JS ''Mogami'' (FFM-1) 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 s of the

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). She was named after the

Mogami River The is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Description and history The river is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km2. It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (along with the Fuji River and the Kuma R ...

and shares her name with a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

heavy cruiser ''Mogami'' and

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

destroyer escort ''Mogami''.

Development and design

In 2015 the Japanese defense budget allocated funds to study the construction of a new "compact-type hull destroyer with additional multi-functional capabilities" as well as a new radar system for the destroyer. In the same year

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, 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 prede ...

(MHI) unveiled the frigate's first concept model (30FF) which they have been developing with their own funds. The 30DX design has an overall length of , breadth of , a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of 3,900 tons with a

full load displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

of about 5,500 tons, and a maximum speed of over . Weapons include a Mk 45 gun, two remote weapon stations above the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, 16 Mk 41 VLS at the

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

, eight anti-ship missiles, one

SeaRAM The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and United States navies. It wa ...

, an SH-60L helicopter, torpedoes, and decoy launchers. It can also deploy and recover

unmanned underwater vehicle Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), also known as underwater drones, are submersible vehicles that can operate underwater without a human occupant. These vehicles may be divided into two categories: remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROUVs) an ...

s (UUVs),

unmanned surface vehicle An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloquially called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with v ...

s (USVs), and

sea mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

from the rear ramp beneath the helideck. It is also expected to use a naval version of the

Type 03 Chū-SAM The or SAM-4 or is a Japanese developed surface-to-air missile system currently in service with the JGSDF. The SAM's vehicle chassis is based on the Kato Works Ltd/Mitsubishi Heavy Industries NK series heavy crane truck. It uses a state-of-the ...

Construction and career

''Mogami'' 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 29 October 2019 at

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

and launched on 3 March 2021, four months behind schedule because of problems with the British MT30 gas turbines. She will be expected to be commissioned on 28 April 2022. She commissioned on 28 April 2022 and deployed to Yokosuka Naval Base. The ceremony was attended by Makoto Oniki, Vice Minister of Defense, Ryo Sakai, Chief of the Maritime Staff, and Atsuo Suzuki, Director General of the Defense Acquisition Agency. MHI's Naohiko Abe, Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Defense & Space Segment. When JS ''Mogami'' was completed, it was not equipped with VLS, but the budget for VLS will be appropriated later and VLS will be installed.

Gallery

File:JS Mogami（FFM-1）Launching ceremony 03 Mar 2021.jpg File:JS Mogami（FFM-1）Launching ceremony 03 Mar 2021(2).jpg File:JS Mogami（FFM-1）Launching ceremony 03 Mar 2021(3).jpg File:もがみ自衛艦旗授与式.jpg File:Immediately after service, the JS Mogami（FFM-1）.jpg

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mogami (FFM-1) 2021 ships Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mogami-class frigates