The new offshore patrol vessels (OPV) will be built at a very high pace: The first and second vessels are scheduled to be launched in November this year.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has announced that it has started building a planned fleet of 12 OPV for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). It is the first time ever for the service to introduce any OPV.
Japan Marine United (JMU), the project’s main contractor, held a groundbreaking ceremony of the first four OPVs on February 14 in Yokohama City of Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, according to the latest issue of the MoD’s South Kanto Defense Bureau’s public relations magazine.
At a very high pace, the first and second vessels are scheduled to be launched in November this year, with the third and fourth vessels being scheduled to be launched in March 2026, according to the magazine. All four vessels will be commissioned in March 2027.
Based on the nation’s Defense Buildup Program formulated in December 2022, the MoD plans to acquire 12 patrol vessels over about 10 years. It allocated 35.7 billion yen ($250 million) for fiscal year 2023 to build the first four vessels, meaning the construction cost per vessel is about 9 billion yen.
The new ships will measure about 95 meters long and 12 meters wide, and have a standard displacement of about 1,920 tons and a maximum speed of 20 knots (23 mph). Each OPV features a combined diesel-electric and diesel (CODLAD) propulsion configuration, in which an electric motor and a diesel engine act on a single propeller. Each vessel will be armed with a 30 mm gun.
The ministry’s Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency (ATLA) has stressed that the OPVs will be based on a modular system enabling customization and will have strong surveillance capabilities through automation, adaptability, modularity, and sustainability.
The MoD has said those patrol vessels will specialize in warning and surveillance and can be operated with minimal personnel. In response to a manpower shortage at the JMSDF, the OPV will only need a crew of about 30, far fewer personnel than the Mogami-class multirole frigates (also known as FFM), which also have only a crew of 90.
In the fiscal 2025 budget, the MoD allocated 4 billion yen to acquire six V-BAT ship-based unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from U.S. aerospace and defense technology company Shield AI to install them on OPVs.
Faced with China’s aggressive maritime expansion, the MoD is under pressure to strengthen its surveillance and monitoring capabilities in the waters around Japan by introducing OPVs. According to the 2024 Defense White Paper, as of March 31, 2024, Japan has 50 modern destroyers and frigates. In contrast, China has 94, enabling to increase its activities in waters close to Japan.
