Japan Prepares To Shoot Down North Korean Missiles

The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system. Lockheed Martin

Japan Prepares To Shoot North Korean Missiles Out of the Sky -- Angela Erika Kubo Jake Adelstein, Daily Beast

Pyongyang may fire ballistic missiles in Japan’s direction this month, but Tokyo believes it’s ready to knock down whatever North Korea sends its way … as long as there aren’t too many of them.

Like a batter waiting for a wicked pitch that might just hit his head, the Japanese are on alert—full scale military alert—waiting for the nuclear-armed crazies in North Korea to throw a missile in their direction. The Japanese think it’s coming soon, and they’re letting it be known (but quietly and in contradictory leaks) that they plan to knock it out of the park.

The question is: Can they? The other question is: Why don’t they want to talk about it publicly?

The answer to the second question might just be related to the first.

Japan’s ballistic missile defense system essentially depends on American-built Aegis destroyers equipped to shoot down missiles at the edge of space or, indeed, all the way out there beyond the atmosphere. But the enormously expensive Aegis systems aren’t entirely reliable. According to a Congressional Research Service report published last October (PDF), in tests since 2002 the Aegis BMD system has hit its target 28 out of 34 times, including three out of four test shots by the Aegis ships in the Japanese Navy.

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My Comment: If the North Koreans do launch a missile over Japan .... it would be a direct provocation by North Korea against the Japanese. The problem is knowing if they (the North Koreans) are going to do it, and if yes .... when. I guess this is one of those situations where a "wait and see" approach needs to be followed.