Japan Chooses Lockheed Martin Radar for Missile Defense

摘要

Lockheed Martin lost a monopoly as radar supplier for its Aegis air and missile defense system in 2013, when the U.S. Navy chose an advanced Raytheon sensor for future destroyers. Now Japan is likely to put Lockheed back in the business.Tokyo has selected the company's Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) as the sensor for the two Aegis Ashore installations it is buying to deal with ballistic missile attack. The LRDR offers higher performance than the Raytheon SPY-6, the U.S. Navy's new Aegis radar, says the defense ministry in Tokyo.The LRDR scored higher than the SPY-6 in "basic performance" such as detection, multitarget handling and continuous operation, according to the ministry's explanation of its choice. The exact meaning of "continu-ous operation" is not explained, but the LRDR reportedly is capable of working even when under maintenance.The first Aegis Ashore battery will be completed six years after contract signing, says the ministry, adding that the schedule would have been the same with the SPY-6. The defense systems will be supplied under the Foreign Military Sales process, in which the U.S. government acts as the buyer from the manufacturer and as the supplier to the operator.