TOKYO (AP) - Japan's Defense Agency plans to develop a new missile system for its fighter jets that would be able to target aircraft and ships without emitting radio waves that could be detected by an enemy, an agency spokesman said Monday.
The Defense Agency will begin three years of research starting in 2007 to develop the new missile, Defense Agency spokesman Hirokazu Shirota said. Existing weapon systems such as those installed on F-15 fighter jets emit radio waves at targets and then monitor the way in which they are reflected back, but enemy forces can also monitor such waves and detect their source, Shirota said.
The new system would not emit radio waves itself, but would use a receiver that can pick up a wide range of radio frequencies and deduce which ones are being emitted from a potential target, he said.
The Defense Agency plans to add $15.4 million for research to its budget request for the 2007 fiscal year - which begins in April 2007 - to pay for the system, he said. The agency will await the results of the research and development phase before deciding when and if to deploy the system, Shirota said. |