Japan with first destroyer armed with Tomahawk missiles

August 30 to Sasebo naval base, after nearly a year spent in the United States Japanese JS missile destroyer returned Chōkai (DDG-176). During this time, the ship underwent modification work allowing the transfer and use of Tomahawk maneuvering missiles.

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JS adaptation work Chōkai to use Tomahawks began after his arrival in San Diego in the fall of 2025. The scope of the work included ship modifications and crew training conducted in cooperation with the American side. The whole was completed in late March, opening the way for the first shooting of new weapons.

First Tomahawk launched from a Japanese destroyer

July 29th, Pacific JS crew Chōkai, with the support of the US Navy, carried out the first launch of the missile Tomahawk from a Japanese ship. The shooting confirmed the ship and its crew's readiness to use new weapons.

The experience gained during their stay in the United States is now to be used to prepare further destroyers. Commander of Japanese Marine Forces Self-defense Admiral Akira Saitō stressed before returning Chōkaithat the knowledge gained during this departure is also to serve the next crews and ships equipped with Tomahawks.

The same stay destroyer In the United States, he was on this longest of this kind departure of a Japanese ship. To date, similar missions have lasted at most six months. During periods when the entire crew on board was not necessary, some sailors could return to Japan.

Tomahawks for Japanese destroyers with Aegis combat system

JS Chōkai is the first but not the last Japanese destroyer adapted to use the Tomahawks. The missiles are intended to enter the weaponry of rocket destroyers types Kongō, Atago and Maya. They are all equipped with universal vertical Mk 41 launchers, which also enable the launch of American maneuvering missiles.

The program will cover the remaining seven Japanese destroyers equipped with Aegis system. Two new generation ASEAN (Aegis System Equipped Vessel) destroyers are also to be adapted to use Tomahawks.

The Intergovernmental LOA Agreement on the Purchase of Tomahawks was signed in January 2024. The number of missiles covered by the contract was not made public, while the earlier approval of the US State Department provided for the possibility of selling Japan up to 400 such missiles.

JS Chōkai – Kongō rocket destroyer

It is worth reminding that JS Chōkai He's not a new ship. It is the fourth Kongō rocket destroyer to enter service in 1998. The ship is 161 metres long, about 7250 tons of standard displacement and develops a speed of 30 knots. His crew has about 300 sailors.

Kongō destroyers were the first Japanese ships equipped with the Aegis combat system. Chōkai was later also adapted to combat ballistic missiles, therefore its capabilities include primarily air defence And a missile.

The introduction of the Tomahawks complements the previous weaponry of the destroyer with the possibility of damaging land targets at a long distance. However, the selection of missiles carried in Mk 41 will depend on the nature of the task, as they are also used by other types of missile weapons.

Japan develops long-distance impact capability

The purchase of the Tomahawks is part of the changes initiated after Japan's adoption of new security and defence documents in 2022. Tokyo then began developing the ability to combat targets from a long distance, described in Japanese documents as a capacity to counterattack.

The Japanese government also emphasizes that having such weapons does not change the defensive nature of the Self-defense Force. The Minister of Defense of Shinjirō Koizumi before the return of the Japanese ship again indicated that long-range weapons are to be used only in the event of an armed attack on Japan.

For the Japanese Marine Force, however, the Tomahawk self-defense means a clear expansion of the capabilities of the most important rocket ships. To date, destroyers intended primarily for air and anti-missile defence will be given the opportunity to kill long-distance land targets.