Japan to develop 3,000 km long-range missiles, deploy in 2030s -Kyodo

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Ministry of Defence is arranging to develop multiple long-range missiles with a range of up to about 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) and aims to deploy them in the 2030s, Kyodo news reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The government is looking to deploy a 2,000-km range missile by the early 2030s and a 3,000-km hypersonic missile that can reach anywhere in North Korea and some parts of China by around 2035, Kyodo said.

Japan this month unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China and ready it for sustained conflict, as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine invasion stoke war fears.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Kim Coghill)