the chances of interceptor being able
to hit another hypersonic missile before it reaches its target. Being able to
fire interceptors in rapid succession also improves the chances of hitting a
missile traveling more than five times the speed of sound.
Railguns can also shoot interceptors at different speeds. By
manipulating the amount of electrical power they apply, operators can adjust
how fast an interceptor travels. Such decisions would depend on the speed of
incoming missiles. It is difficult to manipulate the velocity of missiles fired
with conventional propellants. The small size of a railgun's
"bullets" also gives them a degree of stealth.
The U.S. and other countries are also working on railguns, but
according to the Ministry of Defense, none have yet succeeded in putting the
technology into practical use.
Increasing the speed of the bullets requires that they be made
from a strong material that can easily conduct electricity. The ministry
believes it can use the advanced material technologies of Japanese companies.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-set-to-develop-railguns-to-counter-hypersonic-missiles
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/7/us-japan-move-closer-on-defence-amid-hypersonic-threat
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/01/06/japan-australia-defense-treaty/
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