Japan begins flight testing air-launched upgraded Type 12 missile

This rendering depicts the external design of Japan's upgraded Type 12 (Air-Launched Variant) missile, which is under development by ATLA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). (Janes)

Japan is advancing the development of an air-launched variant of its upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (SSM), with mock-ups of the weapon now undergoing flight testing.

Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) launched the missile programme in fiscal year (FY) 2022 as part of an effort to improve the country's stand-off attack capabilities.

The air-launched variant of the missile was first seen in late July 2026, when Japanese aviation observers photographed a Mitsubishi F-2B fighter of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) conducting a captive-carry test flight with two missiles attached to its underwing hardpoints.

An ATLA spokesperson confirmed to Janes in September that the missiles seen during the test were mock-ups of the upgraded Type 12 SSM (Air-Launched Variant). The images provide the first visual confirmation of the air-launched variant's design and external features.

Missile details

In the photographs, the mock-ups lack open air intakes and other critical features associated with operational prototypes. They also indicate that the missile is likely to be 5.5–5.8 m in length and in the 900–1,100 kg weight class.

This makes it comparable in overall size and role to long-range air-launched cruise missiles such as the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER), although it appears somewhat slimmer than missiles in the Storm Shadow and Taurus families.

“Flight tests of this missile began at the end of July 2026 at ATLA's Gifu Test Center with the co-operation of the JASDF's Air Development and Test Wing (ADTW),” the spokesperson said.