Lockheed gets fresh Japan missile-defense deal

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Japan is boosting its fledgling shield against ballistic missiles, Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said Wednesday, reflecting moves at sea to defend against a perceived threat from North Korea.

Lockheed won a $40.4 million deal to add missile-defense capability to a third of four Japanese Kongo-class destroyers, the Myoko, the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday.

A contract for the fourth ship, Kirishima, now looks set "to follow by year's end, if not sooner," said Ken Ross, a Lockheed spokesman in Moorestown, New Jersey.

In addition, Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed hopes Japan eventually will add similar capabilities to its two newest destroyers, just as the U.S. Navy is planning, he said.

Japan, the closest U.S. partner in missile defense, also has also deployed ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile interceptors amid concern about North Korean arms.

Tokyo's interest in missile defense was spurred by North Korea's surprise test-firing of a three-stage Taepo Dong 1 ballistic missile over the main Japanese island of Honshu on Aug. 31, 1998.

Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales, won an initial $124 million contract in 2005 to outfit the first of the Kongo-class destroyers to defend against missiles that could be tipped with chemical, nuclear or germ warheads.

On Dec. 17, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Kongo shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target above the Pacific in the first such test by a U.S. ally.