U.S Navy sending Aegis-equipped destroyers to Japan: Two U.S. Navy destroyers with ballistic missile defense capabilities are being forward deployed to Japan, the U.S. Navy announced.
The ships with Aegis systems are the USS Benfold (DDG 65) and USS Milius (DDG 69), both of which are currently homeported in San Diego, Calif.
The two ships will become part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces based at Yokosuka, Japan.
The USS Benfold will deploy to Japan next summer, while the USS Milius will make the move in the summer of 2017.
"The move directly supports the announcement made by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in April of this year that the Navy would commit to sending two additional BMD-capable ships to the defense of Japan by 2017," the Navy said in reporting the re-basing.
The Navy said the two destroyers will have completed all midlife modernization before the change. They will be equipped with the latest Aegis Baseline 9 combat system, which includes state of the art air defense, ballistic missile defense, surface warfare and undersea warfare capabilities. Other upgrades will include a fully-integrated bridge, improved machinery, damage control and quality of life improvements, an advanced galley and commercial-off-the-shelf computing equipment.
