The ''Haruna''-class destroyer was a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

class built for the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , 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 (IJN) ...

(JMSDF) in the early 1970s. These helicopter carrying destroyers (DDH) are built around a large central hangar which houses up to three helicopters. Originally, the

Coastal Safety Force , also simply known as the Coastal Security Force, was an organization under the jurisdiction of the National Safety Agency, and existed from 1 August 1952 to 30 June 1954 in Japan. It was a maritime security agency established for the purpose o ...

and its successor, the JMSDF, had intended to enable its fleet aviation operating capability. In 1960, the Defense Agency planned to construct one helicopter carrier (CVH) with the Second Defense Build-up Plan, but this project was shelved and finally cancelled because the JMSDF changed their plan to dispersing its fleet aviation assets among destroyers, not concentrating in a few helicopter carriers. The Japanese DDH was planned to be a hub with this dispersing fleet aviation concept with their logistics service capability for aircraft. At the beginning, equipment of this class were similar to those of the DDA. All weapons, two 5-inch/54 caliber Mark 42 (Type 73) guns and one Type 74 octuple missile launcher (Japanese version of the American Mark 16 GMLS), were settled on the forecastle deck. But with the

Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter. The FRAM program also covere ...

(FRAM) program in 1983 and 1984,

Sea Sparrow RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a U.S. ship-borne short-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon system, primarily intended for defense against anti-ship missiles. The system was developed in the early 1960s from the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile as a ...

launchers,

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...

systems and chaff launchers were added on the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. With this upgrading program, this class became also enable to operate

Naval Tactical Data System Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) was a computerized information processing system developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s and first deployed in the early 1960s for use in combat ships. It took reports from multiple sensors on different sh ...

(NTDS) with OYQ-6/7 combat direction system. The rear-half of the superstructure was helicopter

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

, and the afterdeck was the

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly ref ...

with the beartrap system. To operate large HSS-2 ASW helicopters safely, the full length of the helicopter deck reached 50 meters.

Ships in the class

Gallery

File:US Navy 070318-N-5961C-262 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) ship JS Haruna (DDH 141), USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) and USS Russell (DDG 59) steam in formation during a photo exercise (PHOTOEX) between the Ronald Reagan C.jpg, US Navy 070318-N-5961C-262 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) ship JS ''Haruna'' (DDH-141), USS ''Lake Champlain'' (CG-57) and USS ''Russell'' (DDG-59) steam in formation during a photo exercise File:JMSDF ship Haruna (DDH 141).jpg, JMSDF ship ''Haruna'' (DDH-141) File:JMSDF Hiei underway with JMSDF Ashigara and USS Curtis Wilbur.jpg, ''Hiei'' underway in the Pacific with ''Ashigara'' and USS ''Curtis Wilbur'', November 2009

References

External links

GlobalSecurity.org; JMSDF DDH Haruna Class
{{Combatant ship classes of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Destroyer classes