Japan eyes upgrading Aegis ships to take Tomahawk missiles by FY 2027

The Japanese government plans to upgrade all eight of its Aegis destroyers by fiscal 2027 so that they can be installed with Tomahawk cruise missiles purchased from the United States, a government source said on March 25.

The move is intended to enable Japan to launch long-range missiles from various locations as the country seeks to develop capabilities that can strike targets inside an adversary's territory, amid North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats and China's military rise, Kyodo reports.

According to the source, Japan plans to acquire the latest Tomahawk Block-5 missiles with a range of about 1,600 kilometers. The government has already announced a plan to purchase 400 Tomahawks, earmarking 211.3 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in the budget for fiscal 2023 starting in April.

Currently, two Maritime Self-Defense Force ships equipped with the Aegis missile defense system are stationed at the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture. Two others are based at Maizuru base in Kyoto Prefecture and the remaining four are at the Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture.

The government plans to earmark funds to refurbish the rapid-fire vertical launching system of each ship from fiscal 2024 for the installation of Tomahawk missiles.

Japan's newest class Aegis destroyers are equipped with a vertical launching system that can load up to 96 missiles. But they are unlikely to be equipped with just the Tomahawks as the ships are also assigned to intercept ballistic missiles.

Japan also plans to add two more Aegis ships by fiscal 2032 and commission two vessels by fiscal 2028 that will be built as an alternative to a scrapped plan to deploy a land-based Aegis missile defense system.