U.S. and Japan Partnership Activates SPY-7 Radar Manufacturing for Aegis System Equipped Vessel.

Lockheed Martin has issued its first purchase order to Fujitsu Limited for a key power component of Japan’s Aegis System Equipped Vessel SPY-7 radar, formalizing an agreement announced in Tokyo and Kawasaki on February 12, 2026. The move embeds part of the SPY-7 supply chain inside Japan, strengthening domestic defense manufacturing and long-term sustainment capacity.

On February 12, 2026, Lockheed Martin announced in Tokyo and Kawasaki that it has formalized its industrial collaboration with Fujitsu Limited through the first purchase order for a critical component of Japan’s Aegis System-Equipped Vessel SPY-7 radar. The agreement, revealed during a signing ceremony between executives from both firms, confirms Fujitsu as the supplier of the SPY-7 Subarray Suite Power Supply Line Replaceable Unit, a core element supporting the radar’s active electronically scanned array architecture. The step converts a memorandum of understanding signed in May 2025 into tangible production work and places a portion of the SPY-7 manufacturing base inside Japan.
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Scale model of Japan’s Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV) during IDEX 2025 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The contract concerns the Power Supply Line Replaceable Unit (PS LRU), commonly referred to as the PS LRU, integrated into the SPY-7 radar antenna array. Line Replaceable Units are modular components designed for rapid removal and replacement at sea or in dockyard conditions, reducing system downtime and simplifying lifecycle support. By localizing production of this element, Japan secures a measure of autonomy in sustainment for the Aegis System Equipped Vessel program, which forms a core layer of its future ballistic missile defense architecture.

The SPY-7 radar itself represents the latest generation of solid-state, gallium nitride-based active electronically scanned array technology developed by Lockheed Martin. Built around scalable radar module assemblies, it provides high sensitivity and discrimination capacity against complex air and missile threats. Compared with earlier SPY-1 radars equipping legacy Aegis destroyers, SPY-7 delivers several times greater detection performance, particularly in tracking small or high-speed ballistic targets in cluttered environments. The use of digital beamforming and advanced signal processing allows the radar to conduct search, track, and missile guidance functions simultaneously without mechanical movement, an essential feature in saturation scenarios.

Japan selected SPY-7 for its Aegis System Equipped Vessels after canceling the land-based Aegis Ashore project in 2020. The ASEV ships are designed to assume the ballistic missile defense mission while operating at sea, thereby adding mobility and survivability. Integrated with the Aegis Combat System, which manages sensor fusion, threat evaluation, and weapon assignment, SPY-7 contributes to a layered defensive posture that includes Standard Missile interceptors such as the SM-3 and SM-6. The radar’s open architecture also facilitates interoperability with other sensors and platforms, including airborne early warning assets and allied naval units, through secure data links and cooperative engagement frameworks.

The SPY-7 array consists of multiple subarrays arranged to provide persistent coverage over wide azimuth sectors. Each subarray is powered and controlled through dedicated modules such as the PS LRU now entrusted to Fujitsu. Solid-state transmit and receive modules enhance reliability while reducing maintenance cycles compared with older vacuum tube technologies. The system’s ability to detect and track ballistic missile targets at long ranges, potentially in excess of several hundred kilometers depending on target profile and altitude, supports early engagement windows. At the same time, the radar maintains precision tracking of conventional air threats, including low-flying cruise missiles.

Beyond raw detection performance, SPY-7 is engineered for sustained operations in demanding maritime environments. The modular design enables incremental upgrades through software updates and hardware replacement, a factor that extends operational relevance over decades. Fujitsu’s entry into mass production of the PS LRU therefore, has implications not only for initial ship fitting but also for long-term maintenance and modernization cycles. It reinforces Japan’s ambition to cultivate a resilient defense, technological and industrial base capable of supporting advanced naval systems without total dependence on overseas supply chains.

Equipping the ASEV fleet with SPY-7 reshapes Japan’s missile defense posture. The combination of wide-area surveillance, precise tracking, and simultaneous engagement capacity allows commanders to address multiple inbound threats in compressed timelines. In a scenario involving ballistic missile launches, the radar can detect ascent-phase trajectories, maintain custody through midcourse flight, and provide fire control quality data to interceptors. Against air-breathing threats, the system supports layered engagements, cueing shipborne missiles while sharing data across the force. Mobility at sea complicates adversary targeting, as the ASEV vessels can reposition to cover different sectors of the Japanese archipelago or integrate into allied task groups.

The industrial dimension of the Lockheed Martin and Fujitsu partnership extends beyond a single component. Establishing a Japan-based supplier for SPY-7 elements signals a deeper co-production model aligned with Tokyo’s broader defense reforms. In recent years, Japan has revised export control frameworks, increased defense spending, and sought closer integration with the United States and other Indo-Pacific partners. By embedding advanced radar production within its domestic industry, Japan strengthens both operational readiness and technological sovereignty.

In the wider Indo-Pacific context, the collaboration unfolds amid persistent missile development programs in Northeast Asia and intensifying great power competition. Enhanced maritime missile defense capabilities contribute to deterrence by complicating adversaries’ calculations regarding coercive strikes. At the same time, tighter industrial and technological integration between the United States and Japan consolidates alliance cohesion. As regional security dynamics evolve, programs such as SPY-7 on the Aegis System Equipped Vessels underscore how industrial cooperation, advanced sensor technology, and alliance interoperability converge to shape the emerging security architecture of the Indo-Pacific.