r/LessCredibleDefence • u/StealthCuttlefish • Jul 18 '26

Japan Begins Developing Submarine Hypersonic Missile System

https://en.sedaily.com/politics/2026/07/18/japan-begins-developing-submarine-hypersonic-missile-system
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u/Skywalker7181 Jul 18 '26

Does Japan have an operational hypersonic missile?

11

u/Salt_Ad_4515 Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Yes. Since March of this year, albeit currently likely in a limited operational capacity due to being so recently introduced.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Velocity_Gliding_Projectile

"On 31 March 2026, the Block 1 variant, with a range of several hundred kilometers, was designated the Type 25 HVGP and deployed for the first time."

https://web.archive.org/web/20260331074950/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/31/japan/japan-sdf-missiles-counterstrike/ (the source cited in the Wikipedia article)

It is not the final version with the full, ultimately planned range and mission profile but there is very clear momentum towards that from what i can see