JS ''Awaji'' (MSO-304) is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the ''Awaji''-class

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

(JMSDF).

Construction and career

''Awaji'' 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 27 February 2014 and launched on 27 October 2015 by Japan Marine United (JMU) Yokohama Shipyard. She was commissioned on 16 March 2017, and then she was incorporated into the 1st Mine Warfare Group and deployed to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

. From July 18 to July 30, 2027, she participated in mine warfare training and minesweeping special training in

Mutsu Bay is a bay located within Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has an east-west distance of approximately and a north-south distance of approximately at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately . Na ...

. From July 18 to July 30, 2018, she conducted mine warfare training and some Japan-US-India joint minesweeping special training in Mutsu Bay.

Gallery

File:MSO 304 Awaji.jpg, JS ''Awaji'' on 18 March 2017 File:JS Awaji(MSO-304).jpg, JS ''Awaji'' on 22 April 2017 File:JS Awaji(MSO-304) left front view at JMSDF Yokosuka Naval Base April 30, 2018.jpg, JS ''Awaji'' and JS Hirado on 30 April 2018

References

* ''Chapter 6 Third Defense Era, 25 Years of the Maritime Self-Defense Force'', Maritime Staff Office, 1980. * Hiroshi Nagata, ''What is required of future self-defense ships (new type of Maritime Self-Defense Force), Ships of the World'', No. 550, Gaijinsha, April 1999, pp. 69–73 {{DEFAULTSORT:Awaji Ships built by Japan Marine United 2015 ships Awaji-class minesweepers