Japan to rename air force in nod to growing space capabilities

MELBOURNE — Japan’s government has confirmed it will rename its air force to reflect a broadened mission set to include outer space.

The upper house of Japan’s parliament approved a bill today to rename the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to the Japan Aerospace Self-Defense Force.

The name change will come into effect at the beginning of the next Japanese fiscal year, which starts on April 1, 2027, according to the JASDF.

The change in name reflects an increasing focus by the JASDF on the space domain in recent years, with its Space Operations Group being reorganized into the Space Operations Wing in March following an increase in its personnel strength to 670 — up from 310 the year before.

The unit is responsible for space domain awareness missions, ranging from monitoring orbital debris to expanding the number and capabilities of satellites Japan has at its disposal.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense previously said that its increased attention on the space domain will enable “rapid and accurate battlespace awareness” and reinforce “capabilities to disrupt C4I [Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence] and other capabilities” of opponents.

Japan has also been working on trialling satellite communications technology fitted on missiles for beyond line of sight control and guidance as it boosts its long range counterstrike capabilities in the face of ballistic missile threats from North Korea and China.