In Japan, an official naming and launching ceremony was held at the shipyard Mitsubishi Heavy Industries from Nagasaki, marking the entrance to the water a JS Yoshii, 12th and final Mogami-class frigate (FFM).
The event was announced by the official page of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and was honored by the presence of the Minister of Defense, Shinjiro Koizumiwho personally attended the ceremony.
The ship was named „Yoshii” (Yoshii/よしい) in honor of the Yoshii River, located in Okayama Prefecture. A notable detail is that the Imperial Japanese Navy never used this name again.
After launch, the frigate will be towed to the quay for the final completion and systems integration phase. According to JMSDF plans, the ship’s entry into fleet service is scheduled for 2026.
Another relevant aspect is the pace of construction. Keel laying took place at July 3, 2024and the launch took place at just 17 months after the start of assembly, a term considered short for a ship of this category.
The main features of the Mogami class
- Standard displacement: 3.900 t
- Displacement at maximum load: approximately 5,500 t
- Length of the ship’s hull: 132,5–133 m
- Width: 16,3 m
- Draft: 9 m
- Crew: about 90 people
The main artillery weapon is the cannon BAE Systems Mk 45 Mod 4 de 127 mmcapable of engaging sea, air and coastal targets. To deal with air and submarine threats, the frigate is equipped with a vertical launcher Mk 41 cu 16 cellswhile proximity defense is provided by the system SeaRAM.
In the antiship role, the ship has eight Type 17 (SSM-2) missiles. The anti-submarine package includes torpedo tubes for light torpedoes Type 12. In addition, the frigate is equipped with two remote controlled combat modulesequipped with machine guns of 12,7 mmintended to defend against asymmetric threats.
An additional feature of the project is the presence simplified equipment for the installation of minesallowing the frigate to be used for the emplacement of defensive minefields, which increases its flexibility as a multifunctional platform for the protection of territorial waters.
Mogami-class frigate (FFM) construction schedule
Construction of the Mogami-class frigates began in 2019as part of a program designed to replace the star-class rocket carriers Hayabusa and escort destroyers of the class Also. To maintain an accelerated pace, the strategy of building was adopted of two ships simultaneously.
In 2019, the first two ships of the series, Mogami and Kumanothey had the keel set at October 29 and 30respectively. However, the launch schedule was reversed: Kumano was launched at November 19, 2020while the lead ship Mogami it was only launched at March 3, 2021.
According to published information, the delay of the lead ship was caused by technical faults in the gas turbine Rolls-Royce MT30 during bench tests associated with interaction with a faulty support element. As a result, the launch of the main ship took place at four months after Kumano.
After this episode, construction of the other ten frigates continued without significant interruption. According to the evaluations presented, it represents Japan’s largest shipbuilding series since the end of World War II.
Source and images: 防衛省 海海自衛隊 | X @JMSDF_PAO. This content was created with the help of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
