The Defense Agency plans to seek government approval to acquire a tanker aircraft for aerial refueling for the Air Self-Defense Force in the next fiscal year.
The procurement, estimated to cost 20 billion yen, is part of a 4.99 trillion yen budget request for fiscal 2001 the agency plans to submit to the government, according to government sources.
At present, the ASDF has no aerial refueling capability, in light of Japan's defense doctrine that Japanese armed forces are intended exclusively for the country's defense.