Japan to Build Second Aegis-Equipped Ship

Japan’s Ministry of Defense has formally awarded a local shipyard 700 million yen ($4.7 million) to develop the country’s second Aegis-equipped ship (ASEV).

The Ministry of Defense awarded Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) a 1.7 billion yen ($11.5 million) contract to build the first ASEV on August 23, and signed the contract with Japan Maritime United Corporation (JMUC) last week.

Tokyo called for Aegis ships in its 2023 budget to deter North Korea’s ballistic missile threat and replace the canceled land-based Aegis ballistic missile defense system.

MHI’s first ASEV is expected to arrive in 2027 and be commissioned in March 2028.

Meanwhile, the second JMUC ship is expected to arrive in 2028 and is scheduled to be operational in March 2029.

ASEV Size

The ship’s original large design faced criticism over cost and maneuverability, prompting the Ministry of Defense to consider reducing its size without compromising air defense capabilities.

The latest version is 190 meters (623 feet) long, 25 meters (82 feet) wide, and has a standard displacement of 12,000 tons.

The ASEV is larger than the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Aegis Maya-class, which is 170 meters (557 feet) long, 21 meters (69 feet) wide, and has a standard displacement of 8,200 tons.

Radar Tracking and Missile Defense Capabilities

It will be equipped with Lockheed Martin’s SPY-7, which successfully demonstrated its first live tracking on April 4 this year.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said the SPY-7 has five times the tracking capability of the SPY-1 and can handle missiles launched from high trajectories and multiple ballistic missiles launched simultaneously.

The new ASEV will also have 128 vertical launch system cells and will be further developed to enhance defense capabilities against hypersonic glide vehicles.