Patriot Missiles to Be Deployed in Japan

[Rhino]

Patriot Interceptor Missiles to Be Deployed in Japan

Monday, June 26, 2006

SEOUL, South Korea — Tokyo and Washington will deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles in Japan for the first time, officials said Monday amid concerns North Korea may be preparing to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile.

The U.S. and Japan reached an accord on the interceptors this month after reports of the possible test-firing became public, and they plan to install the weapons on American bases in Japan as soon as possible, Japan's Defense Agency said.

Japan's largest newspaper said the interceptor missiles could be installed by the end of the year.

It was unclear whether Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles — designed to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or enemy aircraft — would be able to hit North Korea's latest long-range missile, the newspaper reported.

Yomiuri Shimbun said the medium- to long-range interceptor may be unable to shoot down the Taepodong-2, which is believed capable of reaching parts of the United States. The newspaper did not cite a source for that assessment.

The Defense Agency spokeswoman said the sites of the Patriot deployment and its timing have not been decided........http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200945,00.html

[Beowulf]

This should be interesting.

[DesertFox]

Libs will just say we´re provoking the Chinamen and North Koreans.

[cerberus]

PAC-3 probably won't be able to hit the Taipo-dong.

[Rhino]

Based on.....?

[cerberus]

Based on that's not what it's designed to do if I recall. It's not designed to intercept long-range or ICBM missiles.

[Rhino]

The PAC-3 is.

[Rhino]

The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules System as the U.S. Army's primary high/medium air defense platform, and replaced the HAWK System as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense platform. In addition to these roles, Patriot has assumed the role as the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) platform, which today is Patriot's primary mission.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_missile#External_links_and_references

I have some reservations about the effectiveness level, but not that it wouldn't be able to intercept. It has limited range too. Of course, the effectiveness would depend on a lot of variables. Would the missiles be launched at Japan or elsewhere? What type of warhead are we assuming? What lead time will warning systems give? Stuff like that.