russia now has reason to be cautious along its eastern border, since Japan can now deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles. Its first Kongō-class destroyer, the JS Chōkai, has undergone the necessary upgrades.
According to The Japan Times, the ship still needs preparatory procedures, including crew training and test launches, which will take place in the U.S. over the next few months. It is scheduled to return to Japan in September 2026.
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The Japanese government presents this capability as a critical component of its deterrence strategy. Long-range weapons are meant to signal to any potential adversary that an attack would be met with a response.
It is planned that the country's eight destroyers of the Kongo, Atago, and Maya classes will be modernized. This is not particularly difficult, given that they all use American Mk 41 vertical launching systems, which are compatible with Tomahawk missiles.
From Defense Express we would like to note that this represents a significant expansion of Japan's capabilities. With a range of 1,600 km, these missiles will be the longest in the country's arsenal and will advance its long-range deterrence program. This move is clearly directed at russia, China, and North Korea, the region's main security threats.
Although these ships had the appropriate launchers, they still could not fire the Tomahawk—likely because the launchers alone were insufficient. These minor issues have now been resolved in the U.S. over the past few months.
Japan ordered 400 Tomahawk missiles and 14 launching systems in January 2024 for $1.7 billion. In the future, it is planned to replace them with a domestic equivalent known as the Type 12.
However, it is unclear whether the heavy use of Tomahawk missiles in the Iran conflict — with more than 850 fired so far — will impact Japan's purchase agreement. Nevertheless, production is expected to increase to over 1,000 missiles per year over the next seven years.
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