Aegis Combat System Explained, Radars, Missiles, Ships and Operators

The Aegis Combat System is the US Navy’s integrated surface-ship weapons system, built by Lockheed Martin, that links a phased-array radar, fire-control software and missiles such as the Standard Missile family so a ship can track and engage air and ballistic missile threats at the same time. It entered service in 1983 on USS Ticonderoga and is now used by the US Navy and six allied navies, according to Lockheed Martin.

Wikipedia traces the system to RCA’s Missile and Surface Radar Division, which passed through General Electric and Martin Marietta into Lockheed Martin. Today Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems in Moorestown, New Jersey, holds the Missile Defense Agency contract for Japan’s next Aegis ships, a $724 million modification announced on 29 September 2026.

What Is the Aegis Combat System?

Wikipedia describes Aegis as an American integrated naval weapons system that uses computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. Lockheed Martin says it provides simultaneous integrated air and missile defense. The name covers two things: the Aegis Weapon System, which handles command, control and weapons control, and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), the sea-based part of the wider US missile defense network.

What Are the Components of Aegis?

A ship with Aegis has four building blocks. Radar detects and tracks. The command-and-decision software builds one picture and assigns weapons. Fire-control links guide missiles in flight. Launchers hold the missiles. Wikipedia lists the AN/SPY-1 radar, the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System and the Standard Missile family, along with the Phalanx close-in weapon, as core elements.

The Mk 41 comes in three module lengths: 5.31 m (self-defense), 6.76 m (tactical) and 7.7 m (strike), per Wikipedia. Ticonderoga-class cruisers carry 122 cells and Arleigh Burke destroyers 90 to 96. It also launches Tomahawk and ESSM; see our Tomahawk explainer.

What Is the Difference Between the SPY-1, SPY-6 and SPY-7 Radars?

The three radars serve different hulls. SPY-1 is the original passive array, SPY-6 is RTX’s newer active array, and SPY-7 is Lockheed Martin’s gallium nitride design that grew out of the Long Range Discrimination Radar.

Which Ships Use the Aegis Combat System?

The newest US variant is the Flight III destroyer. USS John E. Kilmer (DDG 134) had its keel laid on 10 September 2026 at Bath Iron Works, part of General Dynamics. It is a Flight III destroyer with Aegis Baseline 10 and the SPY-6(V)1 radar.

What Are the Aegis Baseline Versions?

Lockheed Martin releases the combat system in numbered Baselines, each a software and computing upgrade tied to a radar generation. Wikipedia mentions Baselines 2 to 6 for older ships and notes South Korea’s use of Baselines 7 and 9. Baseline 10 is the one built for the SPY-6 era.

How Do Aegis BMD and Aegis Ashore Work?

Aegis BMD adds ballistic missile tracking and SM-3 interceptors. Wikipedia records the first successful intercept test on 25 January 2002, and 33 BMD-capable US ships in October 2017. SM-6 gives a terminal-phase option.

Aegis Ashore puts the same system on land. Romania’s Deveselu site has run since 2016, and Poland’s Redzikowo site has been operational since summer 2024, each with 24 SM-3 missiles, per Wikipedia. Japan cancelled its Aegis Ashore programme in 2020 and moved to two ships instead.

Aegis News and Costs in 2026

The $724 million Lockheed Martin award (exactly $723,997,537) covers Aegis delivery for Japan’s first two Aegis System Equipped Vessels and lifts the contract from $1.64 billion to $2.36 billion. Work runs to 31 March 2030. Each ship will have 128 vertical launch cells and SPY-7. Lockheed said the first ASEV shipset, with four SPY-7 arrays, was delivered in August 2026, and the Navy extended Aegis training through 2031 with a $200.8 million award in June 2026. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries builds the Japanese ships; see the MHI profile.

In Spain, the first F110 frigate Bonifaz was launched on 11 September 2025 at Navantia Ferrol, with delivery estimated for 2028. Wikipedia gives about €860 million a ship and €4.3 billion for five, with SPY-7(V)2 radar. See the Navantia profile and Lockheed Martin profile. For the US land-based layer, compare THAAD.

Aegis Combat System FAQ

What is the Aegis Combat System?

An integrated naval weapons system that uses computers and radars to track and guide weapons against air and missile threats.

Who makes the Aegis Combat System?

Lockheed Martin, with Rotary and Mission Systems in Moorestown, New Jersey, as the production site named in the September 2026 Missile Defense Agency award.

Which ships have Aegis?

US Ticonderoga cruisers and Arleigh Burke destroyers, Japanese Kongo, Atago and Maya destroyers, Korean Sejong the Great destroyers, Spanish Alvaro de Bazan frigates, Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen frigates and Australian Hobart destroyers.

What radars does Aegis use?

AN/SPY-1 on older ships, AN/SPY-6 on newer US ships, and AN/SPY-7 for Japan, Spain and Canada.

What is Aegis BMD?

The ballistic missile defense mode of Aegis, using SM-3 interceptors and sometimes SM-6, and forming the sea-based part of US missile defense.

What is Aegis Ashore?

A land-based Aegis site. Romania and Poland host one each, with 24 SM-3 missiles per site.

How much does Aegis cost?

No single price is published. Related figures include the $724 million Japan ASEV modification, about €860 million per Spanish F110 frigate and $11.83 million for an SM-3 in FY2021.