Japan may deploy upgraded Patriot PAC-3 missiles to protect Olympics Games.

Japan may deploy an upgraded version of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) air defense systems in the Tokyo metropolitan area before the Olympic Games in July 2020, The Japan Times reports.

Japan Self-Defense Force's PAC-3 Patriot missile unit deployed in 2016 (Picture source: Sputnik)

The deployment of the Patriot batteries by units in charge of defending Tokyo’s airspace is planned for between April and July, earlier than in other parts of Japan. The ministry wants to equip the 1st Air Defense Missile Group with PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors to defend against possible threats such as ballistic missiles, drones and unidentified aircraft.

The air defense group has four units at bases in Chiba, Kanagawa, Ibaraki and Saitama prefectures that are all equipped with PAC-3 batteries. The ministry has yet to determine where the upgraded batteries will be deployed. The goal is to upgrade all the current PAC-3s by fiscal 2022 and has requested the required funding in the budget for the next fiscal year starting April.