LM wins new Japan Aegis BMD contract

MOORESTOWN, N.J., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has won a $40.4 million modification contract for a Japanese Aegis-class destroyer.

The company said in a statement Monday that it had "received a $40.4 million contract modification to provide Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense -- BMD -- capability to the Aegis-equipped Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force destroyer JS Myoko."

"JS Myoko is the third of four Japanese destroyers scheduled for outfitting with the Aegis BMD Weapon System. JS Kongo, which successfully intercepted a ballistic missile with its Aegis BMD Weapon System in a December test, was the first Japanese ship equipped with Aegis BMD. Installation of Aegis BMD aboard the second destroyer, JS Chokai, is under way in Nagasaki, Japan," Lockheed Martin said.

"In 2007, Aegis BMD delivered a host of 'firsts' in four increasingly complex operational scenarios, closing the year with JS Kongo's successful intercept -- a first for Japan," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Surface-Sea Based Missile Defense line of business.

"Through all of those tests, our engineers were 100 percent focused on delivering engineering excellence, and those successes exemplify commitment to bring Aegis BMD to JS Myoko, as we have to JS Kongo and will to JS Chokai," Carvalho said.

"Aegis BMD has established a record of strong performance with 12 successful ballistic missile intercepts in 14 attempts," Lockheed Martin said.

"The Aegis BMD Weapon System seamlessly integrates the SPY-1 radar, the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, the SM-3 missile and the Aegis Weapon System's command and control system. The Aegis BMD Weapon System also integrates with the Missile Defense Agency's BMDS, receiving cues from and providing cueing information to other BMDS elements," the company said.

"The Aegis Weapon System is currently deployed on 85 ships around the globe with more than 20 additional ships planned or under contract. ... Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Spain, Norway, South Korea and Australia," Lockheed Martin said.