Japan passes law to form its first ‘Space Operations Squadron'

Japan’s parliament passed legislation on 17 April to enable the establishment of the country’s first ‘Space Operations Squadron’ during current fiscal year 2020 (FY 2020): part of a move by the government in Tokyo to put a stronger emphasis on three new defence domains: space, cyber space, and electronic warfare (EW).

The new squadron, which will be part of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), is set to be based at Fuchu Air Base in western Tokyo, and initially comprise about 20 personnel, although that number is expected to increase to about 100 by FY 2022

The squadron will be in charge of operating a surveillance system aimed at tracking space debris and the position of satellites in order to avoid collisions in space. The system, which includes a network of ground radars, has also been designed to monitor the activities of satellites of countries that may seek to disrupt Japanese and/or US satellite operations through, for instance, the use of anti-satellite missiles, laser irradiation, communication jamming, or so-called ‘killer satellites’.

Japan’s parliament passed a law on 17 April enabling the establishing of the country’s first ‘Space Operations Squadron’, which will be in charge of operating a new space surveillance system, among other things. (Japanese MoD)

The move by the Japanese parliament comes after the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Tokyo had secured JPY50.6 billion (USD470 million) for space-related defence activities and programmes, including the establishment of what is being referred to as the ‘Space Domain Planning Section’ in the C4 Systems Department of the Joint Staff in Tokyo to facilitate joint operations in outer space.