By Logan Williams, Warrior Contributor
Japan is frantically attempting to build-up its military in the face of escalating conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the “South China Sea.” For example, Japan has recently retrofitted a helicopter destroyer, the JS Kaga, transforming it into an amphibious assault ship capable of carrying the F-35B variant stealth fighter.
However, Japan’s adaptations don’t end with the JS Kaga.
The Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces are working on converting its C-130 and C-2 cargo planes into missile/bomb carriers, capable of launching an effective strike against hostile targets within the Indo-Pacific. This is a direct contravention of the post-World War Two paradigm, in which the outdated Article Nine of the Constitution of Japan forbids the island nation from engaging in offensive warfare, possessing offensive weapons, and establishing a standing military. Bombers are one particular piece of equipment which has traditionally been viewed as a taboo, since they can only serve an offensive purpose, and thus, are ostensibly forbidden for Japan to possess.
It is likely that Japan will complete the necessary modifications of their cargo planes with the help of U.S. technology.
In December of 2019, the United States’ defense apparatus began research on a program called “Rapid Dragon,” which attempted to design a mechanism through which traditional cargo planes can be used to deliver “roll-on, roll-off,” palletized cruise missiles, striking a hostile target. This functionality can enable the delivery of an overwhelming mass of missiles at one time, potentially overburdening air/missile defense systems, and enabling the deep penetration of enemies’ anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. The “Rapid Dragon” Palletized Munition Deployment System, as it is called, entered the testing phase two years after the project’s inception, with its first live-fire test occurring in December of 2021.
Presently, “Rapid Dragon” is capable of deploying cruise missiles from the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) family, however, it is expected to be outfitted to achieve a launch functionality with other munitions, soon. Most notably, for example, the Palletized Munition Deployment System is expected to be made compatible with the deployment of the Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU (JDAM) munitions, another cost-effective adaptation that could only be said to punch above its weight, and which drastically increased the effectiveness and strike capacity of the U.S. military. A JDAM is a piece of “bolt-on” technology that transforms an unguided, gravity-based, “dumb-bomb,” into a GPS-precision-guided, propulsed, extended-range modern munition. JDAM functionality would greatly enhance the usefulness of the capabilities offered by the “Rapid Dragon” technology, because the present munition utilized by “Rapid Dragon,” the AGM-158 JASSM, has a unit cost ranging from $850,000 to $1.5 million and the U.S. military only possesses a couple thousand of these munitions — whereas, the unit cost for a JDAM kit to convert a “dumb bomb” already in the possession of the U.S. military doesn’t rise above $20,000, and the U.S. already owns well over 200,000 JDAMs.
A profile in Popular Mechanics described the function of the “Rapid Dragon” the best, as follows…
“Rapid Dragon” involves placing missiles such as the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) on pallets equipped with sets of parachutes. The pallets are designed to be quickly wheeled onto the loading ramp of a transport plane. As the transport nears the drop-off point, the ramp lowers and a drag parachute sucks the pallet out of the plane. Another parachute deploys, orienting the pallet downward and slowing its descent. As the pallet descends, missiles begin falling out, their turbine engines activating in midair.
Besides the capability to turn practically any cargo plane into an attack aircraft, with fairly limited modifications and reduced cost, the notion of Palletized Munition Delivery has several other key benefits — which are particularly clear when considering the inevitable future conflict with the PRC.
First, an article in Aviation International News notes that many Western fighter jets are limited to carrying two JASSM munitions; the afore-mentioned profile in Popular Mechanics states that the Japanese-owned, Western F-15J variant fighter aircraft can carry a maximum of five JASSMs. Conversely, a Business Insider report states that the C-17 can carry and deploy approximately 36 JASSM munitions at once, using “Rapid Dragon.”
Additionally, the “Rapid Dragon” is seen as a stop-gap solution to the United States’ basing crisis in the Indo-Pacific. In this essential region, the U.S. military has a limited number of bases, and those bases capable of hosting quality airstrips are even more scarce. Unlike most of the United States’ bomber aircraft, the C-130 for example, and most other cargo planes, need not have perfect airstrips to successfully take-off — they can do it on a dirt road of 3,000 feet. This drastically increases the available locations that can be adapted to host, launch, and receive these modified cargo/attack aircraft.
Perhaps most importantly, as cruise missile barrages have been shown to be an effective – if expensive – method of flummoxing air/missile defense systems, the utilization of Palletized Munition Defense Systems can potentially cripple enemy land-based missile defense systems. Crucially, in theory, sea-based targets such as aircraft carriers are also exceptionally vulnerable to the technique of air-to-surface missile barrages. While the United States’ super-carriers are essentially indestructible, and palletized munitions are unlikely to ever be able to penetrate the integrated missile defense systems of the multi-vessel carrier strike group — this isn’t the case for all such vessels. For example, vessels such as the United States’ amphibious as
sault ships (often erroneously called small aircraft carriers or lightning carriers), which are built to a lower survivability rating and travel without the defense offered by a carrier strike group, may be vulnerable to missile barrages by palletized munitions. We can only assume – perhaps, hope, since little reliable data is publicly available – that China’s aircraft carriers, the three active models of which are the Type 001 Liaoning, the Type 002 Shandong, and the newly-completed type Type 003 Fujian, are similarly vulnerable to missile barrages, since they are each smaller and of decidedly lower quality than the United States’ super-carriers.
Red Dragon
The “Rapid Dragon” system is not without its critics. The most interesting and valid criticism seems to have come from Rachel Cohen with Air and Space Forces Magazine, who highlighted the fact that the United States’ – and its allies’ – airlift capacity is already severely diminished, and there is likely to be a high demand on the United States’ fleet of cargo planes to accomplish their primary mission — the airlift of troops and supplies to and from a combat zone.
In response to the criticism outlined by Cohen, it might be worth noting that the unit cost of the ancient – but sprightly – C-130 is approximately $10 – $30 million — I believe that is what is referred to as “dirt-cheap.” The slightly newer, but still antiquated C-2A Greyhound has a unit cost of about $40 million. The comparatively new (only several decades old), KC-10, has a unit cost of just over $80 million; and the C-17 has a unit cost of approximately $200 million. In addition to all of these cargo plane variants used by the U.S. military, Japan has contracted with Kawasaki to produce its own domestic cargo plane, called the C-2 – not to be confused with Grumman’s C-2 Greyhound, which will cost Japan between $136 million and $176 million per aircraft — as in, cheaper than the United States C-17, despite the Kawasaki C-2 being a brand-new platform, and the C-17 having been designed in the late-1980s and early-1990s (about three decades ago).
Conversely, the unit cost of the United States’ oldest (produced in the 1950s) strategic, long-range bomber, the B-52 Stratofortress is approximately $85 million. The U.S Air Force’s second newest bomber aircraft, the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, has a unit cost of well over $300 million. The USAF’s current bomber aircraft, the B-2 Spirit, has a unit cost of $1.2 Billion. In other words, the newest long-range bombers have a unit cost of six-to-nine-times greater than the newest cargo planes — not to mention that bombers likely take far longer to manufacture.
This is in addition to the well-known fact that, during any future conflict with the PRC, the United States’ military forces will bare the brunt of the troop and equipment deployment needs. Thus, airlift capabilities may be essential for the United States, but far less essential to the United States’ allies whose role would likely be to serve as a support – primarily air and naval support, to assist in disabling enemy A2/AD capabilities, and in maintaining air space/sea dominance – for the predominantly U.S. forces.
The “Rapid Dragon” has the ability to give a U.S. ally’s air force significant strike capabilities, and thus, an effective deterrent – capable of forcing the PRC to “think twice” about its repeated provocations and intimidation of Japan – at a fraction of the cost of an actual bomber aircraft fleet. It is an ingenious solution that can be adopted by those states without the capital, the political will, or the desire to build a top-tier air force. Japan’s intent to adopt such Palletized Munition Delivery capability is yet another indication of the significant role that the island nation intends to play in a future conflict with the PRC — the role of an indispensable U.S. ally and a key stabilizer in the Indo-Pacific.
Logan Williams is a writer and researcher currently studying at the University of Connecticut. He is pursuing research regarding Ukrainian history and national identity, hegemonic theory, the Cold War, and international development/liberalization processes. Mr. Williams’ work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and journals, such as:, Geopolitics Magazine, Modern Diplomacy, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Democracy Paradox, Diario Las Américas, International Affairs Forum, Fair Observer, History Is Now Magazine, American Diplomacy, etc.
