The Land Self-Defense Force (LDF) will improve the existing Type 12 land-based anti-ship missile to extend its range to 900 kilometers and eventually to target 1,500 kilometers.
Although The Japanese government is suspending the inclusion of “enemy base attack capability” in its current defense policy, Japan will develop a new anti-ship missile with a maximum range of about 2,000 kilometers, covering China and North Korea, in order to enhance missile defense capabilities and ensure effective deterrence of enemy attacks.
According to the Sankei Shimbun, this long-range missile can be described as Japan’s “domestic Tomahawk missile”, which has the ability to reduce radar detection and prevent enemy interception with complex movement routes of high mobility, and can be launched on land, but also on ships and warplanes.
Japan’s Defense Equipment Agency began developing the new anti-ship missile in 2018 and has budgeted 10.5 billion yen (about 664 million yuan) for research and development so far. The authorities plan to develop a prototype by 2022 and complete performance tests in the same year.
In addition, the cabinet meeting on the 18th of this month also approved a development budget of 33.5 billion yen, and is scheduled to spend five years to extend the range of the existing Type 12 land-based anti-ship missile (SSM) from the current 200 km to 900 km, and eventually aim for 1,500 km.
The report said that the new anti-ship missiles and the extended range of the Type 12 land-based anti-ship missiles will be able to rival the U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of more than 1,600 kilometers. If the two missiles are deployed in the southwest islands such as Miyakojima, they will not only be able to effectively contain China’s maritime activities, but even Pyongyang, North Korea, which is 1,500 kilometers away, and Beijing, China, which is 2,000 kilometers away, will also be within the maximum range.
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