Amid a strong push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for Make in India in defence, the Defence Ministry has formed a committee under a three star-rank officer to decide on the curtailed deal for buying predator drones from the US.
Two projects in Japan’s rising defense budget questioned
By Guo Dan
The Japanese government approved on December 21 the draft budget for the 2021 fiscal year, including a record defense budget that has been rising for the 9th consecutive year to 5.34 trillionyen (51.6 billion USD).
The most conspicuous part of the defense budget is the cruise missile improvement plan and the construction of two ships equipped with Aegis missile interceptor systems as an alternative to the land-based Aegis Ashoremissile defense systems.
In December 2017, Tokyo decided to introduce two Aegis Ashore systems from the US, which were planned to be separately deployed in Akita prefecture in Japan’s north and Yamaguchi prefecture in the south to provide 24-7 protection of the entire country. However, the program was vehemently opposed by local residents.