Japan commissions fourth Mogami-class multi-purpose frigate

 

The Mogami-class frigate, JS Mikuma (FFM-4). Photo c/o Naval News.

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Maritime Systems Co. has delivered the fourth Mogami-class multi-purpose frigates for the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) on 07 March 2023.

The ship was later commissioned with the JMSDF as the JS Mikuma (FFM-4), named after the Mikuma River located at the Oita Prefecture. It also shares its name with a heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy commissioned in 1935.

The commissioning also marks its final departure from the Nagasaki Shipyard to its assignment with the JMSDF's 13th Escort Division based in Sasebo Naval Base in Nagasaki Prefecture.

The JS Mogami was launched on 10 December 2021, and joins three other sisterships, the JS Mogami (FFM-1), JS Kumano (FFM-2) and JS Noshiro (FFM-3) all of which were commissioned with the JMSDF in 2022.

The new Mogami-class frigates were designed with efficiency and high level of automation in mind, together with a more compact design for reduced construction cost, and stealthy hull and superstructure design for reduced cross-section against radar detection.

It has a length of 132.5 meters, a width of 16.3 meters, and has a crew of 90 officers and sailors.

The ship has a maximum speed of more than 30 knots, and powered by a Combined Diesel and Gas (CODAG) propulsion configuration with two MAN 12V28/33D STC diesel engines and a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engine.

It is armed with a BAE Systems Mk.45 Mod 4 127mm naval gun, two Japan Steel Works RCWS for 12.7mm machine guns, a 16-cell Mk. 41 VLS, an 11-cell Raytheon SeaRAM CIWS, and two quadruple launchers for MHI Type 17 anti-ship missiles.

The Mogami-class are to replace the JMSDF's ageing fleet of Abukuma-class destroyer escorts that have been in service since the late 1980s.




[1] Naval News
[2] Traffic News Japan
[3] Japan Maritime Self Defense Force