Recently, Japan signed an agreement between the government and the government to export advanced aerial surveillance radars to the Philippines. The US$103.5 million contract is considered to be Hyundai Japan’s first export of complete defense products, and it has been six years since the Japanese government lifted restrictions on overseas arms sales. Before that, after the war, Japan only exported weapon parts, such as gyroscopes used in Patriot missiles. So will Japan find more buyers for its weapons?
According to reports, the radar sold in Japan this time includes three fixed J/FPS-3ME active electronically scanned array (AESA) systems and one mobile The J/TPS-P14ME radar is optimized for mid-to-high altitude aerial reconnaissance and is manufactured by Mitsubishi. J/FPS-3 uses the L-band with a maximum detection range of 640 kilometers. It can also use the S-band to perform a more precise search in the airspace with a radius of 150 kilometers. At the same time, J/TPS-P14 is also based on S-band phased array radar, with an aerial surveillance range of 400 kilometers.
These systems will be replaced by the Philippines’ earlier purchase of three Israeli ELM-2288ER fixed pulse Doppler air surveillance/defense radars, which will be used to monitor maritime and air military activities in the surrounding waters. Japan believes that it is in Japan’s interest for the Philippines to have enhanced radar capabilities. In fact, apart from prohibiting the sale of weapons to countries participating in armed conflicts or embargoed by the United Nations, consistency with Japan’s security interests is one of the three principles that Japan follows in its arms transfers. In addition, the Japanese government is seeking to reach a radar coverage sharing agreement with the Philippines, especially for military activities in the Bashi Channel. In exchange, the Philippines will receive radar data from Japanese radars in Okinawa.
In addition to the Philippines, Japan's other arms sales targets in recent years include Australia, India, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. But all these efforts have failed. The reason is simple: Japanese weapons are often slightly better than similar overseas weapons, but the prices are much higher. The same is true for this radar deal with the Philippines. According to reports, the price of Mitsubishi’s 4 radars is the same as that of 5 radars provided by Lockheed and Israel’s Elta. Japanese weapons are rare weapons systems in the world that are more expensive than American weapons.
After the end of the Second World War, Japan adopted a pacifist spirit, passed a waiver clause in the constitution, and gradually banned most arms exports since 1967. Although Japan has rebuilt its domestic weapons industry and has the ability to design and manufacture high-priced products such as jet fighters, submarines, and tanks, the industry cannot make profits by exporting overseas. In the past few decades, Japan’s ruling Conservative Party has gradually lifted restrictions on the Self-Defense Forces and the defense industry, driven by nationalist sentiments and increasing military pressure from the outside world.
This peaked in 2014, removing most of the restrictions on defense exports. In theory, if Japan’s defense sector can profit from arms sales, this may reduce unit costs and allow Japan to make more investments in its defense budget, including the development of sixth-generation air superiority stealth jets and hypersonic anti-aircraft aircraft. Ship missiles and long-endurance lithium-ion battery-powered submarines. The high prices of Japanese weapon systems reflect high labor costs, lack of competition in the defense industry, and shrinking talent. In addition, it is difficult for new players to enter the global arms trade.
, for example, Japan has actively tried to sell four-engine P-1 anti-submarine jets to the United Kingdom and New Zealand. However, it was defeated by the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft based on Boeing 737. The P-1 is a bit more expensive, but it may have some advantages over the P-8, thanks to its magnetic anomaly detector sensor, better low-altitude flight performance, additional mounting points and more powerful engines. However, P-1 may be difficult to export because it is not compatible with American weapons. Japan also promoted its US-2 search and rescue seaplane, but they all ended in failure because of the high price and the Japanese reluctance to modify it according to the specific requirements of customers.
Japan’s future breakthroughs in weapons exports will still be in small patrol boats and radars. For example, Japan reached an agreement in August to build six light armed patrol boats for the Vietnam Coast Guard at a price of 400 million U.S. dollars and is expected to be delivered in 2025. At the same time, JapanThe Philippines sells ten patrol boats with a length of 44 meters and two patrol boats with a length of 94 meters. Cheap fast assault boats and cruiser-sized ships can be equipped to perform coastal maritime control tasks, and can even be equipped with Japanese anti-ship missiles.
In addition, sales to the Philippines highlight that Japanese radar may also have a good market. With Japan’s recent withdrawal from the purchase of the Aegis land-based missile defense system, Tokyo may choose to develop its own domestic missile defense system and its sensors. This project will definitely cost billions of dollars. In this case, Tokyo may consider looking for other countries as partners to share the cost, lower the unit price through larger-scale purchases, and improve the surveillance system for ballistic missiles.
