Japan to Field Multiple Advanced Coastal Defense Missiles by 2032

Indeed, this second phase includes the development of a more advanced system than the Type 25 SSM: the “New Surface-to-Ship / Surface-to-Surface Precision-Guided Missile.” Development of this missile began in 2025. Compared to existing systems, it is expected to feature superior guidance accuracy and penetration capability. As its name suggests, it will be capable of engaging not only enemy vessels at sea but also high-value land targets such as airfields, ports, and command-and-control facilities.

Naval News reached out to Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), which is responsible for the development of this new missile. According to ATLA, the system will offer enhanced guidance performance compared to the Type 25 SSM, including the ability to classify targets and designate specific aim points.

Regarding the “New Surface-to-Ship / Surface-to-Surface Precision-Guided Missile,” ATLA stated:

“Development has been initiated with the aim of enabling more precise target classification and aim-point designation compared to the Type 25 Surface-to-Ship Missile, thereby allowing effective engagement of targets requiring higher precision. However, we refrain from disclosing specific performance characteristics and specifications, as doing so could reveal the capabilities and operational concepts of the Self-Defense Forces.”

This new Surface-to-Ship / Surface-to-Surface Precision-Guided Missile is expected to be capable—similar to the U.S. Navy’s air-launched anti-ship missile AGM-158C LRASM—of identifying vulnerabilities in enemy vessels and conducting precision strikes against those specific points.

Hypersonic guided missile

In addition, Japan’s Ministry of Defense is developing another anti-ship missile designed to be difficult for adversaries to intercept: a hypersonic guided missile. This system is defined by its ability to fly at speeds exceeding Mach 5 and is equipped with a specialized propulsion system known as a Dual-Mode Scramjet (DMSJ), which combines ramjet and scramjet engine technologies.

The scramjet engine is expected to have high engine efficiency in a wide range of speeds, from Mach 5 to 15, because the air inhaled from the intake is compressed and combusted at supersonic speed when the missile flying at Mach 5 or higher. That means that the scramjet engine would need to be accelerated the missile to hypersonic speeds to operate, and that would require acceleration by a rocket booster. However, a large rocket booster would be required to accelerate to hypersonic speeds, which would increase the overall length of the missile, including the booster.

Therefore, ATLA planned to combine the capabilities of the ramjet engine, which operates efficiently in the Mach 3 to 5 speed range(supersonic speed), with the scramjet engine (DMSJ) to reduce the proportion of the rocket booster. In this way, the rocket booster only needs to accelerate the missile to supersonic speed, and from there, the ramjet engine accelerates the missile to hypersonic speed, which then activates the scramjet engine to cruise.