Above – An Aegis Ashore command centers are an Aegis warship’s bridge transplanted to land.
The US Navy wants Aegis cruisers and destroyers loaded with Tomahawk cruise missiles or LRASM anti-ship missiles instead of a preponderance of defensive SM-3 anti-ballistic missile interceptors.
Japan issued a $2 billion request for two ground-based Aegis Ashore radar missile tracking stations built by Lockheed Martin. The anti-missile protection will be completed around 2025. Romania and Poland are the only other countries to have built the ground-based system.
The US Navy has repeatedly called for growing the fleet from 286 ships today to a 355-ship fleet.
China has loaded up its man-made islands in the South China Sea with surface to air missiles and anti-ship missiles.