Japan GSDF to Probe Radio Comms during Fatal Drill Accident

Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force plans to investigate radio communications at the time of a fatal accident that occurred during a live-fire drill in the southwestern prefecture of Oita, Defense Ministry sources said Wednesday. The GSDF will conduct hearings on the contents of radio communications with GSDF members who were near the scene of Tuesday’s accident in its Hijudai training area. In the accident, a shell exploded inside a state-of-the art Type 10 tank, leaving three of the four crew members dead and the remaining one seriously injured. The GSDF has set up an investigation committee to determine the cause of the accident. According to GSDF and other sources, Type 10 tanks are equipped with an information-sharing system called C4I. At the time of the accident, the damaged tank was communicating via the system with two other Type 10 tanks involved in the exercise and nearby GSDF members. As the C4I system does not have a function to record the situation inside the vehicle, the investigation committee plans to interview personnel who were near the scene. About 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, a 120-millimeter antitank shell exploded inside the turret. The tank commander, gunner and safety officer, who were inside the turret, were killed, while the driver, who was in the tank’s hull, was seriously injured. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]