Hibiki-class Ocean Surveillance Ship

The ''Hibiki''-class ocean surveillance ship is a class of surveillance ships operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The ships have a small-waterplane-area twin hull (SWATH) design.

History

The ''Hibiki'' class was developed in response to the launch of the s by the Soviet Union, and their deployments in the waters near Japan. The Ministry of Defense (Japan), Defense Agency announced plans to develop a research vessel#Naval research, surveillance ship in 1989.

The first ''Hibiki''-class vessel was commissioned on January 23, 1991, and the second, ''Harima'', on March 10, 1992.

Construction

All three vessels of the class have been built by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding at its Tamano shipyard.

Operations

''Hibiki'' and ''Harima'' operate out of Kure, Hiroshima. The United States and Japan reportedly split the costs of operating the ''Hibiki'' vessels, which approximately US$20 million per year.

Characteristics

''Hibiki''-class vessels have a Beam (nautical), beam of , a top speed of , and a standard range of . Each vessel has a crew of 40, including five American civilian technicians, and a flight deck for helicopters to operate off of. They are able to deploy on station for 90 days.

The vessels have an Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System, AN/UQQ-2 Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), which is installed in the United States. Data from the sensors is relayed through the Defense Satellite Communications System, and processed and shared with the United States. The data is fed into the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System.

Propulsion is provided by four Mitsubishi S6U-MPTK diesel electric engines.

Ships in the class

References

{{Hibiki-class ocean surveillance ships

Auxiliary ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Auxiliary surveillance ship classes
Hibiki-class ocean surveillance ships,
Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding