JS ''Ashigara'' (DDG-178) is an Atago-class guided missile destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). ''Ashigara'' was named for Mount Ashigara, and is the first Japanese ship to bear the prefix ''JS'' (Japanese Ship) instead of ''JDS'' (Japanese Defense Ship). She was laid down by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, Nagasaki on April 6, 2005, launched on August 30, 2006; and was commissioned on 13 March 2008.

Service

This ship was one of several in the JMSDF fleet participating in disaster relief after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

. In late April 2017, the ''Ashigara'' along with the JS ''Samidare'' joined the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group 1 as the Strike Group moved into position off the Korean peninsula in response to escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States over the DPRK's nuclear weapons program. ''Ashigara'' and the participated in the RIMPAC exercises in the waters around Hawaii on August 17-30, 2020.

Gallery

File:DDG-178MakingAshigara.jpg, JS ''Ashigara'' on 3 June 2007 File:DD-119 Asahi and DD-178 Ashigara.jpg, JS ''Ashigara'' and JS Asahi on 2 January 2017 File:JS Ashigara(DDG-178) left front view at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard November 25, 2017 02.jpg, JS ''Ashigara'' on 25 November 2017 File:JS Ashigara(DDG-178) left front view at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard November 25, 2017 03.jpg File:JS Ashigara (DDG-178) missile exercise.jpg, JS ''Ashigara'' on 18 August 2020

Notes

External links

*http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/7700ton.htm Atago-class destroyers 2006 ships Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries {{Japan-mil-ship-stub