Japan’s Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) shared a test of the new coastal anti-ship missile performing evasive maneouvres including a barrel roll to evade close-in weapon systems.
Japan’s stealthy anti-ship missile, also dubbed “Improved Type 12”, to succeed the legacy Type 12 anti-ship missiles deployed on warships and coastal defence batteries, has demonstrated its evasive capabilities at terminal approach in its latest test.
The missile, after its launch from a truck, performed a barrel roll when approaching its target. Barrel roll is a common and effective type of evasive manoeuvre, especially against guns, due to the rapid change in velocity vector. The missile (in this case) performs both pitch and roll motion, resulting in a vortex-like flight path. This can be expected to be effective against non-airburst CIWS of PLAN ships like Type 730 or Type 1130.
The new anti-ship missile of Japan is expected to provide improvements in multiple areas. Whereas Type 12 is not so apart from other anti-ship missiles in terms of layout, the new missile introduces a highly optimised frame meant for stealth, including S-duct air intakes. In addition to this, the missile, thanks to the more efficient layout for cruise, will have a much longer range at 900+ km.
The guidance is uncertain for the time being, but considering the fact that secondary land attack capability is within the requirements, an EO/IIR seeker is more than likely in place of/tandem with Type 12’s AESA radar seeker.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
