On December 19, Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) launched the latest frigate, the tenth of a planned fleet of 12 Mogami-class multirole frigates, for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
Named Nagara, the 133 meter-long vessel (pennant number FFM-10) entered the water during a ceremony held on the day at the company’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Nagasaki Prefecture.
The vessel is named after the Nagara River (長良川, Nagara-gawa) which runs through Gifu Prefecture and flows into Ise Bay. All ships of the class are named after famous rivers in Japan, designated as a “Class A river.”
The shipyard will now proceed to the fitting out stage of the frigate, ahead of its delivery and commissioning set for by the end of fiscal year 2025 that ends March 31, 2026, according to the JMSDF.
This is the second Japanese military ship to bear the name Nagara, following the lead ship of the Nagara-class of light cruiser in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
As neighboring China expands the size and capabilities of its naval forces, Japan plans to defend its southwestern Nansei island chain, which spans about 1,200 km from Kagoshima to Okinawa, stretching southwest toward Taiwan by increasing surveillance missions in Japanese coastal waters. The chain includes the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. In addition, Russia’s military has been increasingly sending naval and air forces to join exercises held by China in the Sea of Japan and elsewhere.
Equipped with compact hull, JS Nagara is being built for about 51.4 billion yen ($331 million) under a contract awarded in March 2023, according to the JMSDF. As with the other ships of the class, the 3,900-tonne vessel will have a crew complement of about 90, a beam of 16.3 m, and a hull draught of 9 m.
Powered by a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion system featuring two MAN 12V28/33D STC diesel engines and one Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine, the Mogami-class is capable of attaining a top speed of more than 30 knots. The Mogami-class marks the first instalment of a CODAG system on any JMSDF ship.
The FFM will be equipped with a wide variety of weapons and systems as listed below.
- BAE Systems 5-inch (127-mm) 62-caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun system ×1
- Japan Steel Works 12.7mm Remote Weapon System ×2
- Mk.41 VLS (16 cells)
- Raytheon SeaRAM ×1
- MHI Type 17 (SSM-2) 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 (by JMU Defense Systems) for mine countermeasures
- Sea mines for offensive mine warfare
The VLS has already been budgeted for all 12 ships of the class, but no ships have yet equipped with it. According to the Ministry of Defense, the first two VLSs will be delivered to the JMSDF during this fiscal year 2024. Specifically, these VLSs will be installed on JS Niyodo (FFM-7) and JS Yubetsu (FFM-8) at first.
New FFM program
The JMSDF plans to build a total of 12 Mogami-class frigates until the fiscal year 2023, with plans to acquire a new class of 12 FFMs from 2024 until 2028. The first of the New FFMs is scheduled to be commissioned in fiscal year 2028, and if construction proceeds smoothly, 12 ships will be in service five years later, in fiscal year 2032.
The new frigates will essentially be improved Mogami-class ships that are set to be built to the design proposed by MHI. Naval News previously reported on the “New FFM” at this link.
In an epoch-making move, the Australian government has shortlisted Japan’s MHI and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) over Spanish and South Korean contenders to build the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)’s future general purpose frigates. MHI is pitching New FFM, or the upgraded Mogami-class frigate, to the Albanese government, meanwhile, TKMS has offered its MEKO A-200 design.
In addition, on November 15, Japan and India signed a Memorandum of Implementation (MOI) for Tokyo’s planned export to New Delhi of an advanced integrated stealth antenna system that is currently used for the Mogami-class.
Once implemented, this would be Japan’s first export of defense equipment to India under the bilateral agreement on defense equipment and technology transfer signed in December 2015. This would also be Japan’s second export of finished defense equipment to a foreign country, following the transfer of air surveillance radar systems to the Philippines.
