Image source: topwar.ru
The advanced Japanese SSM Type 12 anti-ship missile is currently under development, and its characteristics are classified. But now the Japanese Defense Ministry has declassified some of the information about the upgraded Type 12 long-range missile.
Data on these weapons appeared in the "White Paper" on Defense, which the Japanese Defense Ministry publishes annually.
- it is specified in the document.
The manufacturer of the upgraded weapons is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
In appearance, the Type 12 resembles the Franco-British stealth long-range air-launched cruise missile Storm Shadow / SCALP EG.
Initially, the missile had a range of 200 kilometers. The range of the new upgraded version is designed for at least 900 kilometers, and eventually for 1200 km. To reduce the radar cross-section of the Type 12 and make it inconspicuous, we decided to change its shape.
At the end of 2023, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced that the deployment of such missiles would begin in 2025, that is, a year earlier than previously planned.
The Japanese military positions the Type 12 as the basis of the counterattacking capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
Image source: topwar.ru
And shortly before the publication in the White Paper, information was leaked, as a result of which the characteristics of the weapons were publicly available on the Internet.
