TAIPEI, Taiwan — Japan and South Korea will outfit their new destroyers with Aegis Baseline 9 as part of an overall program by both countries to improve its integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) system, the latest evolution in the Aegis Combat System (ACS).
The $490 million deal, announced by the US government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program on Aug. 12, will include Lockheed Martin's SPY-1 radar.
"When paired with the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, it is capable of delivering missiles for every mission and threat environment in naval warfare," according to an Aug. 15 Lockheed Martin news release.
The Baseline 9 IAMD system will be outfitted on two Japanese Atago-class destroyers (27DD subclass) and three South Korean KDX-III Sejong-class destroyers. Japan first began using the ACS in 1993 and South Korea began in 2008, according to Lockheed.
The US Naval Sea Systems Command will be handling the contract. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, and Clearwater, Florida, and is expected to be completed by May 2022, said the FMS announcement.
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