US to sell sea-skimming aerial targets to Japan
The SSATs should boost Japan's defensive capabilities. (Picture: Credit US Navy/commons.wikimedia.org (Creative Commons)).
The sale is intended to support Japan’s stabilising influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The US State Department has agreed a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Japan. The sale of subsonic sea-skimming aerial targets (SSATs) would include technical support and related equipment, and cost around US$113 million (estimated at the highest value of the contract).
The sale to Japan would break down into lots of up to two BQM-177A SSATs for Aegis system equipped vessels (ASEVs), as well as an as-yet unspecified number of GQM-163 target drones and the follow-on technical support necessary to operate the ASEVs.
That support would include combat systems sea qualification trials (CSSQT) and sustainment support services, Aegis computer software updates, combat systems integration, system integration, testing, overhauls and upgrades.
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Development, familiarisation, operational and maintenance support, as well as classified books and other publications (both technical and non-technical) would also be included in the estimated price, along with adaptation data, annual service agreements, test support, technical documentation, personnel training, and engineering, technical and logistical support from both the US Government and the relevant contractors.
The rationale behind agreeing the potential sale, the State Department said, was to improve the security of a major US ally in the Indo-Pacific region and thereby improve the stability of the region as a whole.
The principal contractor for the BQM-177A SSATs would be Kratos Defense, located in Sacramento, Califonia, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The principal contractor for the GQM-163A target drones would be Northrop Grumman, located in Chandler, Arizona, and the principal contractor for the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) would be Lockheed Martin Corporation, located in Moorestown, New Jersey.
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