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Germany, unlike France, the UK or the US, has no nuclear wrapons program. Therefore there is no dual use incentive to keep the civilian program running. Japan,
by dsq 2y ago
Germany, unlike France, the UK or the US, has no nuclear wrapons program. Therefore there is no dual use incentive to keep the civilian program running.
Japan, it is true, also has no (active) weapons program, but has kept its civilian program going so far.
- ein0p 2y agoJapan has the capability to spin up such a program within months, and ability to further enrich uranium. And because it has this ability, with tensions in Southeast Asia rising, I think it’ll use it in the coming decade. You don’t maintain your own ultra expensive space industry for any other reason.
- Voultapher 2y ago> You don’t maintain your own ultra expensive space industry for any other reason. Except the kind of rockets they've been designing would make for terrible ICBMs. Take for example the recent H3 a hydrogen powered booster. For weapons you want solid or maybe hypergolic propellants that can be stored and ready to fire for long time periods. Liquid hydrogen would be an awful choice for that.
- ein0p 2y agoYes, but the gap between that and ICBMs is much narrower than between no rockets at all and ICBMs. Japan can’t have ICBMs at all, their armed forces are entirely defense oriented by treaty. So they build what they can, because no treaty lasts forever.