Japan set to deploy drone fighter planes from 2004

eTaiwanNews.com/Japan set to deploy drone fighter planes from 2004

Japan set to deploy drone fighter planes from 2004 2003-09-21 / Associated Press /

Japan's Defense Agency plans next year to develop small, unmanned spy planes similar to those used by the United States in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a major newspaper reported yesterday.

The agency will budget about 9 billion yen (US$78 million) over five years, and hopes to deploy its fleet of aircraft as early as 2009, the national Asahi newspaper said.

Agency officials, who point to the U.S. military's lead in relying on high-tech advancements, are also considering spending to link Japanese fighter jets to a U.S.-developed satellite-guided bombing system beginning next year, the daily said.

Japan has already tested an early prototype unmanned drone modeled on the U.S.-made F-15 fighter jet, a project it began researching in the mid-1990s. The planes would be equipped with high-resolution cameras to conduct surveillance of suspicious ships off Japan's coast, and may even be armed, according to the report.