The is a class of destroyers, serving with 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). This is the first class of the second-generation general-purpose destroyers of the JMSDF.

Background

Since FY1977, the JMSDF started construction of under the eight ships / eight helicopters concept. In this concept, each flotillas would be composed of one helicopter destroyer (DDH), five general-purpose destroyers (DD), and two

guided-missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

s (DDG). By FY1986, construction of twenty first-generation DDs (twelve and eight ) required for all four flotillas had been completed. In the original plan, it was supposed to shift to

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

s for local District Forces afterwards. However, if the use of these first-generation DDs was continued to the full extent of ships' life, the relative performance obsolescence was concerned. Thus the JMSDF decided to advance the construction of the new generation DDs. And this was the first class of the second-generation DDs. Except for ''Kirisame'', all ships of the class are named after Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers sunk in World War II.

Design

The hull design was completely renovated from first-generation DDs. In addition to increasing the size in order to reduce the underwater radiation noise, both superstructure and hull were inclined to reduce the radar cross-section. There is however no angled tripod mainmast like the one of the American because of the heavy weather of the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

in winter. The aft was designed like a "mini- Oranda-zaka" as with the to avoid interference between helicopters and

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

devices. The engine arrangement is

COGAG Combined gas turbine and gas turbine (COGAG) is a type of propulsion system for ships using two gas turbines connected to a single propeller shaft. A gearbox and clutches allow either of the turbines to drive the shaft or both of them combined. ...

as same as ''Asagiri'' class, but a pair of engines are updated to Spey SM1C. And the remaining one pair are replaced by

LM2500 The General Electric LM2500 is an industrial and marine gas turbine produced by GE Aviation. The LM2500 is a derivative of the General Electric CF6 aircraft engine. As of 2004, the U.S. Navy and at least 29 other navies had used a total of more ...

, same as ''Kongō'' class.

Equipment

The basic configuration of the equipment is the same as first-generation DDs, but they are updated and enhanced throughout. Concepts of its combat system were partly based on those of ''Kongō'' class. Two large-screen displays and OJ-663 consoles are introduced in its OYQ-9 combat direction system as Aegis Weapon System (AWS). And OYQ-103 ASW combat systems, based on OYQ-102 of ''Kongō'' class and indirectly

AN/SQQ-89 The AN/SQQ-89 Undersea Warfare Combat System is a naval anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system for surface warships developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Navy. The system presents an integrated picture of the tactical situation by receiv ...

, present an integrated picture of the tactical situation by receiving, combining, and processing active and passive sensor data from the hull-mounted array, towed array and

sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic rese ...

s. The advanced

OPS-24 The OPS-24 is a shipborne three-dimensional air search radar adopting active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology. OPS-24 was developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) of the Ministry of Defence, and manufa ...

active electronically scanned array radar and OPS-28 surface search and target acquisition radar introduced into the fleet with the latter batch of the remain on board, and there are some new systems like the NOLQ-3

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

suite and OQS-5 bow-mounted sonar. To enhance the low-observability and combat readiness capability,

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mor ...

s were adopted on its missile systems: Mk 41 for VL-ASROC and Mk 48 for

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 ...

replace the traditional swivel octuple launchers. And the

surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

system is alternated by the SSM-1B of Japanese make. Currently, ships of this class have been switching the point defense missile system from the traditional

(RIM-7M) to the

Evolved Sea Sparrow The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. ESSM also has the ab ...

by FY2012. The aircraft facility is expanded to accommodate two shipboard helicopters. One Mitsubishi SH-60J/K is a basic load, and another can be accommodated in case of overseas operation.

Ships in the class

Gallery

File:Murasame class destroyers in Pearl Harbor.jpg, JS ''Murasame'', JS ''Harusame'', JS ''Yudachi'' and JS ''Kirisame'' in Pearl Harbor File:JDS Harusame DD102.jpg, JS ''Harusame'' File:JDS Inazuma DD105.jpg, JS ''Inazuma'' File:JDS Ariake DD109.jpg, JS ''Ariake'' File:Ariake (DD 109) pulls into Pearl Harbor.jpg, JS ''Ariake'' File:US Navy 101205-N-2013O-034 The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) refuels the Japan Maritime Self-Defens.jpg, JS ''Ikazuchi'' File:DD 107 JS Ikazuchi.jpg, JS ''Ikazuchi'' File:Type 90 (SSM-1B) launcher.jpg, Type 90 (SSM-1B) launcher of ''Murasame'' class File:76 mm 62cal rapid fire gun (OTO Melara 3).jpg, 76 mm 62 cal compact gun

Notes

References

Books

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Articles

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External links

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