Defence Japan signs 378bn JPY contract for sub-launched standoff missiles

Mass production of Type 12 land-to-ship guided missiles and hypersonic gliding missiles, which have already been developed, will begin this year, the ministry said. Officials refused to provide the number of missiles that Japan plans to deploy but indicated that production is expected to gradually increase over the next five years. Due to limited land space at home, Japan plans to hold pre-deployment missile tests at military bases in the United States, ministry officials said. Another contract is for development of submarine-launched long-range anti-ship guided missiles, beginning this year and planned through 2027. Timing for their deployment is still undecided.

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Tokyo also plans to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the U.S. to be deployed around the two-year period beginning April 2026. The fiscal 2023 budget, which took effect this month, allocates 211.3 billion JPY for the purchase. Japan aims to combine these tried-and-tested weapons with homegrown missiles for a multilayered deterrent. By the 2030s, Tokyo looks to equip submarines with hypersonic weapons capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound.

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