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‘Pellet Bombing’: US, Japan Invest In New Counter-Strike Capability To Swarm & Smash China’s PLA

The Japanese Ministry of Defense is considering mounting long-range missiles on military transport aircraft as part of its ‘counter-strike capability’ to quickly and pre-emptively respond to missile threats from China and North Korea.

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It is similar to the American Rapid Dragon program that has tested the AGM-138 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) being loaded and then dropped from C-130 transport aircraft in ‘pellets.’

Reports say Japan’s plan involves its Type 12 anti-ship missiles (ASM) and JASSM being released from its Kawasaki C-2 aircraft.

The plan, however, has been announced as an experimental program where 3.5 billion Yen (US$25 million) has been allotted for technical research, expected to conclude in 2024, following which full-scale production will begin.

According to the Japan Times, the project is consistent with the government’s new Defense Buildup Program, released last year, which called for “further diversifying launch platforms” and planned to study a missile system that can be mounted on transport aircraft.

The ministry also plans to develop missiles to be launched from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) submarines.

The JASSM has a range of 370 km, while the JASSM-Extended Range (ER) can strike a target around 900 km (559 miles) away. The Type 12 longer-range version under development has a range of around 1,000 km (621 miles).

The missiles can be configured for launch from the Kawasaki C-2 aircraft, 15 of which are in service with the Japanese military, with little to no modification. Like the USAF’s Rapid Dragon system, the missile’s engine would self-ignite after being dropped from the cargo aircraft. The C-2 can carry a payload of 20 tons.

The US Air Force demonstrated the launch of a swarm of air-launched missiles with the Rapid Dragon Palletized Effects System last year, a cheap and easy solution to overcome logistical and technological challenges posed by the People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLAN) and the People’s Liberation Army – Air Force (PLAAF).

Long Way To Go

Japan’s program is still far from operationally ready, primarily because it has only 15 C-2s of a planned fleet of 22. A second prototype has been converted into an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) aircraft, dubbed the RC-2.

Thus, employing even two units for its version of the Rapid Dragon will entail having fewer aircraft available for logistical transport roles.

Any fresh manufacturing of the C-2 will also be very costly since Japan spent nearly US$2.3 billion on its development, and each unit costs about US$176 million as of 2017.

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the lack of export orders — possibly owing to the high cost — also prevented economies of scale, which could have brought down the price.




Japan’s C-2 cargo plane in flight

Second, the missiles launched from the C-2 are also not immediately available. The Type 12’s new variant is under development and won’t be available until 2028.

Air-launched missiles like the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile (JSM), the JASSM-ER, and the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) were ordered only in August 2022. These are part of the 2019 Medium Term Defense Program (MTDP).

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