Japan Accelerates Purchase Of Tomahawk Missiles From US

ILLUSTRATION/UNSPLASH/Eirc Shi PHOTO

Japanese Defense Minister Minuru Kihara said Tokyo would buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States faster than originally planned in response to rising security challenges in Asia.

Kihara delivered this statement in his first face-to-face meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington as reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Wednesday, October 5.

To derive counter-attack capabilities that could target enemy bases, Japan intends to buy 400 Tomahawk missiles, which have an attack range of about 1,600 kilometers, Kyodo news agency said.

The two defense ministers said the purchase of the Tomahawk Block-4 missile had only begun in the 2025 fiscal year.

Untuk itu, mereka tidak secara resmi menyebutkan pengumuman itu sebagai perjanjian karena masih perlu disetujui oleh Kongres AS, kata seorang pejabat Jepang.

Japan initially planned to buy Tomahawk Block-5's newest model missiles in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to be placed on Aegis-class destroyers belonging to the Maritime Self-Defense Forces.

Now, they will hold as many as 200 previous Tomhawk missile models between the 2025 and 2027 fiscal years.

The remainder of the deal will consist of new Tomahawk missiles, which will be delivered according to preliminary plans.

Kihara emphasized that this schedule change would significantly increase Japan's defense capabilities even faster.

The Japanese government has allocated 211.3 billion yen (IDR 22.13 trillion) in the fiscal year 2023 budget to hold these missiles.

Given that most of the missiles obtained are old models, the adjustment is expected to reduce overall procurement costs.