news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[Text/Observer Network Wang Shichun] According to a Reuters report on July 20, four sources said that because Boeing could not supply enough missile seekers, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could not help increase production of the "Patriot" series as the United States planned.Anti-aircraft missiles。

Two Japanese government officials and two industry sources said that in the face of the huge consumption of air defense missiles caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the US military hopes that allies will help produce the "Patriot" series of air defense missiles, increasing the total output of the missile from 500 per year to 750. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has already produced about 30 Patriot-3 (PAC-3) missiles per year under the license of defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and plans to increase this number to about 60 in the future.

Japan cannot expand production without increasing the supply of missile seeker heads, the sources said, but Boeing will have to wait until 2027 to increase production of the heads. Due to supply shortages, it may take several years for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to increase production.

The Patriot series of air defense missiles are produced by Lockheed Martin of the United States, but this type of missile relies on suppliers such as Boeing. Boeing previously stated that the new assembly line for producing Patriot seekers at Boeing's factory will begin operation in 2027. Boeing did not specify how much it produced last year, but mentioned that it had just delivered the 5,000th missile seeker.

Lockheed Martin has also stated that it will increase the production of Patriot missiles in the United States from 500 to 650 by 2027. Each missile costs about $4 million.

At the end of last year, the Japanese government reviewed and approved the new version of the "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment" and the operational guidelines, and decided to provide the United States with equipment produced in Japan.Patriot air defense missileThis is the first time that the export of lethal weapons has been allowed since the Japanese Cabinet passed the "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment" in 2014.

Although the law has been amended, Japan currently does not have enough production capacity. An anonymous industry insider said that due to the shortage of seeker supply, it may take Mitsubishi Heavy Industries several years to increase production. However, Reuters said that even if there are enough seekers, expanding Japan's annual production of Patriot-3 air defense missiles to more than 60 missiles will require Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to increase production capacity, and it is still unknown who will invest in the factory facilities.

The Japanese government has proposed a plan to double its military spending in 2022, indicating that it will provide financial assistance to defense companies that intend to increase production. However, these subsidies only apply to equipment used by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, not exports. A Japanese government source said this means that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries or the United States will have to pay for the construction of a new Patriot-3 air defense missile factory out of their own pockets, which may cost tens of millions of dollars or even more.

Faced with the urgent war situation in Ukraine, the United States has begun to suspend the delivery of Patriot missiles to other countries and regions. According to the U.S. Defense News website on the 20th, the White House announced that the Biden administration will suspend the delivery of air defense interception systems to allies, thereby speeding up military aid to Ukraine. John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on the 20th that in the short term, Patriot missiles and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) interceptors originally scheduled to be delivered to other countries will now be shipped to Ukraine.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.