The new reorganization process will abolish the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Fleet Escort Force (護衛艦隊 in Japanese) and the Mine Warfare Force (掃海隊群). A new “Fleet Surface Force” (水上艦隊), as tentatively named by the Japanese MoD, will be created instead.
Established in 1961, the Fleet Escort Force has a long history and tradition spanning 63 years. The name of this organization, which has been active on the front lines of Japan’s maritime defense for decades, will disappear.
On September 3, a former Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) captain and ship commander told Naval News, “For us JMSDF officers who have served under the Fleet Escort Force for a long time, this can be considered a major reorganization.“
The MoD explained that the purpose of this large-scale reorganization of the JMSDF is to “establish a structure for centralized command and supervision of all surface vessel units such as Fleet Escort Force and Mine Warfare Force” that have been in place until now.
“This is a complete scrap-and-build reorganization of our surface vessel fleet.”
JMSDF spokesperson
The reorganization is scheduled to be completed at the end of fiscal year 2025, which is March 2026, according to the JMSDF.
The specific details of the restructuring plan are as follows:
Currently, the Self Defense Fleet (自衛艦隊) of the JMSDF is structured in the following way:
- The Fleet Escort Force (護衛艦隊) which is composed of:
- Four Escort Flotillas (護衛隊群): Escort Flotilla 1 to Escort Flotilla 4,
- Five Escort Divisions(護衛隊), or Escort Flotilla 11 to Escort Flotilla 15.
- The Mine Warfare Force (掃海隊群)
In addition to these, there are the Minesweeper Division(掃海隊) and the Patrol Guided Missile Boat Division(ミサイル艦隊) under five Districts(地方隊) that are under the direct control of the Minister of Defense.
These will be consolidated into the new Fleet Surface Force under the Self-Defense Fleet, and all surface vessels will be concentrated there. Then, they will be reorganized inside the force by ship function.
Under the reorganization plan, the new Fleet Surface Force will consist in:
- Three Surface Battle Groups (水上戦群),
- One Amphibious Mine Warfare Group (水陸両用戦機雷戦群)
- One Patrol Defense Group (哨戒防備群)
The 1st to 3rd Surface Battle Groups will become the main units. By changing the current four Escort Flotillas into three Surface Battle Groups, the number of ships in each Surface Battle Group will increase. This will allow for efficient rotation of missions, training, maintenance, and so on within each Surface Battle Group. Furthermore, in the event of an emergency, all three Surface Battle Groups will be able to operate at the same time, the MoD said.
The Amphibious Mine Warfare Group will merge the existing Mine Warfare Force with transport and amphibious ships to support mine warfare and amphibious warfare operations.
The Patrol Defense Group will be composed of vessels dedicated to surveillance missions.
This new organization will allow the three Surface Warfare Groups to focus on training on a daily basis, and ensure that they can respond properly to operations in the long term.
Furthermore, by consolidating ships into the Fleet Surface Force, they will be reorganized by function, such as amphibious warfare. The aim is to be more agile and able to respond to medium- to long-term demands.
“The Fleet Escort Force will simply ‘change’ into the Fleet Surface Force,” a defense official said.
The reorganization of the JMSDF comes in response to the decision in the Defense Buildup Plan (FY2023-FY2027) formulated in December 2022 to “reorganize the existing Escort Flotilla and Mine Warfare Force into ‘Surface Vessel Units’ to serve as a central force provider for patrol vessels introduced in the future, destroyers and minesweepers.”
The Defense Buildup Plan also stipulates that over the next 10 years, there will be six Surface Vessels Units groups with 21 divisions, consisting of destroyers and minesweeper vessels.
By contrast, the JMSDF said once the reorganization is completed at the end of fiscal 2025, there will be five Surface Vessels Units groups with 21 divisions.
The JMSDF currently has four Escort Flotillas, each consisting of one helicopter carrier(DDH), five general-purpose destroyers (DD), and two Aegis destroyers (DDG) for a total of eight vessels.
Thus, if these four Escort Flotillas are converted into three Surface Battle Groups, one DDH will be left over. Asked by Naval News what will happen to the remaining DDH, Adm. Akira Saito Chief of Staff of the JMSDF said at a press conference on September 3, “One DDH will be deployed to the minesweeping flotilla,” which is apparently the new Amphibious Mine Warfare Group.
