Japan unveils advanced Type 12 missile to counter regional threats
After introducing modern anti-ship missiles into service in 2015, Japan began working on their modernisation. The result is the improved Type 12 missile, the first image released by the Japanese Ministry of Defence in the Defence White Paper. We explain the capabilities of the new weapon.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries developed the Type 12 SSM (Surface-to-Ship Missile) in 2012. The weapon, introduced into service in 2015, was designed for mobile coastal launchers. An airborne variant is also intended for Japanese Kawasaki P-1 patrol aircraft.
Target information can be transmitted to the missile after launch, at various stages of flight, and from different sources. The rocket also has an advanced control system, allowing it to search for and identify targets independently.
The weapon's range in the land-based version is about 200 kilometres, while the airborne variant can hit targets up to 400 kilometres away.
Type 12 missile – new version
Despite the modernity of the weapon introduced into service, Japan – simultaneously implementing it – has begun modernising the Type 12 missiles, aiming to develop a weapon that effectively counters the growth of the Chinese fleet and Beijing's superpower ambitions.
The result of this work is the modernised Type 12 missile. Its aerodynamic design is similar to the American JASSM missile, and the weapon is intended to be fully versatile. The modernised Type 12 is to destroy both maritime and land targets, whether stationary or moving, at distances of up to 1,500 kilometres.
According to Milmag, the new missile's initial carriers will be the new ASEV (Aegis System Equipped Vessels) destroyers, hailed by the media as super destroyers, and Japanese F-15 aircraft upgraded to the F-15JSI (Japanese Super Interceptor) standard. In 2025, a year ahead of the original schedule, the missiles are also expected to be delivered to the ground forces.
One of the significant improvements introduced in the modernised Type 12 missile is the ability to use satellite communication. This allows target information to be transmitted over very long distances.
