Japan turns to India to test its long-range missiles & attack drones | Gravitas

In a major vote of confidence on Indian defence capabilities, Japan is now mulling the possibility of using India's missile ranges for testing its long-range missiles as well as attack drones.

According to reports, Japanese officials visited India earlier this month and inspected a number of sites in the country for a week.

Essentially, Japan faces challenges testing its long-range weapons owing to its geography, densely populated coastline and maritime traffic.

One such weapon which may be potentially tested from India's missile ranges is Japan's type-25 surface-to-ship missile.

A ground-launched variant derived from the type-12 missile, it can strike targets even 1,000 kilometres away.

In 2023, Japan test-fired an anti-ship missile in Australia during a military exercise.

Two months ago, Australia announced that it would give Japan improved access to its missile testing ranges.

Now, India's testing ranges give Tokyo another vital option, as it is developing powerful new missiles to deter Chinese and North Korean military adventurism.

This has also brought into focus, India's growing clout in the defence sector.

Earlier this month, the country's defence secretary confirmed that India's indigenous Akash missile system has been exported to Armenia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

This comes at a time when India is set to earn 600 million U.S. dollars by exporting the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile to Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

It is worth noting that India now exports defence equipment including artillery systems and missiles to over 80 countries.

The country's defence exports reached over four billion U.S. dollars in the April 2025 to March 2026 period.

This was a 62% jump as compared to a year ago.

According to India's defence ministry, the sharp rise signalled an increasing global acceptance of Indian-made defence products.

This is not all.

In June this year, Russia also reposed faith in India's defence capability.

On the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to jointly develop the Sukhoi SU-57 stealth fighter jet with India.