Japan boosts armoured vehicle fleet with new orders
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has been severely pruning by half the number of tanks and artillery pieces in its inventory, but it continues to invest in replacement capabilities in terms of tanks, wheeled tank destroyers and self-propelled howitzers (SPHs).
In the latest draft defence budget for FY2020, published recently by the Japanese MoD, the document listed an additional 33 Type 16 Manoeuvre Combat Vehicles (MCVs), 12 Type 10 MBTs and seven Type 19 truck-mounted howitzers to be ordered in FY2020.
This compares with 22 Type 16s, six Types 10s and seven Type 19s procured in the FY2019 budget.
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