Japan to build two BMD warships and improve Type 12 missile
Two new ballistic missile defence warships will be even more expensive than the Aegis Ashore system that Japan cancelled earlier.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announced in a 9 December press conference that the Japanese government had decided to build two additional Aegis warships instead of procuring Aegis Ashore.
The warships will be equipped with SPY-7 radar and be larger than current Maya-class Aegis destroyers that have a 10,250t full-load displacement. The MoD will equip them with SM-3 missiles for the ballistic missile defence, plus SM-6 missiles to counter cruise missiles.
The estimated price per vessel is JPY240 billion ($2.3 billion). That means their price will be twice the cost of one Aegis Ashore system. The MoD is
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