Japan to buy Tomahawks in one go from U.S. in fiscal year 2023
Baku, February 14, AZERTAC
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said on Tuesday that Japan plans to buy all the Tomahawk cruise missiles it is seeking from the United States in one go in fiscal 2023 rather than over several years as initially planned, according to Japan Times.
Hamada, speaking at a news conference, did not give a reason for the change of plan or say how many of the U.S.-developed long-range missiles the government would buy, saying only that it is eyeing procuring "all of the required quantity" in the year starting April.
Japan has been considering purchasing up to about 500 Tomahawks, according to a government source.
The documents also said Tomahawk missiles, which have a strike range of about 1,600 kilometers and would cover China's coastal areas, will be used to develop the counterstrike capabilities until Japan deploys home-developed ones.
During their talks last month in Washington, Kishida told U.S. President Joe Biden that Japan will introduce the Tomahawks, and Biden expressed his support for the plan.
The Japanese government decided on a draft initial budget for fiscal 2023 in December, of which it will allocate ¥211.3 billion ($1.6 billion) to procure the Tomahawks.
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