Overview
- The Defense Ministry, which on Tuesday activated units at Camp Kengun and Camp Fuji, put the newly designated Type‑25 surface‑to‑ship missile and Type‑25 hyper‑velocity gliding projectile into service.
- The Type‑25 missile can reach about 1,000 kilometers, and the gliding projectile now flies several hundred kilometers on irregular paths that make interception harder.
- JS Chokai completed Tomahawk launch upgrades and crew training in the United States, with deliveries under way and live‑fire tests planned for summer before a return to Japan around September.
- Tokyo says the new counterstrike option would target enemy launch sites if an attack appears imminent, while local residents protested the basing out of concern their communities could become targets.
- Plans next include deploying the gliding projectile to Hokkaido and Miyazaki in fiscal 2026 and adding ship‑ and air‑launched Type‑25 variants in 2027, broadening Japan’s layered standoff arsenal.