According to Associated Press news service, the US military has activated a high powered X-band radar outpost in Aomori Prefecture, Japan to protect against ballistic missiles, amid growing concerns of North Korean weapons programs. It is part of the joint US-Japan missile defense project that began in 1998 after North Korea fired a long range missile over Japan. The radar had been located on Misawa AB, Japan, and is now at Camp Shariki, both in Aomori.
The Pentagon has increased its baseline cost projection for its Golden Dome advanced missile defense shield by $10 billion in recent months due to demand for more space sensing, tracking, and data transport capabilities, the general in charge of the effort said March 17.