Promote the transformation from "defense" to "offensive", and investment continues to rise-be
wary of Japan seeking to improve its "multi-domain joint operations" capabilities
On September 30, the Ministry of Defense of Japan announced its defense budget application for fiscal year 2021.
Although the new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused a serious decline in Japan’s economy, the Ministry of Defense’s defense budget application for fiscal 2021 has continued to grow for the ninth consecutive year, reaching a total of 5.49 trillion yen (approximately US$52 billion), an increase of 3.3% from the previous year .
The Ministry of Defense of Japan announced a new version of its national defense strategy in December 2018, proposing the development of "multi-domain joint operations", and believes that space, cyberspace, and electromagnetic space combat capabilities are the key to supporting "multi-domain joint operations" and are to enhance traditional A new growth point in combat capability.
In the budget application for the new fiscal year, the relevant construction funds for the "multi-domain joint operations" capability amounted to 2.7 trillion yen, which is close to 50% of the total budget application.
Among them, space, cyberspace, and electromagnetic space and other operational domain power construction related funds amounted to 280.9 billion yen, an increase of about 34.6 billion yen from the 2020 fiscal year, and more than double the 2018 fiscal year.
New related institutions
Strengthen the organization traction
In the defense budget application for the new fiscal year, Japan plans to expand its organization to provide support for the development of combat capabilities in the aerospace and electrical fields.
In May 2020, Japan announced the establishment of a space combat team, officially starting the construction of space combat forces.
The space combat team is tentatively scheduled to have 20 personnel and will be expanded to more than 100 personnel by 2023.
In the new fiscal year, Japan will form a space combat command and control force, which will be part of the newly formed space combat group together with the space combat team.
The key to Japan's development of "multi-domain joint operations" capabilities lies in cross-domain joint command and control capabilities, which to a large extent rely on space-based communications, navigation and positioning systems.
The purpose of proposing the establishment of a space command and control force this time is also to speed up the solution of the crux of related problems.
In addition, Japan also plans to set up a special "Space Business Management Team" (tentative name) in the Defense Equipment Agency, which oversees the research and development of equipment for the Self-Defense Forces, to be responsible for advancing space operations related projects.
In the 2021 fiscal year, Japan will abolish the existing information-based professional force-the Self-Defense Force Command Communication System Team, and create a new cyber warfare unit "Self-Defense Force Cyber Defense Force" (tentative name), which was originally part of the cyber warfare of the respective armed forces Personnel will be transferred to their name.
The Self-Defense Force Cyber Defense Force will also set up the position of cyber security consultants, select and hire cyber hackers from local areas, and help the Self-Defense Force cyber warfare forces master the latest technology and trends in the cyber field.
At the same time, based on the first electronic warfare unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force in Hokkaido and the 80-man electronic warfare unit established in Kumamoto Prefecture at the end of this year, Japan will form a third electronic warfare unit in Tokyo. On this basis, an electronic warfare command was established.
The relevant budget is also included in the defense budget request for the new fiscal year.
Improve technical standards
Power equipment construction
In the defense budget application for the new fiscal year, 72.4 billion yen and 35.7 billion yen were allocated in the space field and 35.7 billion yen respectively in the field of cybersecurity, mainly for related technology research and development and equipment procurement, with a view to rapidly improving combat capabilities.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces began to study cyber warfare very early, and once put forward the operational concept of "paralysis war", believing that cyber warfare will become the main mode of dominating future wars.
The Ministry of Defense of Japan clearly requires cyber warfare personnel to learn hacking techniques such as hacking into network systems. The budget request for fiscal 2021 has set aside 2.1 billion yen for research on network offense and defense technologies.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Japan has applied for 17.8 billion yen in funding in the new fiscal year to create an actual combat environment for cyber warfare.
It is not difficult to see that Japan's cyber warfare power building has already broken through the purely defensive purpose, and it is improving its cyber offensive capability from both software and hardware aspects.
In terms of space capacity building, Japan plans to launch a self-developed space situational awareness satellite in 2026 to send multiple new optical space-based telescopes into space to "monitor UFOs in space." The design and development of this arrangement in the new fiscal year The cost is 21.1 billion yen.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense also applied for 11.8 billion yen to strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies in the United States and other countries to jointly carry out surveillance of space; 15.2 billion yen for the purchase of image analysis databases to strengthen space-based intelligence collection and analysis capabilities.
In the new fiscal year, the Japanese Self-Defense Force will also fully roll out the construction of electronic warfare and related capabilities. It plans to invest 8.8 billion yen to build a networked electronic warfare system. Through the collection, analysis and interference of enemy electronic signals, it will take the initiative on the battlefield. ; Purchase two F-35A/B fighters with strong electronic warfare capabilities to upgrade F-15J's electronic warfare capabilities.
On October 1, 2020, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's new-generation electronic reconnaissance aircraft RC-2 officially entered service to replace the YS-11EB.
In the new fiscal year, it plans to arrange for 7.1 billion yen to purchase related airborne equipment to expand the frequency range of its electronic intelligence collection and enhance its ability to collect data from long-distance targets. This shows that Japan is actively building a larger and longer-distance target. The space situational awareness ability.
In the field of electronic warfare, Japan is also strengthening the research and development of related high-tech.
The new fiscal year applies for 3.3 billion yen for experimental verification of vehicle-mounted high-power laser irradiation systems; 1.1 billion yen for research and development of ship-borne small high-power microwave weapon systems; 10.8 billion yen for research and development of ships and The tactical data link for the aircraft to share intelligence information to establish an intelligence sharing posture between troops.
With the aid of the Japan-U.S. alliance
Speed up personnel training
The defense budget application for the new fiscal year clearly proposes the development of cutting-edge cyber hackers.
According to reports, the Ministry of Defense of Japan plans to set up an educational force specifically responsible for training cyber warfare personnel to create cyber hacker forces called "defenders."
The trainees will be required to master the intelligence collection and analysis capabilities of actual combat applications such as "detecting network attack symptoms as early as possible", "determining attack methods", "network protection" and "network attacks".
In 2020, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Communication School has set up a general course for network warfare. In fiscal 2021, it will continue to apply for an investment of 80 million yen to expand its scale.
At the same time, Japan is also relying on the Japan-US military alliance to increase the training of personnel in related fields through the selection of personnel to the United States for study, training, exchanges, and observation.
In the budget application for the new fiscal year, special funds have been arranged to send personnel to the United States to participate in electronic warfare staff courses to learn the command and control capabilities of electronic warfare; to participate in electronic warfare seminars held by the US military.
The Self-Defense Force also plans 200 million yen to send personnel to participate in courses such as the "Space100" organized by the US Air Force and multinational joint space warfare network exercises.
In addition, the budget application also proposed for the first time to organize a joint electronic warfare exercise of the Land, Sea and Air Self-Defense Forces, and plans to participate in the joint map of the British and Japanese maritime armed forces with the introduction of electronic warfare background.
In recent years, Japan has continuously increased its defense budget, which not only reflects the adjustment of its defense policy, but also reflects its ambition for "military normalization."
In particular, Japan has used the United States to rely on its "Indo-Pacific strategy" psychology to continuously improve its "multi-domain joint operations" capability, and gradually realize the transition from "defense" to "offensive", which deserves high vigilance by the international community.
(Guo Yilun Author Unit: Air Force Research Institute)