Japan, China enhance recon satellite coverage
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched an optical reconnaissance satellite into orbit aboard an H-IIA launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Centre on 27 February.
The first such launch since last March, this third-generation satellite will help predict North Korean missile launches and observe Japan’s nuclear-armed nemesis.
Activities such as North Korean missiles being transported, installed on launch pads and fuelled have previously been captured by Japanese satellites, thus giving the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) advance warning.
In response, the JSDF is able to deploy Patriot missile batteries and Aegis-equipped destroyers along expected ballistic missile
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