Japan eyes two new Aegis destroyers to counter N. Korea missile threat

The Defense Ministry will likely purchase two new Aegis-equipped destroyers to raise Japan’s fleet of the vessels to eight in light of the mounting North Korean missile threat, a ministry source revealed Saturday.

The government plans to unveil its policy for bolstering the country’s missile defense shield after drawing up fresh national defense guidelines by the end of the year, the source said.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force currently deploys four Aegis destroyers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles with Standard Missile-3 interceptors.

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