**BREAKING NEWS **

Japan has dispatched defense officials to India to explore the possibility of using Indian military test ranges to conduct live-fire testing for its long-range weapons and small attack drones.

Discussions are focused on testing the newly deployed Type 25 surface-to-ship guided missile as well as small attack drones.

Type 25 missile boasts a range of approx 1,000 kilometres (a massive jump from the 200-km range of its predecessor, the Type 12). 

GSDF Chief of Staff Gen. Masayoshi Arai noted that Japan's dense population and geographic limitations make it a "_major challenge_" to find domestic spaces long enough to fully test these standoff defense capabilities.