Japan Picks Lockheed over Raytheon to Provide Radar for Missile Defense System

The Japanese government has selected Lockheed Martin to provide Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) for its Aegis Ashore missile defense system.

Japan has selected an advanced radar system made by Lockheed Martin Corp. for its multibillion-dollar missile defense system, a Defense Ministry official with direct knowledge of the matter was quoted as saying by Reuters Tuesday.

Lockheed Martin’s LRDR and Raytheon’s SPY-6 were in fray for the radar for the yet to buy Aegis Ashore batteries Japan wants to buy and deploy in 2023.

The two Aegis Ashore sites will likely cost at least twice as much as the government’s initial estimate of $2 billion, the sources said. US President Donald Trump has urged Tokyo to buy more US military equipment and other goods to help balance a trade deficit with Japan.

 “North Korea needs to show it is making concrete steps to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, and it has yet to do so,” Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

During the briefing, Onodera said no decision had been reached yet on the radar system for Aegis Ashore.

The unnamed official said that Lockheed’s radar had been selected due to its search capabilities and because its life cycle cost would be less than the Raytheon system.

Lockheed and Raytheon said they had yet to be officially notified about the result of the radar bid.