Japan upgrades Patriot PAC3 to counter Chinese DF-17 hypersonic glider ballistic missiles at 12,348 km/h

Japan wants to upgrade American Patriot PAC3 systems to defend against Chinese DF-17 ballistic missiles.

Here's What We Know

The decision to upgrade the U.S. systems has been added to the updated Defense Enhancement Plan. It will be approved by Japan's Cabinet as early as this week, December 16. This has been confirmed by several officials.

The Patriot PAC3 modification is needed to counter the Chinese DF-17 ballistic missile, which has a range of 1800-2500 km. It is designed to deliver the DF-ZF hypersonic guided missile.

The missile rises to an altitude of 60 km, after which the hypersonic glider separates. Its maximum speed is 10 Mach (12348 km/h).

Nowadays the anti-missile defense of China consists of 34 Patriot PAC3 air defense systems and eight destroyer destroyers equipped with Aegis systems. The Patriot upgrade involves the use of LTAMDS radar, which will increase the range of target detection by several times and will be able to identify high-speed missiles with non-standard trajectory of flight.

Source: Bulgarian Military

Image: Defense News