Japan commissions fifth Mogami-class multi-mission frigate

 

The JS Yahagi (FFM-5). Photo c/o MilitaryPorn @ Reddit.

Japanese naval shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has formally handed over the fifth Mogami-class multi-mission frigate to the  Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) on 21 May 2024.

This was immediately followed by the ship’s commissioning with the JMSDF as the JS Yahagi (FFM-5), and was assigned with the Escort Division 14 based in Maizuru Naval Base in Kyoto Prefecture.

The JS Yahagi was launched by MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard on 23 June 2022, and was named after the Yahagi River in Central Japan.

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 Asagiri-class destroyers and Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, both of which have been in service since the late 1980s.

[1] Naval News

[2] Baird Maritime