Following the increasing activity of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) in the disputed waters of the East China Sea, the Japanese government intends to deploy Type 12 coastal defense batteries on one of the islands of Okinawa.
Type 12 coastal defense system. Picture by twitter user きりしま @phantom2navy
Japan already plans to send missiles to Okinawa Prefecture's Miyako Island. Now, lawmakers believe the main island should also have a missile battery. Miyako Island is located about 290 km southwest of the main island of Okinawa.
The Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (12式地対艦誘導弾) is a truck-mounted anti-ship missile developed by Japan's Mitsubishi’ Heavy Industries in 2012. It is an upgrade of the Type 88 Surface-to-Ship missile. The Type 12 features INS with mid-course GPS guidance and better precision due to enhanced Terrain Countour Matching and target discrimination capabilities. The weapon is networked, where initial and mid-course targeting can be provided by other platforms, and also boasts shorter reload times, reduced lifecycle costs, and a range of 108 nautical miles (200 km).
Type 12 coastal defense system. Picture by twitter user きりしま @phantom2navy
