The Japanese Ministry of Defense has confirmed that both ordered ASEV (Aegis System Equipped) air defense ships have already been laid down and are being built at local shipyards, which are planned to be equipped with the American Aegis missile defense system.
As part of the development of the Japanese missile defense system, the local Navy has ordered the construction of two ASEV-class ships. According to the military department, the first of them was laid down in mid–July 2025 at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, on the island of Kyushu, and the second in early February this year at the Japan Marine United plant in Isogo, Yokohama, south of Tokyo. According to Naval News, the Japanese Defense Ministry had not previously officially announced the transition to the main production phase of ASEV ships.
ASEV type Ship Construction, MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works
Ryo Eto / Naval News
According to the current construction schedule, the first super destroyer is scheduled to be launched in fiscal year 2026 (ending on March 31, 2027), and commissioning is expected in March 2028. The second ship is going to be launched in fiscal year 2027, and the transfer to the Japanese Navy is scheduled for March 2029.
Recall that ASEV-class ships are supposed to protect Japan from a potential ballistic missile strike (North Korea is considered the main threat). These super destroyers were chosen as an alternative to the Aegis Ashore land-based anti-missile system, the deployment of which was canceled in 2020 due to public protests.
Earlier it was reported that each ASEV-type ship will be equipped with vertical launch units for a total of 128 cells. The main armament is the SM-3 Block IIA anti-aircraft missiles, jointly developed by Japan and the United States. The SM-3 is designed to destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The arsenal will also include SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles, which are capable not only of countering air threats of various types, but also hitting surface targets.
The appearance of a new missile defense destroyer for the Japanese Navy
Japan MoD
In addition, the new ships will be equipped with installations for launching upgraded Japanese-designed Type-12 anti-ship missiles, the range of which should exceed 1,000 km. According to the documents of the Ministry of Defense, in the future Japan is also considering the possibility of equipping the ASEV platform with a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) hypersonic target interceptor, which is currently being developed in the United States.
The initial plans of the Japanese military department envisaged that ASEVS would be specialized missile defense ships, which involved some compromises: low speed and a limited navigation area. But in order to adequately respond to China's military buildup, the concept was revised towards a much more multifunctional platform. Now ASEV resembles an enlarged version of a destroyer equipped with the Aegis missile defense system. Thus, it is expected that the new ships will be able to fight not only ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons, but also aircraft, ships and even enemy submarines.
According to official data, the length of the ASEV ships will be about 190 meters, width – 25 meters, and displacement will exceed 12 thousand tons. They are comparable in size to the Chinese Type-055 class destroyers, but there are already ten such ships in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy.
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