JS ''Ariake'' (DD-109) (ありあけ) is the ninth ship of s. She was commissioned on 6 March 2002.

Design

The hull design was completely renovated from first-generation DDs. In addition to increasing the size in order to reduce the underwater radiation noise, both superstructure and hull was inclined to reduce the

radar cross-section Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...

. There is however no angled tripod mainmast like the one of the American because of the heavy weather of the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

in winter. The aft was designed like a "mini- Oranda-zaka" as with the to avoid interference between helicopters and

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

devices. Destroyers built under the First Defense Build-up Plan, including the former , adopted a unique long forecastle style called "Oranda-zaka". The engine arrangement is COGAG as same as ''Asagiri'' class, but a pair of engines are updated to Spey SM1C. And the remaining one pair are replaced by

LM2500 The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine. As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of mor ...

, same as ''Kongō'' class.

Construction and career

''Ariake'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 18 May 1999 at

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Moto ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, w ...

as part of the 1997 plan and launched on 16 October 2000. Commissioned on 6 March 2002, the vessel was incorporated into the 6th Escort Corps of the 2nd Escort Corps and deployed to

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

. On 13 September 2020, she departed from Sasebo base for the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Chan ...

off the coast of Somalia as the 37th dispatched anti-piracy action water squadron.

Gallery

File:JDS Ariake DD109.jpg, JS ''Ariake'' underway on 16 November 2002 File:JS Ariake departs Pearl Harbor, -5 Jul. 2006 a.jpg, JS ''Ariake'' entering

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

on 5 July 2006 File:USS BULKELEY (DDG 84) 131211-N-IG780-002 (11962718396).jpg, JS ''Ariake'' in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

on 11 December 2013 File:USS BULKELEY (DDG 84) 131211-N-IG780-105 (11962179793).jpg, JS ''Ariake'' in the Gulf of Oman on 11 December 2013 File:JMSDF Ariake(DD-109）＆Armada Española Castilla (L-52).jpg, JS ''Ariake'' with the Spanish

landing ship dock A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also ha ...

in 2021

Citations

References

* * * Saunders, Stephen. ''IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2013-2014''. Jane's Information Group (2003). 2000 ships Murasame-class destroyers (1994) Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries {{Japan-mil-ship-stub