Yoshihiro Inaba attended the launch ceremony in Nagasaki and contributed to this story.
While another shipyard, Mitsui E & S Shipbuilding located in Okayama launched the second ship of the class, Kumano, back in November 2020, Mogami is the first ship of the 30FFM class. This is because Mitsui E&S received a subcontracting order from MHI (the main contractor) for the construction of the 3,900-ton frigate for the JMSDF.
The vessel is named after the Mogami River (最上川, Mogami-gawa) located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. According to the JMSDF “The Mogami River is said to be the “Mother’s River” because it brings many blessings to people.” (最上川は、人々に多くの恵みをもたらしていることから〝母なる大河”と言われています。) The shipyard will now proceed to the fitting out stage of the frigate, ahead of its delivery and commissioning set for 2022
30FFM (also known as FFM and previously known as 30DX) is the next generation multi-mission frigate designed for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). A total number of 22 Frigates are expected to be procured for the JMSDF.
The two shipyards in charge of building the first two frigates of the class are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki and Mitsui E&S in Okayama.
30FFM characteristics
According to MHI, the 30FFM multi-mission frigate will have a full load displacement of about 5,500 tons, with a length of 132.5 meters and a beam of 16.3 meters. It will have a maximum speed in excess of 30 knots. The crew complement will be quite low, at about 90 sailors, indicating a high level of automation on board.
The 30FFM will be equipped with a wide variety of weapons and systems as listed below.
- BAE Systems Mk.45 mod.4 5-inch naval gun system ×1
- Japan Steel Works 12.7mm Remote Weapon System ×2
- Mk.41 VLS (fitted for but not with)
- Raytheon SeaRAM ×1
- MHI Type 17 anti-ship missiles ×8
- Mitsubishi Electric OPY-2 multifunction Radar
- Mitsubishi Electric OAX-3EO/IR sensors
- Hitachi OQQ-11 anti-mine sonar
- NEC OQQ-25 anti-submarine sonar (VDS/TASS)
- UUV (OZZ-5 by MHI) and USV (unknown type) for mine counter measures
- Sea mines for offensive mine warfare
Yoshihiro Inaba attended the launch ceremony in Nagasaki and will publish soon a more detailed article about Mogami. Meanwhile you can learn more about the 30FFM class with the in-depth feature we published last year.
