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An interview with Lieutenant General Hidetoshi Hirata, commander of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Southwestern Composite Air Division based in Okinawa, Japan is presented. When asked whether the Japan Air Self-Defense Force will adopt the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for its F-15s, he states that they will upgrade nearly 90 F-15Js, but AESA is not part of it. He notes that since they can only have limited number of fighters, they should have stealth for survivability and a good radar for cruise missile detection.

An interview with Colonel Tanotsu Kidono, head of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Air Staff's Defense Plans, Policies and Programs Division, is presented. When asked how he intends to introduce the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the whole spectrum of military operations, he states that they are considering the long-term implications for the JASDF. He also notes that they may have an international support mission in the future.

The article reports on the decision of the Japanese coast guard replace its fleet of Bell 212s with the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter for all-weather search-and-rescue duties. The AW139s will be equipped with a Honeywell maritime search radar, forward-looking infrared radar and rescue hoist. The Japanese versions of the helicopter will be modified with an elongated and thicker nose to host the mission sensors and their electronics.

The article reports on the launching of Japan's second of two optical reconnaissance satellites on board an H-IIA booster from the Tanegashima Space Center. The optical reconnaissance satellites improve the center's surveillance capacity for watching North Korean missile programs. Development of a four-satellite recce program, with two optical and two radar spacecraft, has been a major drive of the country's space program, consuming about a third of its development budget in recent years.

Calpro, a processing system by Vexcel Corp. to calibrate synthetic aperture radar images, was developed under a 2003 contract from Japan's JGI to calibrate images collected by Palsar, its SAR sensor on board the Advanced Land-Observing Satellite. The processor was installed earlier in the year at the Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center, JGI's initial customer for the system. Vexcel's processor also supports Radarsat and Envisat-ASAR. SAR images that are only relatively calibrated exhibit pixel values correct in relation to each other, but with incorrect physical values when compared with radar backscatter.

Presents the author's account on his experiences while participating in the installation of radar systems in Japan, as a corporal in the Far East Air Force in Japan, in 1948-1949. Roles and responsibilities as member of a signal radio management team; Types of electronic equipment handled; Resourcefulness of the team in participating in developing an air defense network.