The Japanese and South Korean navies held personal ceremonies in Tamano and Ulsan on March 22 to mark important milestones in their latest frigate construction plans.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commissions frigate JS Kumano. Built by the newly formed Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Systems – which was established in October 2021 and took over the government sector operations of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding – JS Kumano is actually 22 planned 3,900-ton Mogami- The second ship in the plan. Class multi-mission frigate.
After nearly 13 months of construction, the 132.5-meter vessel was launched in November 2020. According to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Kumano will feature extensive automation, making it relatively more compact than other ships in its class and capable of operating with only 90 personnel.
The frigate is equipped with a 127mm main gun, two Japanese steel mill 12.7mm long-range weapons stations, a Thor SeaRAM close-in weapons system, vertical launch systems (VLS) for weapons such as the Navy Type 03 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) ) and eight canned Type 17 anti-ship missiles.
Organic mission equipment includes the Mitsubishi Electric OPY-2 multifunction radar and Hitachi OQQ-11 and NEC OQQ sonar systems as well as the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries OZZ-5 unmanned underwater vehicle and a currently undisclosed unmanned surface vehicle.
“As a full-vessel integrator, we will continue to focus on developing new escort vessels that are not bound by traditional frameworks to address customer issues such as labor-saving, unmanned operation, cybersecurity, and reduction of full-life-cycle costs,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy Industries launched the eighth and final frigate ordered under the ROK Navy’s FFX Batch-II program, the future Daegu-class ROKS Chuncheon. The FFX Batch-II ships were built to replace the Navy’s aging 1500 ton frigates and 1000 ton frigates.
A senior Navy official noted that the 2,800-ton frigate is equipped with “enhanced anti-submarine capabilities” thanks to its advanced sonar system and hybrid propulsion system that reduces underwater radiated noise.
According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Chuncheon It will enter sea trials before delivery in late 2023.
by Jr Ng
