In a photograph taken on April 7, 2012, soldiers of the Ground Self-Defense Force set Patriot missiles at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo. (JIJI PRESS / AFP)

TOKYO - Japan has awarded its largest defense equipment maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries contracts worth 378 billion yen ($2.84 billion) to develop and build a new missile force.

The four contracts include land, sea and air-launched missiles as well as a hypersonic ballistic warhead that it wants to begin deploying from 2026, Japan's Ministry of Defense said in a press release.

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Japan in December unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War II that will double defense spending over five years.

The new missile force, which is expected to be capable of striking ships and land targets more than 1,000 km from Japan, is at the center of that plan.

To bolster its defenses before it can deploy those home-built missiles, Japan in February also said it will bulk order Raytheon Technologies Corp Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States.

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It has not yet said how many it will buy, but local media reports said it will be as many as 500.