The Japan Air Self Defense Force’s (JASDF) fleet
of Mitsubishi F-2 multirole fighter jets will be fitted with a new domestically produced
supersonic anti-ship missile currently under development, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper
reported this month.
The new missile, designated XASM-3, is slated to be introduced into service with the JASDF
this fiscal year following the successful completion of operational trials including
conducting a live-fire exercise targeting a decommissioned Japan Maritime Self-Defense
Force (JMSDF) destroyer.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes HOW JAPAN PLANS TO WRECK CHINESE NAVY WITH XASM-3
SUPERSONIC MISSILE ? Lets get started.
Japan has quietly watched as the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has gone from
a green water navy capable of operating only in regional seas relatively close to home
to a full-fledged blue water fleet operating as far as the Indian Ocean and Baltic Sea.
China has maintained very high economic growth over the last 20 years & has become a major
economic power.
It has spent heavily on military buildup & modernized its military forces.
The PLAN is now considerably larger than the Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force in both
overall tonnage and number of ships.
China’s rise , as predicted by many experts is not peaceful.
In recent times, China has been very aggressive in it’s posturing.
Its activities are far off from being a sensible nation.
China’s corrosive behaviors in South China Sea and neighboring areas has not gone noticed.
The Japanese MoD’s 2018 budget request contains several hundred millions of Yen to start mass
producing the XASM-3 missile this year.
As per the budget document ,“The introduction of the new missile is aimed at keeping the
Chinese Navy — which has been taking high-handed action in the East China Sea and other places".
The XASM-3 is reportedly capable of traveling speeds of up to Mach 3 and has an estimated
range of over 150 kilometers.
The sea-skimming missile is capable of flying close to sea level to reduce the probability
of detection and interception and is purportedly fitted with an inertial or GPS navigation
system while switching over to an active or passive seeker in the terminal phase of its
flight.
The JASDF currently operates a fleet of around 90 Mitsubishi F-2 multirole fighter aircraft,
which first entered service in 2007.
Each aircraft will be capable of carrying up to two XASM-3 missiles.
The new missile will replace the older domestically produced Type 80 and Type 93 air-to-ship missiles
capable of reaching high subsonic speed.
XASM-3 when fired from a range of 150 km will reach the target in about 2.5 mins.
Current ship based air defenses of all the navy’s including that of US will find it
difficult to engage a supersonic missile.
In case of much less advanced Chinese Navy , the odds will be even slimmer.
The scenario becomes more complex when multiple missiles are launched simultaneous as part
of a saturation attack.
With XASM-3, being deployed with F-2 Fighter , the range increase is considerable and will
be a deadly adversary for any Chinese destroyers or aircraft carriers.
It must be noted that , Japan in an event of a conflict basically needs to hold off
China’s initial onslaught before U.S comes to its aid as per the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation
and Security between the United States and Japan which was signed in 1952.
The XASM-3 will be instrumental in this scenario.
The JASDF is also reportedly considering arming its burgeoning force of 42 F-35A Lightning
II fifth-generation stealth fighter jets with the next-generation, long-range, precision-guided
Joint Strike Missile (JSM).
The new missile is slated to become fully operational by 2025 with initial operational
capability expected in 2021.
Furthermore, Japan is in the process of developing a new land-based anti-ship missile to reinforce
the defenses of remote Japanese-controlled islets in the East China Sea.
The new missile will have an approximate range of 300 kilometers use solid fuel, and is expected
to be deployed by 2023.
The planned missile deployment comes at a time of great controversy in Japan as premier
Shinzo Abe seeks to revise Japan’s post-Second World War pacifist constitution.
He currently enjoys majority and has long expressed his will to rework Article 9 of
Japan’s constitution.
Article 9 renounces the right to war and prohibits land, sea and air forces.
The ambiguous constitutional status of the Self-Defense Forces has resulted in debates
over limits on their role.
A study by consultant Deloitte found that Japan as a result had the least aggressive
defense posture of 18 Asia-Pacific nations it compared , based on seven parameters, such
as military spending as a proportion of the economy.
But this could change as Japan’s public get more concerned about China’s intentions
and sentiments change.
Japan’s cabinet approved an increase of 1.3 per cent in the annual military budget
raising it to a record $ 45.8 billion for the year 2018.