Japan is considering downsizing two destroyers to be built with the Aegis ballistic missile interceptor system from their original design in a bid to increase their mobility, government sources have said.
While the destroyers were principally designed to protect against ballistic missiles, the government also plans to make them multipurpose vessels capable of carrying the U.S.-developed Tomahawk cruise missile, which it is considering introducing, the sources said Tuesday.
The government originally planned to build destroyers with a standard displacement of about 20,000 tons, almost the same as the Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest ship, the carrier Izumo. But now they will be scaled down to nearly on par with the 8,200-ton Maya, the nation's biggest Aegis-equipped vessel, the sources said.