Page 14 - DSEi JAPAN 2023 | DAILY NEWS

Japan plans to buy Lockheed Martin’s Joint
Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which has a
range of about 900 kilometers (560 miles),
and launch them from modified F-15s. The
country is also planning to acquire eight
more F-35Bs, which are capable of short
takeoffs and vertical landing on ships, at
a cost of US$1.08 billion; the deal is part
of a larger package of 65 F-35s it plans to
acquire before 2027. Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman will also provide tech-
BIG TURNOUT AS U.S. COMPANIES nical support for Japan’s development of
the Mitsubishi F-X sixth-generation stealth
LOOK TO EXPAND JAPAN FOOTPRINT fighter next-generation fighter for the Japan
Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF); the jet will

With China’s growing might in the region partnering with their Japanese counter- replace the F-2 in the next decade.
causing Japan to shed its reluctance to buy parts for joint ventures and technology In February, Raytheon Intelligence & Space
weapons that are offensive in nature, arms transfer projects are high. The Asian coun- was awarded a foreign military sales con-
manufacturers in the U.S. sense a major try has traditionally relied on U.S. for missile tract by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Traffic
opportunity. defence as well for offensive capabilities. Management Systems Program Office
According to the Stockholm International (PMA-213) to deliver the Joint Precision
There are 42 U.S. companies exhibiting Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the U.S. Approach and Landing System (JPALS) to
products and capabilities at the ongoing provided 97 percent of Japan’s defense the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
event, a substantial increase from 26 com- equipment imports from 2016-2020. The system will be deployed on the JS
panies that attended the previous edition. Izumo, the JMSDF’s carrier. The country
“The U.S. is the largest international group also plans to bulk-order Raytheon-made
at the event,” says Tom Kallman. President Japan plans to develop its own weapons, Tomahawk Block IV land attack missiles
& CEO at Kallman Worldwide. “We are including advanced fighter jets, hypersonic by March 2024.
second only to the Japanese in terms of missiles, and armed drones, and will not
numbers. The U.S. also has a very signifi- shut its doors to other weapon makers. In October last year, the U.S. approved a
cant VIP delegation at the event.” Industry analysts believe that the U.S. com- US$450 million Foreign Military Sale of
panies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) Block I missiles
Unlike some other countries where their and Northrop Grumman will continue to be and related equipment to Japan. Raytheon
primary focus is sales, U.S. companies are the top supplier of arms the country for the Missiles and Defense (RMD), the principal
looking to do more in Japan. As Japan has foreseeable future, mainly because of the contractor, will assemble the missiles while
a strong and growing indigenous defence close military ties the two countries share Aerojet Rocketdyne will manufacture their
industry, they believe their chances of and for military interoperability reasons. propulsion systems.

AEROVIRONMENT FOR

FUTURE TACTICAL

UAS SYSTEMS

AeroVironment, which makes multi-domain The Jump 20 is a vertical takeoff and land- performance needs both today for an all-en-
robotic systems, is getting lot of attention ing (VTOL), fixed-wing unmanned aircraft vironment aircraft system and in the future
at the show as its Jump 20 medium UAS used to provide advanced multi-sensor as requirements evolve to meet changing
was recently elected by the United States intelligence, surveillance, and reconnais- battlefield demands.”
Army to move forward in the future tac- sance (ISR) services. Delivering 14 plus
tical unmanned aircraft system (FTUAS) hours of endurance and an operational During the early stages of what would
programme. range of 185 km (115 mi), the Jump 20 is become the U.S. Army’s FTUAS pro-
ideal for multi-mission operations. Runway gramme, the Jump 20 demonstrated
independent, the system can be set up and
“The Jump20 will compete with several operational in less than 60 minutes without superior competitive performance and was
other vendors in the FTUAS Increment 2 the need for launch or recovery equipment. awarded the FTUAS Increment 1 contract
multi-phased effort which will allow the “The AeroVironment Jump 20 is the most to develop a prototype system to field to
Army to select the best system for its mature and capable solution in its class,” one Brigade Combat Team (BCT). Its suc-
needs. Ultimately, FTUAS Increment 2 said Gorik Hossepian, AeroVironment’s cess throughout the demonstrations led to
aircraft will be fielded to Brigade Combat vice president and product line general AeroVironment’s contract award for FTUAS
Teams (BCTs) throughout the Army, replac- manager for medium unmanned aircraft Increment 0, in which the U.S. Army fielded
ing the long-serving RQ-7B Shadow UAS,” a systems. “We will continue to work closely the Jump 20 into an additional Army BCT
company official said. with the U.S. Army to ensure we meet their within the United States Army Europe.
14 MARCH-15-2023 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS