The global Aegis fleet will expand in the U.S., Japan and the Republic
of Korea under a $490 million deal with Lockheed Martin to bring integrated
air and missile defense (IAMD) capabilities to new destroyers. The ships
will be equipped with Aegis Baseline 9, the latest evolution of the
combat system, capable of IAMD. The Aegis system includes Lockheed Martin's
SPY-1 radar, the Navy's most advanced multi-function radar system. When
paired with the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, it is capable of delivering
missiles for every mission and threat environment in naval warfare. |
Aegis ships USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), USS Shoup
(DDG 86), Japan’s Chokai (DDG 176), the Republic of Korea’s
Sejung The Great (DDG 991) and Gang Gam Chan (DDH 979) steam in formation
during exercise Pacific Dragon 2016 in June. Pacific Dragon is a trilateral
Ballistic Missile Defense tracking event between the U.S. Navy, Japan
Maritime Self Defense Force and Republic of Korea Navy. The biennial
exercise focuses on improving tactical and technical coordination among
its participants, including the detection, tracing and reporting of
ballistic targets. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist
3rd Class Holly L. Herline/Released)
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“Lockheed
Martin has a proud record of working hand-in-hand with the U.S. Navy,
Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces and the Republic of Korea Navy,”
said Jim Sheridan, director of Lockheed Martin Aegis U.S. Navy programs.
“We will continue the Lockheed Martin tradition of providing Aegis
on-time and on-budget so these destroyers are prepared to meet the evolving
demands of securing the U.S. homeland and its allies.”
This contract comes on the heels of a successful joint-missile defense
exercise in June in which Aegis destroyers from the three nations shared
data while detecting and tracking a simulated missile threat.
Under this new production hardware contract, Lockheed Martin will expand
the Aegis fleet in the U.S. Navy and in:
Japan: The seventh and eighth Aegis ships will join Japan’s fleet.
Aegis provides four of Japan’s Kongo-class destroyers and two
Atago-class destroyers with advanced sea, air and undersea threat detection
capabilities. The Self Defense Forces of Japan joined the Aegis family
in 1993.
Republic of Korea (RoK): Aegis will join the next three KDX-III Sejong
the Great Class destroyers, a multi-purpose destroyer with air and land
defense and anti-submarine capabilities. Aegis is aboard three KDX-III
destroyers: RoK Sejong the Great, RoK Yulgok Yi I and RoK Seoae Ryu
Sungryong, which are the largest surface warfare ships to carry Aegis.
The Republic of Korea joined the international Aegis fleet in 2008,
when the navy commissioned the first ship of the class, Sejong the Great.
As the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent, Lockheed Martin continues
to develop new Aegis capabilities and find innovative ways to deploy
them across the more than 100 ships in the U.S. and international Aegis
Fleets. This innovation is possible in part due to the open architecture
of the Aegis Combat System and the Common Source Library, which allows
engineers to integrate new systems and capabilities across baselines,
as well as affordably distribute the upgrades throughout the fleet in
a “build once, use many times” design philosophy.
With more than 40 years of significant investment by the U.S. Navy and
its allies, the Aegis Combat System is used globally by six navies.
In addition to the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea, Aegis is
the maritime weapon system of choice for Australia, Norway and Spain. |
