<span style="color: #222222;">In the wake of a growing threat from China, Japan has awarded its largest defence equipment maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries contracts worth 2.84 billion dollars to develop and build a new missile force. <br />''<br />''The land, sea and air-launched missile force is aimed at deterring China from using military force in the region. Japan's Defence Ministry said in a statement that it plans to deploy these missiles including a hypersonic ballistic warhead from 2026. The new missile force will be capable of striking targets over a distance of one thousand kilometres.</span><br />