Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has handed over its latest Mogami-class frigate to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
The 133-metre, 5,500-tonne warship JS Natori is Japan’s ninth Mogami-class frigate, and the third to enter service with the Japanese Navy with a 16-cell, 64-missile Mk41 vertical launching system (VLS) pre-installed.
While the Natori and other later original Mogami-class ships have Mk 41 VLS capability, they are 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 Upgraded Mogami platform has double the number of VLS cells, meaning it can fire up to 128 missiles before requiring resupply.
As well as the VLS, JS Natori 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. In time she is also set to be equipped with uncrewed surface and underwater vessels for mine countermeasures (MCM).
Build work on JS Natori started in the middle of 2023; she was launched in June 2024. She has been commissioned into the JMDSF’s Patrol and Defense Squadron 5; her home port will be the Ominato Naval Base in Aomori Prefecture on the northern tip of Japan’s main island, Honshu.
- You can read more details on the MHI website