Naval News:

What led to this unusual decision and what will these ships be like ?

Origins of Aegis Ashore in Japan

The Japanese government decided in 2017 to deploy Aegis Ashore in two locations in Japan. This was intended to respond to North Korea’s repeated launches of ballistic missiles and potential surprise missile attacks in times of conflict. Between 2016 and 2017, North Korea launched ballistic missiles 29 times, for a total of 40 missiles, and also conducted three nuclear tests. Under these circumstances, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s (JMSDF) Kongo-class Aegis ships, which have ballistic missile defense (BMD) capabilities, were constantly deployed in the Sea of Japan to keep an eye out for ballistic missile launches by North Korea.

However, the original role of Aegis ships is to defend the fleet from enemy attack, and BMD is more of a secondary role. If the Aegis ships were to engage in BMD missions for a long period of time, it could lead to a decrease in training time, which could lead to a decrease in skill level and an increase in the burden on the crew. So, in order to return the Aegis ships to its original role, the Japanese government decided to introduce the Aegis Ashore system as a replacement and put them on a 24/7 BMD mission…



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