Japanese military has spent several years to improve their self-defense systems. Now they are developing a weapon which will be able to deliver explosive payload at supersonic speeds. This tech is designed to attack the enemy defenses with a precision strike before the Japanese marines hit the beach. The ‘high-speed gliding missile’ will work as a long-range precision attack in Japan’s defense capabilities. The missile consists of two stages; a booster rocket stage and an aerodynamic warhead. The booster rocket stage accelerates the missile to supersonic speeds, and the warhead separates from the booster and flies to the target.
There is no weapon created so far which can beat HSGM. Many countries are developing tactical field missiles including Russia’s 9K720 Iskandar tactical ballistic missile and South Korea’s Hyunmoo 2A ballistic missile. Both of these missiles deliver their warheads using a high altitude ballistic trajectories. However, the rocket created by Japan glides to the target at a lower altitude. HSGM is a lot like a boost-glide hypersonic weapon system which can fly at a similar height but at high speed which reaches up to Mach 5.
The defence-focused military force of Japan has avoided anything which can resemble offensive military capabilities after the end of World War II. All the long-range missiles, bombers, aircraft carriers, and Marines were classified as offensive weapons and were off-limits as a result. However, the new territorial disputes with China and substantial Chinese military has forced Japan to develop certain weapons. These include amphibious marines which are meant to take back the region which was captured during the wartime.
The US handles precision attack missions in support of ground forces by Tomahawk cruise missiles or through aircrafts using weapons like Stormbreaker. However, Japan’s Air Self Defense Force is built to carry primary air-to-air warfare. The new HSGM weapon will give the Japanese military the capability to hit the targets without diverting tactical aircraft from the aerial battle. Japan is currently developing two different versions of HSGM. A more conventional weapon with low glide capability will be ready by 2026, and another one which is shaped like talon will be ready by 2028. The weapon is expected to have a range between 217 and 310 miles, but Japanese defence officials have claimed that once the system starts working, greater ranges will be introduced in the weaponry systems.