Japan outlines progress made on improved Type 12 missile

An image released by the Japan MoD on 6 December 2024, showing a test firing of the improved Type 12 missile. (Japan Ministry of Defense)

Japan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released more details on the progress it has made in a programme to enhance the country's Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile.

In its statement issued on 6 December, the MoD disclosed that a total of five test firings of the improved weapon were carried out between 4 October and 1 November 2024 at the Aeronautical Equipment Research Institute on Nii-jima Island.

Three tests of the weapon were carried out on 4, 14, and 17 October, and the missiles fired on these dates were ground-based variants, said the MoD.

Subsequently, two further tests were carried out on 28 October and 1 November, and these firings involved ship-launched versions of the missile, the MoD added.

No further details on these tests were provided in the MoD statement.

Developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile has been developed from the country's Type 88 anti-ship missile.

The newer weapon was first fielded by Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) coastal battalions in 2014.

It features an overall length of 5 m, has a diameter of 350 mm, and weighs 700 kg. It is armed with a 225 kg high-explosive warhead and utilises an inertial navigation system (INS) and active radar seeker to home onto its targets.

In JGSDF service, the weapon is carried and launched in a road-ready, six-cell configuration on a Mitsubishi 8×8 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle.

In response to questions from Janes