US taps Japan radar tech to double missile defense range

July 6, 2018

Nikkei Asian Review:

TOKYO — The U.S. and Japan are looking to jointly develop next-generation radar technology that would use Japanese semiconductors to more than double the detection range of the Aegis missile defense system.

This would mark the first major military technology collaboration between the allies since 2014, when Japan relaxed rules that essentially banned exports of weapons and related technologies and set new ones on equipment transfers that make teaming up easier.

The Aegis system brings together powerful radar and missiles to locate and intercept several incoming missiles or attack aircraft simultaneously. Japanese vessels equipped with the system currently employ Lockheed Martin’s SPY-1 radar. The U.S. Navy plans to upgrade its ships with Raytheon’s SPY-6, which can detect missiles more than 1,000 kilometers away, or more than twice as far as the SPY-1.

Read the full article