SPY-7 Radar Tracks Live Targets for First Time in US-Japan Aegis Missile Defense Milestone

The Missile Defense Agency and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force successfully tracked live targets using the SPY-7 radar for the first time on March 20, marking a critical milestone in Tokyo's effort to field a new class of Aegis missile-defense ships. The test validates the radar's performance in an operational context and advances Japan's plan to deploy two Aegis-equipped destroyers as a key pillar of its ballistic missile defense architecture.