A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface to Ship Missile System display its range of movement as part of the Orient Shield 2019 media day, Sept. 17 2019, Oyanohara Training Area, Japan. OS 19 is a premier U.S. Army and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force bilateral field training exercise that is meant to increase interoperability by testing and refining multi-domain and cross-domain concepts. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob Kohrs, 20th PAD)

Japan Signs Contract For Development Of New Surface-To-Surface Missile

Japan’s defense ministry announced April 1, the signing of a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the development of long-range surface-to-surface missiles capable of engaging both land and sea targets.

The 32.3 billion yen contract (approximately $216 million) awarded on March 31 is described as an initial contract that will fund research and development from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2028, with development expected to continue through fiscal year 2032.

While detailed performance targets were not provided, the ministry says the missile is intended to have a high ability to penetrate hostile air defenses and possess high accuracy, with the ability to classify ship targets and identify weak spots in ship structures aided by targeting data relayed from satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The contract was awarded a day after Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force officially activated its 8th Surface to Ship Missile Regiment. Based at the JGSDF’s Yufuin Garrison in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, the 8th Surface to Ship Missile Regiment is the last of seven active surface to ship missile regiments to be fielded under current JGSDF plans. 

The March 30 activation ceremony of the 8th Surface to Ship Missile Regiment, with State Minister of Defense Honda Taro in attendance

The unit is currently equipped with a mix of Type 88 anti-ship missiles and Type 12 surface-to-surface missiles, with Tokyo previously indicating that an extended range variant of the Type 12 already under development could be fielded by units in Kyushu.

Over the past few years, Tokyo has pursued development of stand-off missiles in response to what it describes as an increasingly “severe” regional security environment. In addition to signing contracts for the development of new cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons, Tokyo has also ordered the development of upgrades to its existing cruise missile inventory as part of its pursuit of “counterstrike capabilities” that can target hostile missile launch and command facilities being used for an imminent attack, expanding on previous plans to destroy hostile forces before they can land on Japan’s remote island chains like the Senkaku Islands.