The initial shipset of four SPY-7(V)1 radar antennas, which will be installed on Japan’s future Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV), was delivered to the Japanese Ministry of Defense by Lockheed Martin today. Two warships dedicated to ballistic missile defense are scheduled to be commissioned in Japan’s fiscal years 2027 and 2028, which Japan intends to purchase.
Lockheed has agreements to outfit some surface vessels with the SPY-7 radar in Japan, Canada, and Spain. That radar will be mounted on Canada’s upcoming River-class destroyers, which will take the place of the Halifax-class frigates and Iroquois-class destroyers. In the meantime, the Spanish army is purchasing SPY-7 for its F-110-class frigates. In response to an increasingly aggressive China, the Japanese government has shifted its focus to greater military expenditure in recent years, authorizing a record-breaking $8.7 trillion yen ($55.1 billion) budget in December.
