MSDF Aegis Destroyer Chokai to test-fire Tomahawk
Japan's Defence Ministry plans to have the Maritime Self-Defence Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai test-fire a US-made Tomahawk cruise missile in the United States by next summer, Jiji Press learned Saturday.
The test is planned to be conducted under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and is expected to cost at least 2 billion yen, according to Japanese and US government sources.
If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles. Such missiles were used in the Gulf War and many other armed conflicts.
On Friday, Japan will mark 10 years since the enactment of its national security legislation that allows the country to exercise its right to collective self-defence if certain conditions are met, including a situation in which Japan's survival is threatened due to an attack on the United States. Japan could face a scenario of being asked by the United States to launch Tomahawk missiles, making its exclusively defence-oriented policy a mere facade.
The Chokai is slated to complete its modifications to add a Tomahawk launch function by March 2026.
The test is expected to verify whether the precision guidance system for ground attack targets will work.
"We will check whether the Chokai can demonstrate its intended ability," said a Defence Ministry official, who declined to provide further details, citing the need to take into account the relationship with the United States, which supports the test.
According to the US Navy, Tomahawks have a range of some 1,600 kilometres. If launched from areas near Japan, they could reach China, North Korea and Russia. The United States used Tomahawks in its attack on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
In exercising counterstrike capabilities, "Japan will coordinate closely with the United States, but the SDF and the US military will act under their respective independent chains of command," the ministry official said.
The MSDF will equip all eight Aegis destroyers with Tomahawks. The ministry has earmarked the budget for the modifications of the Aegis destroyers deployed at the MSDF's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and its Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan. In its budget request for fiscal 2026, which starts next April, the ministry included the renovation budget for two Aegis destroyers deployed at the MSDF's Maizuru base in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan.
