US Ally To Test Futuristic Weapon for Hypersonic Missile Defense
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Japan plans to test its rail gun, which uses electricity to fire projectiles, aiming to enhance its defense against Chinese and North Korean hypersonic missiles, according to local media.
Newsweek has emailed the Japanese and Chinese defense ministries for comment. North Korea's embassy in China did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan, a treaty ally of the United States, faces threats from North Korea and China. Both nations have claimed to have tested and deployed hypersonic missiles, which can travel at over five times the speed of sound, making them capable of evading most defense systems.
A rail gun is equipped with two rails that are used to fire projectiles. It uses an electric pulse to generate an electromagnetic force that accelerates the projectile to up to six times the speed of sound. The projectile, a kinetic energy warhead, hits its target with extreme speed.
A rail gun prototype stands mounted aboard the experimental ship JS "Asuka" on April 9, 2025.
A rail gun prototype stands mounted aboard the experimental ship JS "Asuka" on April 9, 2025.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
What To Know
A Japanese experimental ship will conduct a test of a rail-gun prototype in the waters off Japan's coast "in the near future," The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Monday.
The event will mark the first sea test of a near full-scale prototype. It aims to determine whether the weapon can accurately hit its target. The prototype is the same size as those intended for actual deployment—approximately 19.6 feet long and weighing 8 tons.
Japan publicly unveiled the rail gun prototype last month, showing it mounted aboard the experimental ship JS Asuka. The Japanese navy says that the weapon's development is intended to strengthen the defense capabilities to protect Japan's citizens and territorial waters.
It was not immediately clear whether the test will be conducted by the Asuka. The ship was seen departing Yokosuka, a major naval port near Tokyo, Japan's capital city, on May 7, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force experimental ship JS Asuka (ASE-6102) leaving Yokosuka, Japan - May 7, 2025
SRC: TW-@Gov_Vessel_fan pic.twitter.com/d6mZqzMzi4 — WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) May 7, 2025
The Japanese Defense Ministry is planning to install rail guns on warships equipped with the Aegis combat system, which provides "simultaneous integrated air and missile defense," as a potential countermeasure against ultrafast hypersonic weapons, The Yomiuri Shimbun said.
In 2023, Japan conducted a rail gun firing test at sea, claiming it could protect ships with "high-speed bullets." However, according to the specialist outlet The War Zone, the rail gun was mounted on a test platform rather than the "full naval turret" installed on the Asuka.
#ATLA has accomplished ship-board firing test of railgun first time in the world with the cooperation of the JMSDF. To protect vessels against air-threats and surface-threats by high-speed bullets, ATLA strongly promotes early deployment of railgun technology. pic.twitter.com/MG5NqqENcG — Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (@atla_kouhou_en) October 17, 2023
What People Are Saying
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force said: "The Self Defense Fleet maintains readiness and contributes to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, not only for the defense of Japan but also for the realization of a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' in cooperation with allied and like-minded navies."
The specialist outlet The War Zone wrote: "Railguns, which use electromagnets rather than chemical propellants to fire their projectiles at very high velocities, do present significant technological challenges. Most immediately, weapons of this type, historically, have had immense power demands, especially if the goal is to allow for any kind of even relatively rapid-fire capability."
What Happens Next
The War Zone said there are still what it called "significant questions" about when, and if, a practical rail gun may be put into Japanese service for use on warships or any other platform.
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