JS ''Asuka'' (ASE-6102) is an experimental ship of 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) ...

. The vessel was constructed by

Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) is an integrated manufacturer of industrial machinery, automatic weaponry, ships, bridges and steel structure, equipment for environmental protection, including recycling, power transmission equipment, plastic molding machines, laser proces ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan and was launched on 21 June 1994. ''Asuka'' was commissioned on 22 March 1995 and since then has conducted performance confirmation tests for integrated navigation systems.

Development and design

The hull is a blocking deck type hull. After a new surface ship sonar (OQS-XX) was installed on the bow and bottom, the bow was to be kept away from OQS-XX so as to avoid interference during anchoring and to move the breaking wave generation position as far back as possible. It protrudes sharply. The OQS-XX consists of a bow dome cylindrical array (CA) and a long flank array (FA) on the bottom of the ship, but due to budget constraints, the FA was only equipped on one side. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

structure consisted of four layers, at the top of which was a radar equipment room with four active phased array (AESA) antennas for the Fire Control System Type 3 (FCS-3) prototype. After the test, parts of the FCS-3 prototype were diverted to two ''Hyūga''-class destroyers, and all, including the AESA antenna, have been removed and the radar equipment room is covered. In addition, since 2014, a prototype of the X-band multifunction radar, which has been developed as part of the performance improvement measures for the multifunction radar (FCS-3), will be installed and a marine test will be conducted. It is expected that some of the preparatory work has already begun.

Construction and career

''Asuka'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 21 April 1993 at

and launched on 21 June 1994. The vessel was commissioned on 22 March 1995. Since 1995, she has conducted performance confirmation tests for integrated navigation systems. From 1995 to 1998, OQQ-XX sonar (later OQQ-21), COGLAG propulsion method, and FCS-3 were tested. In 1998, she tested the infrared detector. From 1999 to 2000, a new tactical information processing device (later OYQ-10) was tested. On 22 March 2002, the Development Guidance Group was abolished, and the Development Team Group was newly formed and transferred to the same group. From 2003 to 2004, tests were conducted on projection static jammers and self-propelled decoys. From 2003 to 2007, the new

ASRock ASRock Inc. is a Taiwanese manufacturer of motherboards, industrial PCs and home theater PCs (HTPC). Founded by Ted Hsu, it was founded in 2002 and is currently owned by Taiwanese electronics company Pegatron. History ASRock was originally spu ...

(later Type 07 VLA) was tested. From 2007 to 2011, a new anti-submersible torpedo (later Type 12 torpedo) was tested. In the PSI maritime security training held in October 2007, an on-site inspection training for the escort ship ''Ikazuchi'' was conducted with the ship as a suspected ship. In response to the

Great East Japan Earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

caused by the Tōhoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake that occurred on 11 March 2011, she made an emergency departure at 15:45, 53 minutes after the earthquake, to dispatch a disaster. The vessel was engaged until 21 March, resuming on 26 March, and remained engaged in disaster relief until 8 April. In 2012, a test of a new underwater self-propelled target was conducted. In 2014, it was equipped with a radar (later OPS-48) to be installed on the s and a radar prototyped in "Research on performance improvement of multifunction radar (FCS-3)". On 25 May 2015, a carrier-based suitability test was conducted using the MQ-8C demonstrator (mockup). In 2017, a test was conducted of carrier-based Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missiles. In 2019, a part of the rear deck will be bulked up to test the VDS + TASS equipped on the 3,900-ton type escort ship. On 1 April 2020, the ship was reorganized from the direct control of the Development Corps to the control of the Ship Development Corps.

Gallery

File:JS Asuka at SDF Fleet Review 2006, -29 Oct. a.jpg, JS ''Asuka'' underway on 29 October 2006. File:JMSDF ASE 6102 Asuka.JPG, JS ''Asuka'' at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

on 17 June 2007. File:JS Asuka at Yokosuka -12 Jun. 2010 a.jpg, JS ''Asuka'' at Yokosuka on 12 June 2010. File:JS Asuka at Ōshima, Kesennuma, -April 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Asuka'' at Ōshima on 1 April 2011. File:JMSDF ASE 6102 Asuka & DD-111 Oonami 20110918.JPG, JS ''Asuka'' and at Yokosuka on 18 September 2011. File:JMSDF ASUKA 6102 01l.jpg, JS Asuka on 9 December 2015. File:Asuka aan de Hemi-Kade in Yokosuka, -22 februari 2017 a.jpg, JS ''Asuka'' at Yokosuka on 22 February 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asuka (ASE-6102) 1994 ships Ships built by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Auxiliary ships of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Experimental ships