Lockheed Martin completes tests of Japan's ASEV combat system

A computer-generated image of Japan's future Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV). (Japan MOD)

Lockheed Martin has completed testing and validation of the first combat-system shipset for Japan's Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV) programme.

The company announced on 17 August that the first fully integrated ASEV shipset is ready for packaging and shipment to Japan.

The shipset comprises four SPY-7 radar arrays, radar processing equipment, power and cooling systems, and consoles related to the Aegis combat system.

The equipment will be installed aboard the first ASEV and undergo final acceptance testing before the vessel enters service, Lockheed Martin said.

According to the company, the system validation confirms the performance of the SPY-7 radar and Aegis combat system architecture that will form the core of Japan's future sea-based ballistic missile-defence capability.

Japan is procuring two ASEVs to assume the ballistic missile-defence mission currently undertaken by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF's) fleet of Maya, Atago, and Kongo classes of destroyers.

The programme was conceived following Tokyo's 2020 decision to cancel the planned deployment of the land-based Aegis Ashore system.

Construction of the lead vessel was awarded to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in August 2024, while Japan Marine United (JMU) received the contract to build the second ship a month later.

The ASEVs are designed around SPY-7 radar, which provides continuous 360-degree surveillance coverage.

According to Lockheed Martin, the configuration will enable the ships to detect, track, and engage large numbers of ballistic missile and airborne threats simultaneously.

Each ASEV will be fitted with 128 vertical launch system (VLS) cells, making them among the most heavily armed missile-defence platforms in the JMSDF inventory.