Technology Demonstrators from 2030

The Japanese MoD is stepping up the development of high-energy laser (HEL) weapon systems, to defend against threats posed by increasingly advanced missile and UAV systems from neighbouring countries.

According to a budget document released in late December, the MoD has allocated ¥3.9 billion ($34.2 million) for FY 2022 – which starts in April – to complete research over the coming three years on HEL systems that can counter aerial threats at low cost. It has also earmarked ¥10 million for FY 2022 to conduct a study on the necessary requirements for HEL systems to protect Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) bases.

An HEL-based technology demonstrator for the UAV threat is to be developed before 2030, while a counter-missile system is set to be ready by 2038.

The MoD’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced in 2018 that it had already developed a prototype 50kW laser-based weapon. However, Japanese analysts point out that at least 100kW is needed to put the technology into practical use. For example, US Army airdefence experts are reportedly aiming for 300kW weapons to protect soldiers and installations from rockets, artillery shells, UAVs and other threats.

Tokyo also intends to acquire other directed-energy weapons, such as high-power microwave (HPM) systems. Japan’s growing efforts to develop advanced military technologies – including electromagnetic railguns, as well as microwave- and laser-based weapons – are aligned with Tokyo’s perception of the growing threat posed by surrounding countries such as China, North Korea, and Russia. The Japanese government considers such future technologies to be ‘game changers’ in aerial defence, arguing that they will enable the JSDF to intercept multiple threats simultaneously at relatively low cost.

Kosuke Takahashi in Tokyo for MON