Japan's new Type-25 mobile missiles, with a range of about 1,000 kilometers, will be demonstrated for the first time during the Keen Sword joint US-Japanese military exercises in October.

The drills, which will involve tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides, will be held in various regions of Japan, Kyodo News reports.

The exact dates and locations of the exercises are expected to be announced later.

These maneuvers are held every two years.

The American and Japanese military will work out joint operations for targeting and using such weapons, but no combat launches of the missiles will be carried out.

Officially, they are considered “anti-ship” missiles, but in Tokyo they are called a means of “delivering a retaliatory strike” to the bases of a potential adversary. In this context, the Kyodo notes that Type-12 missiles reach from the island of Kyushu the coastal regions of China. Local residents fear that the locations of such weapons may also become targets of military strikes.