In this fortnightly online column, ADM journalist Corey Lee Bell covers defence news across Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Japan soon to deploy hypersonic missiles
Tests on Japan’s Block I Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) have yielded positive results and follow up research is on track to be completed before the missiles’ scheduled deployment as early as next year, a senior official from the Acquisitions, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) said in Tokyo on Wednesday November 12.
The Block I HVGP, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), is a standoff-capable short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile featuring a solid-propellant rocket booster, with a theoretical range of up to 500 km (some sources have cited the range as 900 km).
Speaking at the 2025 ATLA Technology Symposium, the Director General of ATLA’s Joint Systems Development Division, Major Hirokazu Iwatani, told attendees that since late last year, the HVGP had undergone two successful test launches in the United States, and confirmed that follow-up research and development is nearing completion.
He added that in-country practical application tests of the system had concluded, including evaluations of air and sea transport, and launcher mobility across different terrain such as unpaved surfaces, and all-weather testing.
He confirmed studies on the data obtained from these tests are on track to be finalised by the close of this year – potentially putting the program on track for operational deployment, slated to occur in Hokkaido and Japan’s southern Kyushu island, in 2026 or 2027.
The seminar also featured an exhibit booth introducing Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) New SSM, a standoff-capable prototype medium range surface-to-surface missile which is scheduled to be test launched scheduled for 2027.
Dubbed Japan’s US Tomahawk cruise missile on account of similarities in terms of appearance and performance, the New SSM is touted as having a range of 2,500 km, enough to reach the mainland of China.
The prototype is also being used as an incubator for domestic standoff missile technical developments, incorporating research on the use of AI to pinpoint structural weak points on ships, evasive capabilities to avoid surface-to-air missiles (SAM), close-in weapons systems (CIWS), and data links for real time data transfers.
Standoff missile capabilities were outlined as key priorities in Japan’s 2022 National Defense Strategy and Defense Buildup Program, the latter of which emphasised the need for “capabilities with which to disrupt and defeat invading forces over long distances, thereby defending invasion itself.”
In March, MHI was awarded a 32 billion yen (approx. AUD$312 million) for a new surface-to-ship/surface-to-surface precision guided missile – a subsonic cruise missile touted as an improved version of the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, and with performance features similar to the Tomahawk Block Va.
In June, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force revealed a launcher for the upgraded version of the Type-12 with stealth capabilities and an extended 1000km strike range.
In early 2024, Tokyo signed a US $2.5 billion (approx. AUD$3.9 billion) deal with Washington to procure 200 Block IV and 200 Block V Tomahawks.
In 2019, ATLA also revealed plans to develop two Block 2 versions of the HVGP with waverider design and a range of up to 3,000km, and was studying plans to produce a submarine launched version.
The two new versions, a spin-off Block 2A and further enhanced Block 2B, are scheduled to complete testing and development by 2027 and 2030 respectively, with deployment of both models planned for the 2030s.