Japan’s Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile: Rising Power in Ground Self-Defense Force-Part 2

The Type 12 ground-to-ship missile system comprises two search and detection radars, a relay device, command and control equipment, fire control devices, and missile launch vehicles. Each missile launch vehicle can carry up to six missiles and can be deployed in numbers ranging from one to four. Additionally, there is a vehicle that transports spare missiles. The maximum range of a Type 12 ground-to-ship missile varies depending on the flight method, but it can reach up to 124 miles.

The Type 12 ground-to-ship missile is mainly deployed to the 5th ground-to-ship missile battalion of the JGSDF Western Army, responsible for defending Kyushu and Okinawa. With 16 missile launch vehicles deployed, up to 96 Type 12 ground-to-ship missiles can be launched.

The Type 12 ground-to-ship missile participated in the live-fire exercise of the U.S. Army’s Multi-Domain Operations experiment in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) in 2018. At that time, under a high electronic warfare environment, it received target information from the U.S. Army’s Apache Guardian attack helicopter and MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. Four Type 12 ground-to-ship missiles were launched, and all hit their targets.

The Type 12 ground-to-ship missile system has a missile that measures 16.7 feet in length, 13.8 inches in diameter, and weighs 1,457 pounds with a 496-pound warhead. The missile is capable of reaching a speed greater than Mach 1.5. The JGSDF has 104 ground-to-ship missile launch vehicles, including 22 Type 12 and 82 Type 88 missile launch vehicles.

Even more noteworthy is that in 2019, the Japanese Ministry of Defense decided to extend the Type 12 ground-to-ship missile range to 249 miles to enhance its ability to deal with the Chinese military. In December 2020, it decided to improve the Type 12 ground-to-ship missile over five years to develop a ground-to-ship long-range cruise Standoff Missile and extend its range to 621 miles.

The Japanese media, including NHK, reported that the new long-range cruise missile is designed to attack targets outside the enemy’s range.

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