Japan Tests New Long-Range Cruise Missile, Boosting Deterrence Against China

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force has conducted a significant test flight of its F-2 fighter jet equipped with a new, large long-range cruise missile. Civilian aviation photographers captured images of the F-2 carrying a pair of previously unseen, massive missiles during a test launch from Gifu Air Base. This development has drawn considerable attention from global military circles.

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This mysterious weapon is the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Type 25 long-range cruise missile (air-launched variant), which is being developed for deployment around the 2027 fiscal year and is likely to be officially designated 'ASM-4'.

Military experts speculate that this mysterious weapon is the "Type 25 long-range cruise missile (air-launched variant)," which Japan's Ministry of Defense is actively developing for deployment around the 2027 fiscal year. It is highly likely to be officially designated "ASM-4." This new weapon represents a substantial leap from Japan's current arsenal, which relies on the ASM-2 missile with a range of about 180 km and the supersonic ASM-3 with a range of around 200 km. The suspected ASM-4 boasts an estimated range of approximately 1,000 km and features a modern stealth design with angular lines, enabling it to evade radar detection. This allows F-2 aircraft to launch attacks from a safer distance, greatly increasing their survivability.

The enhanced capabilities of this missile are seen as a direct response to China's growing military presence and its establishment of formidable anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) networks in the region. With the potential deployment of the stealthy ASM-4, Japan could penetrate enemy maritime defenses and strike high-value targets with precision. More critically, the missile is believed to possess multi-role capabilities, including "land attack," potentially enabling Japan to destroy enemy missile launch sites and command centers on their home territory if attacked.

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The suspected ASM-4 missile's range is said to have directly soared to about 1,000 kilometers, and its body has the characteristic angular lines of modern stealth missiles, allowing it to effectively evade radar detection.

While the Ministry of Defense has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the specific test flight, its plans have long included the F-2 as a platform for testing and deploying the "Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile enhanced capability (air-launched variant)." The land-based version of this missile series was completed and officially named "Type 25 surface-to-ship guided missile" by the Ground Self-Defense Force on March 31st of this year. Yesterday's flight at Gifu Base appears to be the first public verification of this official development project.

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This leap in missile capability most directly impacts Japan's ability to counter China's increasingly severe military threat.

This successful test flight of the F-2 carrying the suspected ASM-4 long-range missile signifies a strategic shift in Japan's defense policy, moving from traditional "pure defense" towards a strategy incorporating "counterattack capabilities." This new air-launched missile, in conjunction with Tomahawk cruise missiles purchased from the United States and the land-based Type 25 missiles, will form a multi-dimensional long-range island defense network. This allows the F-2, a fourth-generation fighter, to project significant strategic deterrence across the Asia-Pacific region without costly upgrades to its airframe, effectively acting as an "ultra-long arm" to check the military expansion of neighboring countries.

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The Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile enhanced capability (air-launched variant) has already undergone preliminary deployment, significantly enhancing the ability to counter China's military threat.