Meanwhile, the U.S. Glide Phase Interceptor program is delayed until at least 2035, and Japan’s co-production talks with the U.S. for both SM-6 and PAC-3 units are unlikely to yield fast results.

Besides hypersonic weapons, Japan is also bolstering its military space capabilities by merging its air and space forces and pushing forward with new reconnaissance and navigation satellite systems.

According to Janes Weapons: Naval, ESSM Block 2 has an overall length of 4.57 m, a diameter of 254 mm, and is equipped with a 39 kg blast fragmentation warhead.