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Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)

The Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) is a surface-to-surface rocket system jointly developed by the USA, UK, France, Germany, and Italy in the early 1980s primarily through Lockheed Martin. According to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Japanese and American governments, IHI Aerospace began licensed production of Japanese modified self-propelled launchers in 1992. Since 2005, IHI Aerospace have been working on overhaul and improvement of the fire control system of the launchers.

In Japan, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries since 2000) is producing under license, and has been introduced to the Ground Self-Defense Force since 1992. By 1997, 857 MLRS had been procured by the United States, 150 by Germany, 81 by Japan, 63 by the United Kingdom, and 55 by France.

"Overview of the Defense Buildup Plan" (January 5, 2023), which outlines the "Defense Buildup Plan" (a document that stipulates the procurement of equipment by the Self-Defense Fo rces over the next five years) announced on December 16, 2022. Japan), the Ground Self-Defense Force's M270 (equipment name "Multiple Rocket System Self-Propelled Launcher M270") has a policy of abolishing its use by 2029, that is, retiring it.

The most likely reason is the short range of the rockets the M270 is equipped with. The Ground Self-Defense Force is equipped with the M31, which boasts a range of 70km or more, similar to the one used by the Ukrainian Army as a rocket for the M270 that it operates. A circle from Marunouchi, Chiyoda Ward, which is the center of Tokyo, 70 km, is wide enough to fit Odawara City in Kanagawa Prefecture to the west and the entire Boso Peninsula of Chiba Prefecture to the south. When written like this, the distance of 70 km looks very long.

However, when it comes to operations in the Nansei Islands, where the need for defense is currently increasing, the situation changes dramatically. The Nansei Islands, which are made up of islands that stretch approximately 1,200 km from the south of Kyushu to the northeast of Taiwan, include the Senkaku Islands at the western end, and Yonaguni Island and Miyako Island, which are close to Taiwan. point of view is getting more and more attention.

If the Self-Defense Forces were to defend the Nansei Islands, the problem would be the distance between the islands. Looking at the distances between the main island of Okinawa and other islands, for example, Miyakojima is about 300km away, the Senkaku Islands and Ishigakijima are about 400km, and Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni is about 500km away. In that case, rockets with a range of 70km would not be able to effectively deal with the Chinese army's attack on the Nansei Islands.

The M270 can be equipped with a longer-range short-range ballistic missile "ATACMS" (range of about 300km), and in addition, the US military will operate "Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)" with a range of about 500km from 2025. is also scheduled to start. With that in mind, the JGSDF's retirement of the M270 may seem premature.

Considering the range of various cruise missiles and ballistic missiles possessed by China, the main island of Okinawa itself cannot be said to be safe in the first place. Therefore, it is necessary to have equipment with a longer range that can attack from a further distance.

Therefore, in the future, the Self-Defense Forces are aiming to possess a "stand-off defense capability" that can safely attack from outside the enemy's range. For example, if it were possible to equip missiles that could reach the Senkaku Islands from Kyushu, Honshu, and even Hokkaido, it would be possible to carry out attacks safely without fear of being attacked by the enemy.

According to the "Defense Buildup Plan", the equipment responsible for this stand-off defense capability will be the "Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile Capability Enhanced Type" and "Island Defense High-Speed ??Gliding Missile (Early Equipment Type/Capability Enhanced Type)" )” and “Hypersonic Guided Missile” will be deployed to the Ground Self-Defense Force, and a new unit will be created for that purpose. All of these are expected to have a range of over 1,000 km, and depending on future development, it is expected that even those with a range of over 3,000 km will appear.

Assuming that the Russian army would land in the vast expanses of Hokkaido, just like during the Cold War, the significance of the M270 would not have been small. However, the situation assumed in the future is how to defend the island separated by the sea, and the M270 is considered to be lacking in capability there.