JS Atago completes Aegis combat system test
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has successfully used an upgraded Aegis combat system to test its ballistic missile defence (BMD) capabilities.
The Japanese Flight Test Mission-05 exercise was supported by the US Navy, the Missile Defense Agency and Lockheed Martin to successfully demonstrate organic engagement of a simple separating target.
The flight test was carried out from the recently modernised Japanese guided-missile destroyer JS Atago. The vessel's Aegis weapon system now merges BMD into an integrated air and missile defence capability using commercial off-the-shelf and open architecture technologies including the Aegis Common Source Library (CSL).
The CSL allows greater interoperability across the fleet, reducing development training and sustainment costs, and improves flexibility in crew assignments.
Lockheed Martin is developing a Baseline 9-variant computer programme for deployment on Japan's newest Aegis destroyers.
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