Japan launches ninth, commissions sixth Mogami-class multi-mission frigate

Launching of Natori (FFM-9) at MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard. Photo c/o MHI.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has reached new milestones in their Mogami-class multi-mission frigate programme over the past few days, as the sixth ship of the class was commissioned into service, while the ninth ship of the class was launched.

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)  has delivered the sixth Mogami-class frigate to JMSDF on 20 June 2024, with the JMSDF naming the ship as the JS Agano (FFM-6), and commissioning it on the same day.

The ship was launched by MHI’s Nagaski shipyard in December 2022 and was named after the Agano River found in Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan.

The new frigate will be assigned with the JMSDF’s Maizuru Naval Base in the Kansai region

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has launched the ninth Mogami-class frigate on 24 June 2024, also in their Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works.

The ship was named Natori (FFM-9) , after the Natori River in the Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan, and is the second ship to bear the same name after  a light cruiser of the Imperioal Japanese Navy.

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] Naval News

[3] Janes