Image source: topwar.ru
The Japanese Ministry of Defense showed footage of the flight of a new long–range subsonic anti-ship cruise missile, during which it performs a series of "barrels" - 360° turns around its longitudinal axis. The spiral trajectory, accompanied by a change of flight directions, is designed to make it difficult to intercept anti-ship missiles.
Work on this product, designated the "island defense missile" or simply the "new surface-to-ship missile" (New SSM), has been underway since 2023. It is equipped with an XKJ301-1 turbofan engine based on the KJ300 from KHI, a dual–circuit powerplant designed to provide significant fuel savings and, as a result, increase flight range. The initial thrust is provided by a rocket booster.
Image source: topwar.ru
The Type 12 cruise anti-ship missile currently in service has a flight range of up to 200 km. An upgraded version is also being developed, which will be able to hit targets at a distance of 900 to 1000 km. It is assumed that the maximum range of the New SSM will be even greater.
The New SSM has retractable wing consoles, is equipped with two vertical stabilizers and a pair of horizontal stabilizers mounted on the tail section. It is designed to be launched from ground-based launchers, from ships, from fighter jets such as the F-2, and larger vehicles such as the P-1 patrol aircraft.
Image source: topwar.ru
The rocket is unobtrusive, including due to the design of the fairing and the S-shaped air intake. To aim at the target, it will use an ANN with GPS support. At the final stage of the flight, a dual-mode seeker with thermal imaging and radar channels is activated, which increases the likelihood of hitting the target and reduces vulnerability to interference and other countermeasures.
At the final stage of the flight, the missile will be able to maneuver, evading fire from the ship's close-range defenses, for example, from the Chinese 30-mm Gatling gun Type 730.
