The ''Hida''-class patrol vessel are a class of patrol vessel within the PL series (Large patrol vessel) of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). The class name "Hida" is named after

Hida Mountains The , or , is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japan, ...

, the northernmost mountain range of the

Japanese Alps The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw m ...

, a famous mountain range in Japan. The class is one of the more modern patrol vessel classes designed to intercept North Korean (DPRK) spy boats. These classes are referred to as "High-speed, high-functionality patrol vessel, large" ( 高速高機能大型巡視船). The vessels carry a

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...

L/70

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...

with a laser-optical

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...

, and are able to safely deal with heavily armed spy boats of the DPRK which intrude into Japanese waters. The hull of this class is

bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...

in cases of close-range firefights using small arms. Ships of this class are among the leading vessels of flotillas intended for spy boat interception. With the helicopter deck of this class, a

Special Security Team The is a counter terrorism tactical unit of the Japan Coast Guard, based at the . The acronym of its Kanji name has already been used by other units, the abbreviation "SST" is used for this team. Background In 1985, the Maritime Safety Agency ...

can arrive at the scene aboard Eurocopter EC225 helicopters. The broadband SATCOM system of this class can relay video data from helicopters to the ground station or the HQ of the JCG. This class is equipped with a

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

system to acquire targets with high accuracy, and at the same time, this system enables them to perform

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

mission more safely.

Ships in the class

References

Bibliography

* * * Patrol vessels of the Japan Coast Guard Patrol ship classes {{Japan-mil-ship-stub

Ships in the class

See also

References

Bibliography