A Warzone record indicates that Japan has successfully tested a medium-caliber marine electric railgun via an onshore platform, indicating the potential for high-tech change of Tokyo’s defensive posture.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force( JMSDF) collaborated with the country’s Acquisition Technology & amp, Logistics Agency( ATLA ), a division of the Ministry of Defense( MOD ), for the test.
The rocket can be seen firing projectiles from a variety of angles in movie footage that was captured during ATLA’s testing. In contrast to the chemical propellants used by conventional guns, a railgun uses magnetic energy to accelerate projectiles at speeds that could reach supersonic speeds. According to reports, Japan would use the weapons both at sea and on land.
According to the Warzone report, the medium-sized electric rocket mockup from ATLA can fire 40 mm steel projectiles weighing 320 grams each. According to the statement, ATLA plans to finally run its weapons on 20 megajoules( MJ ) of charge power.
When they are ready for deployment, it is unknown which ships Japan might eventually install coming railguns on.
However, according to the Warzone report, Japan has recently suggested the possibility of mounting them on some of its JMSDF ships. According to the review, they could also be mounted onto Japan’s in-development versatile missile defence vessels.
Given the expanding threats Japan faces in the Indo-Pacific, including China and North Korea’s expanding weapon and fast weapon arsenals, the successful development of railguns is more important than ever.
In the area, there is a rocket competition. China may have been testing the tech since 2018, according to reports. Its ship-mounted rocket appears to have been mounted on a Type – 072 getting ship that has been modified to house the heavy electronics of the weapon.
Japan is currently working on different high-tech arms projects. Japan’s MOD has announced research and development programs for potential marine methods, particularly those related to the marine area, according to Naval News this month.
These include Combat Support Multipurpose Unmanned Surface Vessels ( USV ), unmanned amphibious assault vehicles( AAV ), anti-torpedo torpedoids( ATT ), and combat management systems, according to Naval News.
Combat Support Multipurpose USVs, according to Naval News, are sizable, robotic area arteries that can be operated remotely or independently from a land-based control center. According to the mission, they want to remove loads like sensors, anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes so they can avoid enemy threats by submerging themselves.
According to the report, unmanned amphibious vehicles are made to protect beachheads before manned aerial vehicles( AAVs ). It states that in order to compact the chassis and open up indoor space, they may overcome reefs using strong propulsion and use electrical power-assist technology.
According to Naval News, the JMSDF is attempting to increase its capacity to mitigate high-performance missiles launched by enemy submarines. The goal of the system is to enhance Type 12 torpedoes’ ability and the radar of destroyers outfitted with them to early-stage enemy detection.
Japan is working with the US to develop the Glide Phase Interceptor( GPI ) and a domestically produced system for future destroyers in order to counter hypersonic threats. A new multi-band radar will be created as part of the program to detect high-speed, highly maneuverable, small targets along with a new Combat Management System( CMS ) for destroyers.
According to Naval News, Japan is also working on the so-called New Ship-to-Air Missile ( N-SAM ), which will be used to combat hypersonic glide vehicles( HGVs ). The New Ship to Air Missile ( N – SAM ), which the JMSDF recently acquired as part of the 2024 fiscal year defense budget, will serve as the foundation for the N-SAM.
Through improved fire control systems( FCS ) installed abroad destroyers, the N-SAM will be better able to detect, track, and engage HGVs that fly at high altitudes, speeds, or irregular trajectories. According to Naval News, these different pieces of HGV-countering products will be retrofitted on existing ships and installed on new ships that are scheduled to become built in 2031.
The success of Japan’s rocket project may have been greatly influenced by its bond with the US. Stew Magnuson claims that Japan has sought to collaborate with the US on a rocket program aimed at destroying fast arms in an article published in April 2023 for National Defense Magazine.
Magnuson mentions that despite the US Navy abandoning the systems in 2021 after 15 years of research and US$ 500 million spent to create a rocket for its ships, Japan has sought to collaborate with it.
Magnuson points out that Japan Steel Works is the main company for the program in Tokyo. He mentions that General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, an American security firm, has collaborated with Japan’s ATLA and Japan Steel Works to explain its rocket system.
Magnuson also discusses the difficulties in using ship-based railguns to combat fast weapons, including their high energy needs and potential for heat. He contends that a land-based type might be able to assist with those problems.
In general, the US-Japan rocket alliance does provide a means of integrating Japan into the tech-focused US security architecture of the Pacific. It would be difficult for Japan to join the high-tech AUKUS bond, which is made up of the US, UK, and Australia, due to speech, society, political and historical variations.
Japan would also be unable to take part in AUKUS ‘ nuclear submarine programme, a crucial part of the alliance, due to its misgivings about the military use of nuclear technologies.
However, the introduction of Combat Support Multipurpose USVs and autonomous AAVs along with long-range counterstrike features may indicate a shift from Japan’s standard defense to an expeditionary-oriented unpleasant position.
Robotic send systems integrated into the JMSDF’s ship, according to Takashi Morimoto in a US Naval Institute post from February 2023, did maintain operational capabilities in the Sea of Japan and help close the gap left by redeploying some of the fleet to Okinawa.
Morimoto adds that the Japan Self-Defense Forces ( JSDF ) need to develop a more cooperative mindset, improve their expeditionary capabilities, and overcome distance limitations.
Unmanned AAVs can help shipping activities like transporting personnel and materials while minimizing fatalities as advance components of an amphibious landing operation to recapture distant islands, according to Jr. Ng in an article published in Asian Military Review in January 2023.
However, Japan still faces significant proper, functional, and tactical obstacles as it reorients toward expeditionary warfare capabilities.
While a sizable portion of Japan’s protection development efforts are focused on the development of amphibious war capabilities, according to Benjamin Schreer in an article published in October 2020 for War on The Rocks, China has an improved ability to target large amputeous ships and support components.
According to Schreer, a risky, possible out-of-date defense tactic used by Japan to thwart China’s expanding and increasingly sophisticated military power is still in place.
Schreer advises Japan to switch from an” active rejection” defense strategy to an amphibious warfare approach centered on big, vulnerable landing ships geared to recapture contested islands.
Instead of looking for its quick, early defeat in the inner anti-access / area denial( A2 / AD ) ring, he writes that strategy should aim to develop a more resilient Japanese capability to thwart Chinese power projection over the course of an extended campaign.
In accordance with a broader definition of” island defense ,” he proposes that Japan’s amphibious forces consider themselves to be elite commando units or” marine raiders” tasked with carrying out other types of amphia missions.