The Japanese Government has confirmed that it will continue working with the United Kingdom on a Joint New Air-to-Air Missile (JNAAM).
Japan’s Ministry of Defense has set aside JPY350 million ($3 million) to cover costs rorts the Eurasian Times here. The program was moved to a prototype stage in FY 2018 with the trial production expected to conclude in FY 2022.
I reported back in 2017 that Japan and the UK were moving forward with efforts to develop a new joint air-to-air missile. The project is understood to be supported by a successfully conducted project to integrate Japanese seeker technologies into MBDA’s Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile. The project utilises Japanese technologies to enhance the accuracy and performance of the missile.
That’s not all, in December I reported that Britain and Japan have announced plans to develop a future fighter jet engine demonstrator and have agreed to explore further combat air technologies.
The UK and Japan have also agreed on a ‘Memorandum of Cooperation’ which enables both nations to pursue joint technologies.
“Together, the UK and Japanese Defence Ministries will explore the feasibility of further sub-systems collaboration throughout 2022. In the UK, this work will be undertaken by the Team Tempest industry partners: BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce.”
I prefer our name for it to theirs…..
Our name is JNAAM (Joint New Air to Air Missile)!
This is really good news, the collaboration between the U.K. and Japan is becoming really strong.
Yes and good timing.
We need to double down and get programmes like these moving quickly. China is set to move on Taiwan by 2025 according to many military analysts and we can see the problems the west faces with Russia currently. I hope that Sweden and Finland decide to join the NATO alliance in the coming weeks ahead.
It’s also time the UK government announce a big increase in defence spending and hope more European nations follow suit.
Germany already has. Announced increase to 2% of GDP plus a one off 100bn euro injection of money. That will soon turn them into a European defence superpower
Good morning Sceptical Richard,
Yes, I’m more than aware of this and hope we and other EU nations will follow suit asap.
Combined with Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance, it will send a very powerful message to the Kremlin that their plans to change the order in Europe has backfired massively.
Has it though? To be honest I don’t think Putin is bothered by NATO and has lost the plot to the point where he will just threaten with Nukes to get his way
Fortunately, there are those in Russia who will see his reckless acts are now causing massive hardship to both themselves, the Russian people, and the economy as a whole.
With an attack on a nuclear plant, which way’s the wind blowing?
Very odd don’t you think?
Friday 4 March 2022 12:20, UK
“The wildfire broke out in the eastern part of the country, near the coast. South Korea’s government has issued a natural disaster alert and President Moon Jae-in is calling for an all-out effort to protect Hanul Nuclear Power Plant from damage.”
https://news.sky.com/video/wildfire-threatens-nuclear-power-plant-in-south-korea-as-natural-disaster-alert-is-announced-12557203
Of the 4477 warheads Russia has only around 576 are really going to threaten the west as they are submarine based. The rest will be destroyed fairly quickly if there was a clash between NATO and Russia. The Russia subs are good but we can hunt and kill them with the Astute. They can damage the west very badly but the return response on a nuclear exchange would leave a crater where Russia used to be. Realistically the Russian forces know that the West would be incredibly badly damaged and we would loose many millions of people but there really… Read more »
Balance of harms
Is the harm to one individual worth saving the harm to millions of others?
I would be a no brainer if he was a terrorist threatening a room of people with a bomb: marksmen could take him out and be on the right moral and legal side.
The fact the bomb is nuclear makes no difference to the argument.
‘The Russian subs are good but we can hunt and kill them with the Astute‘ Yes, that’s what the Astutes are designed for amongst other things, as are the US LA and Virginia class SMs. Unfortunately its not as straightforward or simple as that, in fact its a bit to simplistic a statement really. NATO SSBNs are very quiet platforms, as are the Russian Borei class, it is very difficult to locate and track these craft, as they usually sail and slip away into the big blue at slow speed. An added problem for NATO is that the Russian SSBNs… Read more »
Indeed esp as they would be first strike, we would not. It would be mutual extinction in reality for all. Russia is a massive Country but in reality it’s major cIties and populous areas make its destruction as sure as ours.
The trouble is Andrew that latest studies on the global impact of nuclear weapons is troubling stuff. It turns out the old Cold War studies were well wrong and underestimated the impact as they did not include black soot production and proper crop modelling. The latest studies show a 100 warheads exchange of medium sized warhead ( so the Pakistan India exchange model) would essentially destroy 10% of world food production for 7-10 years the impact would mostly be on the main grain growing areas, Europe, Russia and America. 10% food production for that long will essentially create a worldwide… Read more »
Even at the height of the Cold War we never came close to that level of potential damage nuclear weapons are no where as big as people imagine and most are set for air burst. Nuclear winter was largely a myth and radiation drops of after two weeks to the point of being survivable for the majority. Millions would die and the human population would be down by the billions once all secondary effects are taken it to account but no where near extinction. You need to go two doctor strange loge levels of salted nuclear weapons to start looking… Read more »
Hi Martin there is plenty of modeling out there. It’s the impact on crops which is the killer and you don’t need a global winter. Most of our key crop plants are very sensitive. We loss most of our grain and rice harvests for 5-10 years and we loss billions. Just look up the modelling on a Pakistan India exchange. Air bust/ ground bust it does not matter. The issue is not radiation or blast damage or even particular matter injection into the high atmosphere ( although all this does damage) it’s the burning and black soot injection into the… Read more »
Hi again Martin This is a summary paper, it’s mot the seminal work on crop and black soot modelling but is does give a readers Digest Version if your not into reading peer reviewed science papers. https://www.psr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/two-billion-at-risk.pdf its basically a summary of the modelling on a 100 warhead exchange between India and Pakistan. I personally think the 2billion starvation may be on the high side, as most of the papers I have read for the 100 warhead talk about a @0% loss of food over a decade… but what this paper points out is that we have a billion who… Read more »
I disagree, I don’t think anyone in the west has the stomach for nuclear war Cold War style. We would dither and not use nuclear weapons to take out silos and road based weapons quick enough. Russia subs could be taken out easily but then unless you launch a first strike it’s very hard to know of a Russian sub is about to fire. Would all happen to fast for a response beyond retaliation. All projections of nuclear war suggest most countries would be fine in the medium term except Britain and Japan.
“The Astute” being the operative words 😎.
Yes finally they are committing to what they should have been committing to, for decades.
I don’t buy the whole argument regarding them shying away from outward military strength due to ‘ghosts from the past’.
They have simply allowed NATO (i.e. the US) to foot the bill while spending a paltry sum themselves and excusing themselves by blaming the past. It is all political b*llshit & spin & this conflict has caught them out massively.
The 100 billion injection isn’t a good will gesture, it’s to try & get them out of the sh*te short to medium term.
And at least if a Trumpist Presidency returns one might hope it won’t start talking getting out of NATO or removing commitment t Europe… well unless Putin gets the nomination who knows with them these days.
Morning, Poland has just announced an increase to 3% GDP then a further increase to 4% GDP. they are taking the situation really serious. It is time for the UK to follow suit.
Excellent, now let’s do the same. In the lower house of the parliament, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski was quoted by the news agency as saying: “There will be an amendment [to the defence plan], 3% of GDP on defence next year, then we will increase it.” Poland’s defence budget totals 2% of the annual GDP, aligned with its commitment to Nato. A bill called the Defence of the Fatherland Act was introduced in the parliament last year, which aimed to increase the spending to 2.5% from 2024. The bill is being debated… Read more »
Also Romania increased it’s budget from 2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP. Good stuff.
Don’t forget Sweden increased its spending last year!
CR
If I had a boarder with Russia I would be spending 4% of GDP. Back where we are 2.5% is probably fine. That being said NATO 2% rule is a piece time limit the alliance should probably increase target to 2.5% now.
‘Military aviation history’ (That’s the channel name) did a video on the 100 billion injection the other day.
Indeed like in the UK the Germans have unfunded procurement plans that need financing before they can expand their wishlist and the bulk of this extra funding will go to that first.
At least for land weapons, they seem to have been doing really well all this time regardless. Things like the Panzerhaubitze 2000 and the Leopard 2 come to mind. However, 2% of German GDP is only 80-90 billion dollars, so I don’t think it would be that difficult (and considering the circumstances I believe it also necessary) for the UK to remain first in Europe. Our status as NATO’s second and Europe’s largest (as well as the world’s third, as of this year) defence spender brings us a lot of weight at the table, especially since we’re no longer in… Read more »
I heard it said that their increase is greater than our whole defence budget which if true is mind blowing. At last Germany realises it can no longer presume good relations with Russia or any expectation of a fair peace with them. Putin talks about demanding security which was always a lie anyway, but now he will get the exact opposite of the decades long disarmament and soft touch that actually gave him security in Europe. Fact is now for once Europe short of a nuclear strike will eventually be stronger, all military aspects considered than Russia. Don’t need to… Read more »
Not very mindblowing once you get into the numbers, I am afraid. 100bn Euro is 2.6% of Germany’s GDP. The % defence expenditure for the last 20 years has been running at about 1.3%. So (crudely) it will potentially fill 4 years of shortfall. It’s about plastering over some of the cracks. Plus Germany’s economy is coming out of COVID painfully slowly compared to UK and France, and they have far more acute energy supply problems coming down the track – Merkel having failed to implement a Plan B for if Russian gas supplies went tits-up. (They had several LNG… Read more »
(Wrong person I clicked) sorry
Having seen the way that the world has turned Russia in to a pariah state and are well on the way to economically destroying the country I wonder whether this will make China think twice about any plans to invade Taiwan
I think China may think twice if it thinks it may get sanctioned as heavily as Russia…
Exactly, they appear to be toning down their usual rhetoric!
China is not as dependent on the West as Russia and has way more leverage to respond. You can bet the Chinese are studying the financial sanctions very closely and figuring out their game plan. In some ways the Russians are revealing their military playbook to the West but in response we are tipping off the Chinese our playbook.
More good news from the land of the rising sun and the land of overcast rainy cloud! Seriously, potentially a good working relationship developing.
Off-topic, but you start to get the feeling this is on the cards. A US senator has sparked outrage after he called on Russian people to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. “Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator for South Carolina, said the only way Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ends is “for somebody in Russia to take this guy out”. “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military,” he said on Twitter, referencing Marcus Junius Brutus, who took a leading role in the assassination of Julius Ceaser in 44 BC and Stauffenberg, the German… Read more »
Brutus analogy ain’t good- it resulted in complete victory for the Caesarian family. What’s really needed is to attack Russian forces in Ukraine & drive them out. If Putin gets knobbled in the process, fine, but he may just be replaced by someone as bad. Even Putin seemed OK at the start as Yeltsin’s nominee.
Yeh, there was even talk of Putin’s Russia joiing NATO..!
How things have changed.
CR
Rory Stewart assessed all the likely options last night on Newscast. The leader we should have had.
You’re kidding mate! He tried to overturn the result of a democratic vote!!!
Yes, the grown-up we really needed, especially now.
Good news.
However, how does this relate to a programme which is already UK-Germany-France-Spain-Italy-Sweden?
Aside: reading up I did not know that Egypt was getting Meteor on Rafale.
There are 2 seperate programs. UK-Sweden-Italy and France-Germany-Spain
The meteor program was run 100% by the uk mod with partner countries buying the end product and contributing to the design, so it’s very different to a jointly run program like typhoon.
Both Japan and the UK need meteor to fit internally in the f35 so this program as well as including a new Japanese seeker also includes modifications to the missiles fins.
it’s unclear though if the UK intends to use the Japanese AESA seeker.
there has been mention of a mid life update for meteor which I suspect is likely to use a new mbda seeker.
Hi Andrew, My reading of the programme is that the Japanese are bringing AESA ‘technology’ to the programme rather than a ready made seeker. As such I understand that MBDA will play a part in the process and in all likelihood the new ‘MBDA seeker’ will include the Japanese contribution. The Japanese get what is a very good missile already and the British get a very good new seeker with significant Japanese technology included. If all goes to plan the upgraded Meteor will even more potent than it already is. Hopefully all will go to plan – it needs to.… Read more »
UK is the lead and has control of the IP. Essentially the other nations operate as suppliers for industrial participation and users. Requirement was drafted by the UK with others tagging on.
Japan is fast becoming an indispensable partner
Maybe we could get some of their AShMs until the 2030++ replacement materialises?
Here’s some other good news, which should probably deserve an article in its own right: The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is thrilled to announce the acquisition of the legendary RAF Chinook HC6A ‘Bravo November’ helicopter. The newest addition to the Museum’s collection has a distinguished career within the Royal Air Force. It was one of the original 30 Chinooks ordered by the RAF in 1978 and has been in service ever since, serving in every major conflict of the last 40 years. As a veteran of the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, Bravo November has seen four of its pilots… Read more »
YES!!!!! So pleased she survived.
Yes this is excellent news I forwarded the news link to Mike brewer his documentary on her was excellent. She’s a National treasure and hope lots of generations get to see her and read of the heroics her pilots were.
Agreed, I have never been to the museum at Cosford, but I will now. I first read of “BNs” exploits as a 10 year old following the Falklands. She was the only survivor from Atlantic Conveyor.
For the past 50 years or so, Japan has been invariably linked with the US on defence matters, with various joint projects and the purchase of American military equipment. It is therefore excellent to hear that they are now partnering with the UK on future aerospace programmes. Great news for BAE and other British companies.
Theyve got burned by American protectionism of their defence industry and unwillingness to fully license technology resulting in ‘black box’ systems (US wont share F-35 operating system code and the F-16 licensed production resulted in less technology transfer than promised). So they have spent the last decade and a half trying to build up their own indigenous defence industry.
the Ukraine just shot down a Mil 35 and the entire shoot down is caught from the side ( So you see everything) seems those Manpads are taking a heavy toll
https://twitter.com/uaweapons/status/1500032344371175425?s=21
Saw that. Then there is the usual info war on Twitter asking if it is current or from 2014 on. The crash seemed too close for comfort from the shooters location too.
This is good news! Great to see two nations able to work together on various projects. Especially as it appears the French have fallen out with the Germans and Spanish over FCAS. The ability for British and Japanese manufacturing to get over their own egos and actually collaborate over this and other projects will no doubt bear very good results. It makes me I’ve more thankful we dodged the bullet and didn’t get into the EU cock fight over their decades behind the project (Dassault Aviation SA threatened to pull out of an alliance with Airbus SE to develop a… Read more »
You forgot the joint development of an advanced new RF sensor suite (Jaguar).