The Japanese Defense Ministry plans to have the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Chokai test-fire a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile in the United States by next summer, sources have said.
The test is planned to be conducted under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program and is expected to cost at least ¥2 billion, Japanese and U.S. government sources said Saturday.
If successful, the SDF would gain the ability to directly strike the territory of other countries using cruise missiles. Such missiles were used in the Gulf War and many other armed conflicts.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.