On Sept. 17, 2008, airmen from the Japanese Air Defense Force met with personnel from Lockheed Martin, prime contractor on the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, missile segment upgrade, at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
The goal for the Japanese Defense Ministry was to "confirm the functions of the Patriot system that has been upgraded with ballistic missile defense capabilities" of the PAC-3 interceptor. The Patriot system is an advanced aerial interceptor missile and uses a high-performance radar systems. Patriot was developed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
In this the first international test of the PAC-3 system, 80 Japanese airmen participated in an intercept test which pitted the PAC-3 against a tactical ballistic missile, or TBM. The interceptor in this test "demonstrated the Patriot Configuration-3 upgrades to Japanese Patriot ground system, and the addition of the PAC-3 missile segment to detect, track, engage and destroy a TBM target in a realistic battlefield environment."
The PAC-3 Missile Segment upgrade consists of a hit-to-kill interceptor, the PAC-3 missile canisters (in four packs), a fire solution computer and an Enhanced Launcher Electronics System.
Unlike previous PAC-3 tests, the missiles used in this experiment were assembled in Taketoyo, Japan, under a licensed production agreement between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin.
The test was a success. Using their own equipment (missiles, radar and launcher) transported from Japan, the Air Self-Defense Forces successfully intercepted and destroyed the tactical ballistic missile, launched from 75 miles away.
At the same time analysts collected data on resulting debris patterns to support the potential urban deployment of the Japanese missile defense. A spokesman for the Japanese Defense Ministry observed, "The success of the test was significant as it proved that Japan's missile defense system will function effectively."
In 2008, Japan's missile defense system consisted of four PAC-3 systems deployed around Tokyo and the surrounding region. Given the threat posed by North Korea, seven additional PAC-3 systems were to be distributed to bases around the nation by 2011. These would augment a fleet of four SM-3 equipped Aegis cruisers in Japan's two-tier missile defense architecture.
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