The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has taken delivery of its tenth Mogami frigate from shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
JS Nagara has been commissioned into the JMSDF fleet after being handed over at MHI’s Nagasaki yard in western Japan yesterday (Monday).
Going forward the 133-metre, 5,500-tonne warship, will be housed at Kure Naval Base in Hiroshima Prefecture.
She cost about Y52.3bn (£244 million) to build and was launched in December 2024; the lean-crewed platform requires only about 90 sailors to operate.
Like the last three Mogami-class frigates, she is equipped with a 16-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) with 64 missiles; the previous six Mogamis are due to get this air defence system retro-fitted.
Like her immediate predecessors JS Nagara is also armed with a BAE Systems five-inch, 62-calibre naval gun, a Raytheon SeaRAM system, two Type 17 SSM launchers, and anti-submarine and mine warfare systems.
She is built to the initial 30FFM specifications rather than the Upgraded Mogami “New FFM” design currently being procured by the Japanese Ministry of Defense and also recently selected by the Royal Australian Navy for its future Sea 3000 general purpose frigate programme.
The JMSDF is set to receive two further standard Mogami-class frigates by spring 2028; it also plans to acquire a total of 12 New FFM Mogami (aka Upgraded/Evolved Mogami) frigates by the end of the 2032 financial year.
- You can read more details on the MHI website