The ballistic missile defense (BMD)-capable guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) will be deploying to Japan once it completes testing and certification.
The U.S. Navy announced the destroyer would become part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) based at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan in 2018.
The ship was initially planned to arrive this summer, but Naval Surface Forces, Pacific Fleet delayed the ship’s arrival to ensure completion of the ship’s maintenance and modernization, as well as to ensure that the ship completed testing and certification before joining the 7th Fleet.
Milius is undergoing a midlife modernization and will be fitted with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system, which includes state of the art air defense, BMD, surface warfare and undersea warfare capabilities.