Info-Pacific News
In addition to improvements to its airborne Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities, Japan is also planning to bolster its ground-based EW order of battle in the coming years.
Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review has reported that the country plans to inaugurate a total of seven new EW units in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), with five of these to be located in the southwestern part of the country. These units will be dedicated to collecting intelligence and jamming the electromagnetic spectrum to disrupt and deny adversaries’ access.
Three of the seven new units will be based on the country’s southwestern islands including Amami Oshima and Okinawa, placing them closer to China, and are planned to be established by March 2022.
The Japanese defence ministry’s latest budget request unveiled in late September also indicated plans to create an EW training program and command to streamline capabilities across its three services.