JS ''Chōkai'' (DDG-176) is a guided missile

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 ...

in 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). ''Chōkai'' was named after

Mount Chōkai is an active volcano located on the southern border of Akita and Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of Japan, and is tall. Because of its (roughly) symmetrical shape and massive size, it is also variously known as , or depending on the location ...

. She was laid down by

IHI Corporation , formerly known as , is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbochargers ...

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 ...

on 29 May 1995 and was launched on 27 August 1996. Commissioning happened on March 20, 1998.

Service

Following her commissioning in March 1998, she was dispatched to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for the Aegis System Equipment Qualification Test (SQT) until November 4, 1998 From May 16 to August 3, 2001, she participated in US dispatch training with the destroyers ''Hiei'' and ''Samidare''. Chōkai, along with the destroyer ''Ōnami'' and supply ship ''Hamana'' were assigned to the Indian Ocean in November 2004 to provide assistance to the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group. She returned to Japan in March 2005. From May 16 to August 1, 2007, she participated in US dispatch training with the destroyers ''Kurama'' and ''Inazuma''. From 9 September 2008 to December 8, 2008, she participated in

ballistic missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), ...

tests for equipment certification, during which an interception from her

RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based surface-to-air missile system used by the United States Navy to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primari ...

failed due to a malfunction of the warhead's orbit and attitude control system. 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 2012, ''Chōkai'', along with ''Kongō'' and ''Myōkō'' were deployed in cooperation with the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

in preparation for the Democratic Republic of Korea to test the

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 or Gwangmyeongseong-3 ho 2-hogi (; English: Bright Star-3 Unit 2 or Lodestar-3 Unit 2) is the first satellite successfully launched from North Korea, an Earth observation spacecraft that was launched on 12 December 2012 ...

. However, the ships were withdrawn after the satellite did not violate Japanese airspace. From June 7 to August 23, 2016, she participated in the biannual

Exercise RIMPAC RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held i ...

, conducted in the sea and airspace around Hawaii and the United States West Coast, accompanied by the

helicopter carrier A helicopter carrier is a type of aircraft carrier whose primary purpose is to operate helicopters, and has a large flight deck that occupies a substantial part of the deck, which can extend the full length of the ship like of the Royal Navy ( ...

Hyūga. In 2019, ''Chōkai'' participated in the Malabar naval exercise. She represented the JMSDF along with the ''Kaga'', ''Samidare'' and a

Kawasaki P-1 The Kawasaki P-1 (previously P-X, XP-1) is a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Aerospace Company. Unlike many maritime patrol aircraft, which are typically conversions of civilian designs, the P-1 is a purp ...

. During this exercise, she took part in combat training,

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

training,

naval gunnery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...

training,

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

training, as well as offshore supply training. Later in 2019, between October 15 and 17, ''Chōkai'', along with the destroyer ''Shimakaze'' took part in the Canadian and Japanese joint exercise known as KAEDEX19-2 near

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 ...

, working alongside HMCS ''Ottawa''.https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/release/201910/20191008.pdf As of April 2020, ''Chōkai'' is based in

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

Gallery

File:US Navy 021210-N-5781F-003 Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) ship, JDS Chokai (DDF 176), steams along side Kitty Hawk for a replenishment at sea (RAS).jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' alongside USS Kitty Hawk on 10 December 2002 File:US Navy 081119-N-0000X-002 The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force destroyer JDS Chokai (DDG 176) launches a Standard Missile 3 during a Missile Defense Agency joint missile defense intercept test.jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' launching a

SM-3 The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based surface-to-air missile system used by the United States Navy to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primari ...

on 19 November 2008 File:JS Chōkai in the Pacific, -17 Nov. 2009 a.jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' underway on 17 November 2009 File:JS Kurama and JS Chōkai at Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard, -2 Sep. 2011 a.jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' and

JS Kurama JS ''Kurama'' (DDH-144) was the second ship of the in service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Construction and career Kurama was laid down on 17 February 1978 and launched on 20 September 1979 by IHI Corporation Tokyo Sh ...

on 2 September 2011 File:JS Chōkai, USS Mustin and JS Ariake in the East China Sea after Keen Sword 2013, -16 Nov. 2012 d.jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' on 16 November 2012 File:JS Chōkai (DDG-176) op zee voor anker, -26 aug 2013 a.jpg, JS ''Chōkai'' underway on 26 August 2013

Notes

External links

GlobalSecurity.org; JMSDF DDG Kongo Class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chokai (DDG-176) Kongō-class destroyers 1996 ships Ships built by IHI Corporation