Japan to upgrade its Patriot PAC-3 air defense missile system to increase range and accuracy 13007162

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Defence & Security News - Japan
 
Japan to upgrade its Patriot PAC-3 air defense missile system to increase range and accuracy.
Japan is upgrading its Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile defence system to increase range and accuracy needed to intercept more advanced North Korean ballistic missiles. This program represents the most significant upgrade to Japan’s missile defence system in a decade.
     
Japan is upgrading its Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile defence system to increase range and accuracy needed to intercept more advanced North Korean ballistic missiles. This program represents the most significant upgrade to Japan’s missile defence system in a decade. Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles in and around its capital as a defensive measure to defend against to North Korean Ballistic Missile attack.
     
The roll-out of the new advanced Missile Segment Enhancement, which could double the range of the current PAC-3 missiles to around 30km, will likely start next year, said the sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly about the project. “The upgraded PAC-3 is necessary to counter the Musudan,” said one source, referring to Pyongyang’s intermediate-range ballistic missile.

North Korea in June test-fired what appeared to be two Musudan rockets. The first failed, but the second travelled 400km, more than halfway towards the south-west coast of Japan, and reached a height of 1,000 km – enough altitude to give its warhead a range of more than 3,000km.

South Korea’s military operates the older PAC-2 system and has a programme to replace it with the PAC-3 system by 2018, a South Korean Defence Ministry official said.

United States forces based in the country were also planning to upgrade their PAC-3 batteries covering Seoul, the official added.

The Patriot PAC-3 Missile is one of the world’s most advanced, capable and reliable theater air defense missiles. It defends against advanced tactical ballistic and cruise missiles, and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. As the most technologically advanced missile for the PATRIOT air defense system, PAC-3 significantly increases the PATRIOT system’s firepower, as 16 PAC-3s can be loaded in place of only four legacy PATRIOT PAC-2 missiles on the PATRIOT launcher.

The Patriot PAC-3 missile MIM-104F has a range of around 40 km and can reach targets at a maximum altitude of up to 20 km.