Working to improve its capabilities by restructuring its army, Japan will consolidate its air power with new systems.
The US Department of Defence informed Congress about the export of new weapons. In this context, Washington will procure air-to-air missiles to Tokyo. In the statement made on August 26, the DoD announced that the sale of 32 AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles to Japan was approved.
Japan had requested 32 units of AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) and 1 spare guidance section from the USA in recent weeks. The estimated cost of the package, which includes items such as training, maintenance and technical support, was determined as 63 million USD. In case of the sale, Raytheon Missile Systems will be the main contractor.
The AIM-120 family missiles, which has successfully serving also in the inventory of the Turkish Air Force, offers the ability to engage targets at a range beyond line of sight. 4,800 test launches conducted with the missiles that have contributed to the achievement of 10 air victories. While the missiles can be directed thanks to the data link, they have the opportunity to attack more than one target at the same time with the opportunity of multiple launching.
