Japan has released footage of a stealthy long‑range anti‑ship missile capable of executing barrel rolls while evading warships’ close-in naval defensive systems.
Newsweek reached out to Japan’s defense ministry via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan continues to develop and deploy missile platforms and other advanced weaponry in response to perceived regional threats, namely China’s rapid military expansion and North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
While Tokyo is deeply concerned about the impact of potential Chinese aggression against Taiwan, it is also locked in a long-running territorial dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea.
What To Know
A video released last week by the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency shows the missile, provisionally known as the “New SSM,” performing a sequence of barrel rolls—a maneuver meant to make it more difficult to intercept.
The missile is designed to survive modern air‑defense environments, with high‑maneuverability technology enabling it penetrate enemy air‑defense networks featuring platforms such as CIWS radar‑guided Gatling guns and surface‑to‑air missiles.
The airframe features larger wings and reduced wing loading to improve turning performance, giving the missile sharper maneuverability during low‑altitude flight—when shipboard defenses are most dangerous, the defense ministry said in a 2025 report.
Engineers incorporated curved intake ducts and a smooth, edgeless fuselage to reduce the missile’s radar cross-section.
The guidance system combines multiple sensors with terrain‑referencing methods to keep the missile stable when flying close to the water or along coastlines, allowing the seeker to distinguish targets even against complex land–sea backgrounds or cluttered environments.
Development of the missile comes amid heightened tensions with China that began in November when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo might intervene alongside U.S. forces if China attempted a blockade of Taiwan, which she suggested would constitute a “survival threatening situation.”
Tokyo also announced it was standing up anti‑air missiles on Yonaguni Island, which sits just 70 miles from Taiwan’s east coast. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to someday bring it into the fold, through force if necessary.
What People Are Saying
The War Zone, an outlet that specializes in military analysis, wrote: “The idea of giving an anti-ship cruise missile a very high degree of terminal maneuverability to improve its survivability is not new. As a comparative example, the Naval Strike Missile, developed by Norway’s Kongsberg and increasingly popular globally, is also designed to perform high-G evasive maneuvers in the terminal phase of an engagement.
“However, it flies in a more U-shaped pattern rather than a full spiral, at least based on publicly available information.”
What To Know
Japan plans further testing in fiscal year 2026, including work on the satellite‑linked data‑link equipment that will enable two‑way communication between guided missiles for what the ministry describes as “advanced network combat,” according to the MOD document. A second launch is planned for 2027.