Hardrock69
01-19-2007, 10:41 AM
Northrop Grumman Corporation today opened a specialized facility exclusively for system integration and production of high-energy laser systems for military uses - the first of its kind by private industry in the United States. Located at the Space Technology sector's Space Park campus, the Directed Energy Production Facility is specifically designed for the production of high-energy, solid-state lasers and their integration onto military vehicles.
"Powerful military lasers, with their speed-of-light targeting capabilities and cost-effective operation, have the potential to transform the way we equip our armed forces defending our country abroad and protecting it at home against terrorist threats," said Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector.
Noted Mike McVey, president of the company's Directed Energy Systems business area, "This new facility shows our commitment to directed energy systems for the military and reinforces our industrial leadership in all of the laser systems we build. This facility is an example of our long-term commitment to being the premier provider of high-energy lasers to the U.S. government, and it demonstrates our vision of how we will achieve that goal."
The first work in the facility will be for Phase 3 of the Joint High-Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, which will build and demonstrate the first 100 kW solid-state laser sufficient for a variety of force protection battlefield and precision strike missions. The facility also will house other laser systems the company is spearheading.
The facility will provide the capability to produce current and future generation technologies of lasers including fiber lasers even more powerful than 100kW. There will also be an integration area where electric lasers are integrated onto various military platforms, such as armored combat vehicles. With class 1,000 clean rooms and integrated laser safety systems, the facility can produce multiple laser systems at the same time.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Northrop_Grumman_Tooling_Up_First_Ray_Gun_Producti on_Line_999.html
PRESS KIT (http://www.st.northropgrumman.com/)
RELATED ARTICLES:
Raytheon Tests New Laser Weapon
The prototype solid-state Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, combines the proven track record of the Phalanx weapon system (pictured) with the power and accuracy of laser technology.
by Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
Washington (UPI) Jan 10, 2007
Raytheon announced Monday that it had "successfully tested a prototype solid-state laser weapon." The new laser system "combines the proven capabilities of the Phalanx weapon system with the power and effectiveness of lasers to defeat rockets, mortars and missiles at an operationally significant range," the company said.
Raytheon said its prototype solid-state Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, "successfully detonated 60-millimeter mortars at a range greater than 550 yards within the tactical timeline in static ground testing conducted in partnership with the United States government." The company described the tests as "groundbreaking' and said the results had been achieved "in less than six months."
"The LADS demonstration used a proven, existing, off-the-shelf solid-state laser, coupled with commercially available optics technology," Raytheon said. "The goal of the demonstration was to rapidly prove that lasers can yield military utility now by demonstrating that such a system could protect warfighters against mortars."
"Secondary goals of the demonstration were to offer a near-term alternative to chemical lasers, which may create logistics challenges for the warfighter, and to prove that existing optical and targeting components can significantly lower total laser system costs and speed their ultimate transition to the warfighter," the company said.
Raytheon said its solid-state laser technology also ensured that the operation of the LADS was "safe to the environment, does away with the need for caustic chemicals and radically reduces the life-cycle cost."
"LADS is highly mobile and has the operational capability to simultaneously engage multiple targets at tactically relevant ranges," the company said. "The laser system is powered by a commercially available generator or grid electricity and provides an extremely inexpensive, almost infinite magazine for countering mortar and rocket threats."
"In just six short months, Raytheon and government engineers went from an idea to operational field testing of a solid-state laser system that offers the potential of near-term protection for our troops," said Mike Booen, vice president of Advanced Missile Defense and Directed Energy Weapons at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. "Our solid-state LADS proves you don't have to wait another three to five years for solid-state lasers to have military utility on the battlefield. They are ready now, with no chemicals required."
Raytheon said that the LADS was an evolutionary development of its established Phalanx weapon system that fires 20 mm armor piercing ammunition. Raytheon has made more than 900 Phalanx systems and has sold them to 24 nations. It provides "fast and precise search, track and engage capabilities for directing the laser energy on target," the company said.
"The next logical step for LADS is dynamic field testing in 2007," the company said.
Boeing gives Raytheon XBR radar contract
The Raytheon Company announced last week it had won a $32.7 million subcontract from Boeing for work on the X-Band Radar, or XBR, portion of the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, or SBX.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, or IDS, is the prime contractor for the Ground Based Midcourse Defense, or GMD program, which is primarily based around Fort Greely, Alaska.
"Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will provide trained personnel for on-platform sustainment and operation of the XBR along with radar maintenance and development of spares," the company said. "The contract will run through 2007, and work will be performed at the company's Missile Defense Center in Woburn, Mass., and Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass., and by Raytheon Technical Services Company on site at the SBX platform."
"This award signals that the Sea-Based XBR is entering a new phase as it takes its place in the BMDS," said Pete Franklin, vice president, Raytheon IDS Missile Defense Business Area. "Raytheon's XBR is a key element of the Missile Defense Agency's vision of protecting our country from all ranges of threats, and we're committed to providing a missile defense capability to meet the MDA's mission with no doubt."
"As a primary sensor for the BMDS, the XBR performs the critical functions of cued acquisition, target tracking, discrimination and engagement hit assessment," Raytheon said.
The radar will help identify the hostile warhead from the decoys and countermeasures, providing additional capability for interceptor missiles to protect the U.S. and its friends and allies from ballistic missile attacks," the company said.
"Aboard the relocatable SBX, the XBR can be positioned in the ocean to support both testing and provide radar coverage for possible threat missile launches throughout the world," it said.
Japan's bureaucrats drag feet on BMD plans
The Japanese government still faces a major challenge in getting its own bureaucracy and local government authorities to agree to U.S. requirements for flying in capital infrastructure to boost Japan's ballistic missile defense capabilities.
The U.S. armed forces are still seeking "to confirm details of facilities, such as the capability to unload goods, refuel and store equipment, firefighting capabilities, security provisions and space for parked aircraft," the Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported this week in an article carried Wednesday in the Manila Times.
"The highest hurdle for the government is negotiating with the U.S. side, relevant ministries and local governments," the Yoniuri Shimbun report said.
"The U.S. forces wish to use major airports, such as Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Shinchitose and Fukuoka airports, stressing their advanced facilities," the report said. However, such major airports are intensively utilized by civilian aviation assets. Therefore the Japanese government wants to use middle-range airports to avoid tying up the larger ones with logistical and security procedures for long periods of time.
"Under a law governing the use of specific public facilities enacted in 2004, the government can commandeer seaports and airports in the event of an emergency inside Japan," the newspaper noted. However, any ballistic missile threat from a nation such as North Korea would not fall under the definitions of that law.
"In such a case ..., even if it threatens the nation, the (Japanese) government can only make a request to use the facilities. Thus the administrators of seaports and airports could refuse to offer them for use by the U.S. forces," the Yomiuri Shimbun report said.
The newspaper also noted that because "midsize and small seaports and airports in provincial regions have fewer officials for customs, immigration control and quarantine work," the central government in Tokyo would have to draw up detailed plans to ensure they had enough manpower to discharge necessary functions when U.S. forces were using them for BMD-related activities.
"The Finance Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will consider measures to ensure that this work will continue to function smoothly during any emergency," the report said.
It also has been given the task of maintaining security.
The paper noted that Japanese government officials privately acknowledge they are making much slower progress with local authorities and even with the bureaucracies of several Tokyo ministries than they had anticipated in getting agreement on these issues.
One Japanese Foreign Ministry official told the newspaper that the government faced "the dilemma that the more people that are involved the more difficult it is to maintain secrecy."
"Concerning logistic support for the US forces, the government needs to discuss in advance with local governments, private medical institutions and transportation companies over details, such as the number of hospital beds that could be secured for injured U.S. soldiers, how much food and water will be required and means of transport for such provisions," the report said.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Raytheon_Tests_New_Laser_Weapon_999.html
High-Energy Laser Systems Have One Of The Most Successful Years Ever In 2006
The future?
by Staff Writers
Redondo Beach CA (SPX) Jan 04, 2007
Last year will go down as one of the most successful on record for Northrop Grumman high-energy laser systems, which generated the most intense laser beams, the highest power levels, and the longest operating times yet seen in industry.
"By any standard, 2006 was one of the most successful years in the company's history of more than three decades of 'high-energy laser firsts,'" said Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "We are blazing new paths and identifying more uses at a record pace for this mature technology."
Mike McVey, vice president of Directed Energy Systems, noted that in addition to making laser weapons more flexible as missions expand, rapid advancements also are making them more affordable. "Laser weapons are becoming much less expensive compared with other solutions for force protection against indirect fire threats. We estimate that accomplishments in 2006 could easily translate into high-energy laser weapons costing one-fourth the total system cost of tactical missiles."
This is a recap of the company's high-energy laser highlights in 2006:
January 2006:
+ Northrop Grumman Space Technology announces that it has been chosen by the U.S. military to develop a solid-state laser powerful enough (100 kW) to accomplish many force protection and strike missions under the Joint High Power Solid State Laser program.
+ The company also announces delivery of the refurbished, high reliability Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL), which demonstrated its robustness with hundreds of high power firings in 2006, to The Boeing Company, prime contractor for the Airborne Laser.
+ Successful ABL high-power laser tests at the Systems Integration Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., produced the required levels of power and run-time necessary to destroy a ballistic missile during its 'boost phase.'
July 2006:
+ Based on proven technology, safety and performance of its legacy system, Skyguard, a ground-based laser air defense system, debuts as a powerful defense against rockets, missiles and mortars.
October 2006:
+ The U.S. Department of Homeland Security selects Skyguard as a possible protection for civil aircraft and commercial airports from the threat of MANPAD-type missiles.
+ The laser optical system for the ABL passed, ahead of schedule, a critical milestone, or Knowledge Point, set by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as a requirement for continued development of the first flight aircraft.
+ The company introduces Vesta, a compact laser weapon powerful enough to protect fixed assets sites on the ground and precision strike by manned and unmanned aircraft, which demonstrated world- record continuous wave brightness for a solid-state laser.
+ Northrop Grumman announces that the Strategic Illuminator (SILL) Laser developed for MDA achieved a new world record in brightness (power and beam quality) for a continuously pulsed, solid state laser. In addition to advancing high-energy laser brightness to a new level, the SILL system employs advanced materials and packaging techniques to yield a smaller, lighter and more rugged laser compared with predecessors.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/High_Energy_Laser_Systems_Have_One_Of_The_Most_Suc cessful_Years_Ever_In_2006_999.html
US Seeks Help From Japan With Laser-based Missile Defense
illustration only
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 6, 2007
The United States is seeking Japanese assistance to develop a laser system aboard military aircraft that shoots down ascending missiles, a press report said Saturday. The Japanese government will shortly consult local companies for interest in the project likely to require development of high technology as well as massive funding inputs, the business newspaper Nikkei reported.
The two countries are already deploying systems capable of destroying ballistic missiles which are flying outside the atmosphere or descending to strike targets.
The move comes amid a new sense of urgency in Japan over safety concerns following North Korea's string of missile launches last July as well as its first ever nuclear test in October, the report said.
However any assistance faces legal problems as Japan's pacifist constitution bans the use of force in fighting a war on behalf of other countries, a concept known as "collective defence."
The United States wants to select three types of lasers with the aim of developing an operational system in five years, the report said quoting Japanese government sources.
It named a list of possible companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to help in such areas as making the system smaller, the report said.
The United States and Japan are rushing to complete deployment of an anti-missile defence shield by 2010, combining the land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) and the sea-based Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) systems.
The SM-3 intercepts ballistic missiles when they reach their highest point outside of the atmosphere, while the PAC-3 is used to destroy missiles that evade SM-3 interceptions. The accuracy of these systems is still being debated.
SM-3s, jointly developed by the two countries, will be based on destroyers equipped with the state-of-the-art Aegis air-defence system.
The missile-defence project has been a pillar of the strengthened Japan-US military alliance in recent years.
Japan was prompted to boost its missile defenses in cooperation with the United States in 1998 when North Korea lobbed a suspected long-range missile over its main island and into the Pacific.
Source: Agence France-Presse
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_Seeks_Help_From_Japan_With_Laser_based_Missile_ Defense_999.html
"Powerful military lasers, with their speed-of-light targeting capabilities and cost-effective operation, have the potential to transform the way we equip our armed forces defending our country abroad and protecting it at home against terrorist threats," said Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector.
Noted Mike McVey, president of the company's Directed Energy Systems business area, "This new facility shows our commitment to directed energy systems for the military and reinforces our industrial leadership in all of the laser systems we build. This facility is an example of our long-term commitment to being the premier provider of high-energy lasers to the U.S. government, and it demonstrates our vision of how we will achieve that goal."
The first work in the facility will be for Phase 3 of the Joint High-Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, which will build and demonstrate the first 100 kW solid-state laser sufficient for a variety of force protection battlefield and precision strike missions. The facility also will house other laser systems the company is spearheading.
The facility will provide the capability to produce current and future generation technologies of lasers including fiber lasers even more powerful than 100kW. There will also be an integration area where electric lasers are integrated onto various military platforms, such as armored combat vehicles. With class 1,000 clean rooms and integrated laser safety systems, the facility can produce multiple laser systems at the same time.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Northrop_Grumman_Tooling_Up_First_Ray_Gun_Producti on_Line_999.html
PRESS KIT (http://www.st.northropgrumman.com/)
RELATED ARTICLES:
Raytheon Tests New Laser Weapon
The prototype solid-state Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, combines the proven track record of the Phalanx weapon system (pictured) with the power and accuracy of laser technology.
by Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
Washington (UPI) Jan 10, 2007
Raytheon announced Monday that it had "successfully tested a prototype solid-state laser weapon." The new laser system "combines the proven capabilities of the Phalanx weapon system with the power and effectiveness of lasers to defeat rockets, mortars and missiles at an operationally significant range," the company said.
Raytheon said its prototype solid-state Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, "successfully detonated 60-millimeter mortars at a range greater than 550 yards within the tactical timeline in static ground testing conducted in partnership with the United States government." The company described the tests as "groundbreaking' and said the results had been achieved "in less than six months."
"The LADS demonstration used a proven, existing, off-the-shelf solid-state laser, coupled with commercially available optics technology," Raytheon said. "The goal of the demonstration was to rapidly prove that lasers can yield military utility now by demonstrating that such a system could protect warfighters against mortars."
"Secondary goals of the demonstration were to offer a near-term alternative to chemical lasers, which may create logistics challenges for the warfighter, and to prove that existing optical and targeting components can significantly lower total laser system costs and speed their ultimate transition to the warfighter," the company said.
Raytheon said its solid-state laser technology also ensured that the operation of the LADS was "safe to the environment, does away with the need for caustic chemicals and radically reduces the life-cycle cost."
"LADS is highly mobile and has the operational capability to simultaneously engage multiple targets at tactically relevant ranges," the company said. "The laser system is powered by a commercially available generator or grid electricity and provides an extremely inexpensive, almost infinite magazine for countering mortar and rocket threats."
"In just six short months, Raytheon and government engineers went from an idea to operational field testing of a solid-state laser system that offers the potential of near-term protection for our troops," said Mike Booen, vice president of Advanced Missile Defense and Directed Energy Weapons at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. "Our solid-state LADS proves you don't have to wait another three to five years for solid-state lasers to have military utility on the battlefield. They are ready now, with no chemicals required."
Raytheon said that the LADS was an evolutionary development of its established Phalanx weapon system that fires 20 mm armor piercing ammunition. Raytheon has made more than 900 Phalanx systems and has sold them to 24 nations. It provides "fast and precise search, track and engage capabilities for directing the laser energy on target," the company said.
"The next logical step for LADS is dynamic field testing in 2007," the company said.
Boeing gives Raytheon XBR radar contract
The Raytheon Company announced last week it had won a $32.7 million subcontract from Boeing for work on the X-Band Radar, or XBR, portion of the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, or SBX.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, or IDS, is the prime contractor for the Ground Based Midcourse Defense, or GMD program, which is primarily based around Fort Greely, Alaska.
"Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will provide trained personnel for on-platform sustainment and operation of the XBR along with radar maintenance and development of spares," the company said. "The contract will run through 2007, and work will be performed at the company's Missile Defense Center in Woburn, Mass., and Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass., and by Raytheon Technical Services Company on site at the SBX platform."
"This award signals that the Sea-Based XBR is entering a new phase as it takes its place in the BMDS," said Pete Franklin, vice president, Raytheon IDS Missile Defense Business Area. "Raytheon's XBR is a key element of the Missile Defense Agency's vision of protecting our country from all ranges of threats, and we're committed to providing a missile defense capability to meet the MDA's mission with no doubt."
"As a primary sensor for the BMDS, the XBR performs the critical functions of cued acquisition, target tracking, discrimination and engagement hit assessment," Raytheon said.
The radar will help identify the hostile warhead from the decoys and countermeasures, providing additional capability for interceptor missiles to protect the U.S. and its friends and allies from ballistic missile attacks," the company said.
"Aboard the relocatable SBX, the XBR can be positioned in the ocean to support both testing and provide radar coverage for possible threat missile launches throughout the world," it said.
Japan's bureaucrats drag feet on BMD plans
The Japanese government still faces a major challenge in getting its own bureaucracy and local government authorities to agree to U.S. requirements for flying in capital infrastructure to boost Japan's ballistic missile defense capabilities.
The U.S. armed forces are still seeking "to confirm details of facilities, such as the capability to unload goods, refuel and store equipment, firefighting capabilities, security provisions and space for parked aircraft," the Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported this week in an article carried Wednesday in the Manila Times.
"The highest hurdle for the government is negotiating with the U.S. side, relevant ministries and local governments," the Yoniuri Shimbun report said.
"The U.S. forces wish to use major airports, such as Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Shinchitose and Fukuoka airports, stressing their advanced facilities," the report said. However, such major airports are intensively utilized by civilian aviation assets. Therefore the Japanese government wants to use middle-range airports to avoid tying up the larger ones with logistical and security procedures for long periods of time.
"Under a law governing the use of specific public facilities enacted in 2004, the government can commandeer seaports and airports in the event of an emergency inside Japan," the newspaper noted. However, any ballistic missile threat from a nation such as North Korea would not fall under the definitions of that law.
"In such a case ..., even if it threatens the nation, the (Japanese) government can only make a request to use the facilities. Thus the administrators of seaports and airports could refuse to offer them for use by the U.S. forces," the Yomiuri Shimbun report said.
The newspaper also noted that because "midsize and small seaports and airports in provincial regions have fewer officials for customs, immigration control and quarantine work," the central government in Tokyo would have to draw up detailed plans to ensure they had enough manpower to discharge necessary functions when U.S. forces were using them for BMD-related activities.
"The Finance Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will consider measures to ensure that this work will continue to function smoothly during any emergency," the report said.
It also has been given the task of maintaining security.
The paper noted that Japanese government officials privately acknowledge they are making much slower progress with local authorities and even with the bureaucracies of several Tokyo ministries than they had anticipated in getting agreement on these issues.
One Japanese Foreign Ministry official told the newspaper that the government faced "the dilemma that the more people that are involved the more difficult it is to maintain secrecy."
"Concerning logistic support for the US forces, the government needs to discuss in advance with local governments, private medical institutions and transportation companies over details, such as the number of hospital beds that could be secured for injured U.S. soldiers, how much food and water will be required and means of transport for such provisions," the report said.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Raytheon_Tests_New_Laser_Weapon_999.html
High-Energy Laser Systems Have One Of The Most Successful Years Ever In 2006
The future?
by Staff Writers
Redondo Beach CA (SPX) Jan 04, 2007
Last year will go down as one of the most successful on record for Northrop Grumman high-energy laser systems, which generated the most intense laser beams, the highest power levels, and the longest operating times yet seen in industry.
"By any standard, 2006 was one of the most successful years in the company's history of more than three decades of 'high-energy laser firsts,'" said Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "We are blazing new paths and identifying more uses at a record pace for this mature technology."
Mike McVey, vice president of Directed Energy Systems, noted that in addition to making laser weapons more flexible as missions expand, rapid advancements also are making them more affordable. "Laser weapons are becoming much less expensive compared with other solutions for force protection against indirect fire threats. We estimate that accomplishments in 2006 could easily translate into high-energy laser weapons costing one-fourth the total system cost of tactical missiles."
This is a recap of the company's high-energy laser highlights in 2006:
January 2006:
+ Northrop Grumman Space Technology announces that it has been chosen by the U.S. military to develop a solid-state laser powerful enough (100 kW) to accomplish many force protection and strike missions under the Joint High Power Solid State Laser program.
+ The company also announces delivery of the refurbished, high reliability Beacon Illuminator Laser (BILL), which demonstrated its robustness with hundreds of high power firings in 2006, to The Boeing Company, prime contractor for the Airborne Laser.
+ Successful ABL high-power laser tests at the Systems Integration Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., produced the required levels of power and run-time necessary to destroy a ballistic missile during its 'boost phase.'
July 2006:
+ Based on proven technology, safety and performance of its legacy system, Skyguard, a ground-based laser air defense system, debuts as a powerful defense against rockets, missiles and mortars.
October 2006:
+ The U.S. Department of Homeland Security selects Skyguard as a possible protection for civil aircraft and commercial airports from the threat of MANPAD-type missiles.
+ The laser optical system for the ABL passed, ahead of schedule, a critical milestone, or Knowledge Point, set by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as a requirement for continued development of the first flight aircraft.
+ The company introduces Vesta, a compact laser weapon powerful enough to protect fixed assets sites on the ground and precision strike by manned and unmanned aircraft, which demonstrated world- record continuous wave brightness for a solid-state laser.
+ Northrop Grumman announces that the Strategic Illuminator (SILL) Laser developed for MDA achieved a new world record in brightness (power and beam quality) for a continuously pulsed, solid state laser. In addition to advancing high-energy laser brightness to a new level, the SILL system employs advanced materials and packaging techniques to yield a smaller, lighter and more rugged laser compared with predecessors.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/High_Energy_Laser_Systems_Have_One_Of_The_Most_Suc cessful_Years_Ever_In_2006_999.html
US Seeks Help From Japan With Laser-based Missile Defense
illustration only
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 6, 2007
The United States is seeking Japanese assistance to develop a laser system aboard military aircraft that shoots down ascending missiles, a press report said Saturday. The Japanese government will shortly consult local companies for interest in the project likely to require development of high technology as well as massive funding inputs, the business newspaper Nikkei reported.
The two countries are already deploying systems capable of destroying ballistic missiles which are flying outside the atmosphere or descending to strike targets.
The move comes amid a new sense of urgency in Japan over safety concerns following North Korea's string of missile launches last July as well as its first ever nuclear test in October, the report said.
However any assistance faces legal problems as Japan's pacifist constitution bans the use of force in fighting a war on behalf of other countries, a concept known as "collective defence."
The United States wants to select three types of lasers with the aim of developing an operational system in five years, the report said quoting Japanese government sources.
It named a list of possible companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to help in such areas as making the system smaller, the report said.
The United States and Japan are rushing to complete deployment of an anti-missile defence shield by 2010, combining the land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) and the sea-based Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) systems.
The SM-3 intercepts ballistic missiles when they reach their highest point outside of the atmosphere, while the PAC-3 is used to destroy missiles that evade SM-3 interceptions. The accuracy of these systems is still being debated.
SM-3s, jointly developed by the two countries, will be based on destroyers equipped with the state-of-the-art Aegis air-defence system.
The missile-defence project has been a pillar of the strengthened Japan-US military alliance in recent years.
Japan was prompted to boost its missile defenses in cooperation with the United States in 1998 when North Korea lobbed a suspected long-range missile over its main island and into the Pacific.
Source: Agence France-Presse
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_Seeks_Help_From_Japan_With_Laser_based_Missile_ Defense_999.html