Japan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head said:

This confirms it. Those are the two I am talking about.

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related (the free part of the article from Jane's):
DSCA notification sheds light on next-gen Japanese destroyers

The 7 August notification by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of a possible USD1.5 billion sale of two Aegis combat systems and other naval equipment to Japan has provided new details on the two-ship class of ballistic missile defence (BMD) destroyers that Tokyo is building.

The destroyers, tentatively called the 27DDG class based on 2015 being the 27th year of the reign of the current Japanese emperor, were authorised in the fiscal year 2013 and FY 2014 budgets and were originally thought to be modified Akizuki-class hulls with an empty displacement of about 5,000 tonnes.

However, the DSCA notification describes them as featuring "a modified Atago-class hull" and propulsion system, while a graphic included in a request for proposals (RfP) released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) to potential shipbuilders in July said that the new class will displace 8,200 tonnes (empty), compared with the Atago class's 7,700 tonnes.

The DSCA notification states they will feature the AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) MK 7, which includes the Lockheed Martin SPY-1D radar, and supporting systems; AN/SQQ-89 (V) 15 Underwater Surveillance and Communication System; Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) and associated OK-410(V)3/SQR handling equipment; MK 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) and associated systems to support the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) BMD system; and a number of other systems that are already fitted to the Atago class.

New systems not featured on the Atago class to be provided by the US include the Northrop Grumman AN/SPQ-9B X-band (NATO I-band) pulse-Doppler, frequency-agile fire control radar, which is also being installed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class air warfare destroyers.

According to the RfP released in July, the ships will also feature new anti-ship missiles and as previously reported will be the first JMSDF ships to be powered by a COGLAG configuration. The larger displacement of 8,200 tonnes may reflect plans for advanced weapon systems to be retrofitted to the class at a later date: MoD graphics in the fiscal year 2015 budget overview have suggested that electromagnetic railguns and laser-based short-range air defence systems are being developed.

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source:

Japanese naval fleet arrives in Uruguay after naval exercises with the Brazilian Navy


(defensa.com) Ships "Kashima", "Shimayuki" and "Yamagiri", belonging to the Fleet Training Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan, arrived at the Port of Montevideo from Brazil, where they held the first joint exercise between naval forces of both countries. The ships are conducting training trip of the new officers of the Japanese Navy. This training squad makes a journey through America, which began in the United States, traveling for five months 16 ports in 12 countries. In Montevideo will remain docked between 12 and 15 August. The crew of the fleet consists of 710 sailors, of whom 169 are officers.

Link:


Back to bottling my Grenache

Japanese naval fleet arrives in Uruguay after naval exercises with the Brazilian Navy


(defensa.com) Ships "Kashima", "Shimayuki" and "Yamagiri", belonging to the Fleet Training Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan, arrived at the Port of Montevideo from Brazil, where they held the first joint exercise between naval forces of both countries. The ships are conducting training trip of the new officers of the Japanese Navy. This training squad makes a journey through America, which began in the United States, traveling for five months 16 ports in 12 countries. In Montevideo will remain docked between 12 and 15 August. The crew of the fleet consists of 710 sailors, of whom 169 are officers.

Link:



Back to bottling my Grenache

Miragedriver said:

Japanese naval fleet arrives in Uruguay

Ships "Kashima", "Shimayuki" and "Yamagiri", belonging to the Fleet Training Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan, arrived at the Port of Montevideo from Brazil, where they held the first joint exercise between naval forces of both countries. The ships are conducting training trip of the new officers of the Japanese Navy.

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These three ships are a part of a dedicated training fleet that the JMSDF operates.

They have a dedicated, purpose built, cadet training flag ship, and that is the Kashima, shown above.

They then operate up to five training DDGs for cadets, which are normally destroyers with modern capabilities, but usually 3-4 generations back in their inventory. Also, two very capable diesel electric subs, and then two training support vessels for the cadets.

They also have five purpose built training support vessels, but those are for training exercises for front line ships.

In this case we see two destroyers (above). One from the Asagiri Class commissioned in the late 80s and early 90s, and the other from the Hatsuyuki class, commissioned in the early 80s.

Altogether their Training Fleet consists of:

1 x Kashima, 3508, training flag ship, 4,000 ton full load
2 x Asigir class DDGs, training DDGs, 4,000 ton full load (3515, 3516 converted as needed)
3 x Hatsuyuki class training DDGs, 4,000 ton full load (3513, 3517, 3518)
1 x Oyashio training SSK, 4,000 on full load
1 x Harushio training SSK, 2,500 ton full load
1 x Kurobe, 4202, training support ship
1 x Tenryu, 4203, training support ship

That's a pretty significant dedicated, hands-on training fleet for the JMSDF. It's another reason why they are so squared away.

found at NavyTimes:
Japanese paratroopers in landmark jump over Alaska

Two dozen members of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force became the first paratroopers from their country to take part in a training jump from an American forces plane over U.S. soil.

The jump took place Wednesday over interior Alaska as paratroopers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Japan took part in the training exercise. As the troops landed at the Donnelly Training Area drop zone near Fort Greeley, Alaska, there was a simulated battle for control of a landing strip.

The jump was the culmination of the training program between the two nations, dubbed Operation Arctic Aurora. The training is also part of the larger multinational Red Flag exercise being coordinated by the Alaska Command.

The troops were flown about 200 miles north of the Anchorage base to the drop zone in U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft. The planes are normally based at Yokota Air Base, Japan, but they are in Alaska for Red Flag exercises.

U.S. paratroopers last February trained with their Japanese counterparts in Japan, and they jumped from Japanese CH-47s.

Japan is one of America's key allies in the Pacific air operations, and this training should lay the groundwork in case the two ever have to work with one another during a battle, an Army official said.

"In the event that we had to do a combined operation with the Japanese, we're better prepared for that," said Major Matthew D. McDonald, the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment operations officer at the Anchorage base.

Japanese Lt. Cmdr. Masayasu Igarashi noted the historic nature of the mission for his country. He said through a translator that the mission is important to the bond between the United States and Japan, and his ground defense members will take what they have learned in the comprehensive training back to their peers in Japan.

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source:

A sophisticated US special operations helicopter crashes in Japan


(Defensa.com) Wednesday occurred off the coast of Japan near Okinawa the crash of a US helicopter UH-60M 160th SOAR they were traveling 17 people of which 7 were injured. As reported by the Japanese Coast Guard, the accident occurred between 13:00 and 14:00 local time, about 20 miles from the US military base Kadena on Okinawa Island. The images that have transcended thanks to Japanese media revealed the presence of a Black Hawk helicopter for special operations that have been hidden some parties to hinder identification.

The author can not help but remember the helicopters Black modified Hawk who participated in the operation that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden in the early hours of 1 to 2 May 2011, although as we shall see, it is said MH-60M 160th SOAR. The causes of the accident are unknown or there was the helicopter crash at sea or an emergency landing on a ship or failed, specifically the American ship USNS Red Cloud (T-AKR-313) of LMSR (Large, Medium-Speed Type Roll-on / Roll-off) of the Military Sealift Command used for the pre-positioning of material.


Among the probable causes is that an emergency landing on the ship, which has a large flight deck forward of the bridge but which would not have made the aircraft occurred. The most credible would be that the accident occurred during some training in the approach of troops on the ship was made from the helicopter that could have descended by abseiling and fast rope. Perhaps the proximity of the huge cranes available to the Red Cloud could have something to do if the main rotor blades too approached them. Another less viable version suggests that the helicopter would be transported on the deck after the accident had occurred, although the presence of what appear suds anti fire or barriers to contain the oil spill rule out this hypothesis.


The helicopter appears on the front deck of the ship near containers with separate rudder tail part of the fuselage and also separately. From broadcast and video images broadcast on Japanese television you can identify some elements of the helicopter. For example the presence of an IR jammer in the upper part of the fuselage shown near the base of the rotor and is concealed before, the nose showed in flight refuel probe and some of the radar and electro-optical systems carrying the helicopter . Treatment of black paint and typography and color of the letters "United States Army" tail is also identified. A numeral 63 is also seen in similar fuselage sliding doors that can be found in other MH-60M helicopters of the 160th SOAR or exhaust systems engines facing the main rotor.


The 160th SOAR is a unit of the US Army to support the missions of US special operations units using for this Black Hawk helicopters and Little Bird modified for insertion and removal operations even in urban setting. The MH-60M include improvements over previous versions used by the SOAR (K and L) and improved engines and rotors that allow operation at higher altitudes, avionics Common Avionics Architecture Systems (CAAS) formed by teams of flight, navigation, screen digital, digital moving map, mission computer, multimode radar, FLIR electro-optical system, ability to receive data from external sources such as UAVs or JSTARS aircraft type, horizontal stabilizer and tail cone composite fuselage and the cockpit new construction.

Link:


Back to bottling my Grenache

Here in Japan it was reported that members of the JGSDF was also on board when the helicopter crashed suggesting it was a joint training exercise that went wrong.

VP Day: Concerns Japan is remilitarising on 70th anniversary of World War II surrender

Saturday marks the 70th anniversary of VP Day — victory over Japan and the end of World War II — but legislation allowing Japan's military to fight overseas again, pushed through in July, has many Japanese people worried the country will be led down the path to war once again.

In total, more than 60 million people died in World War II, and much of the world was left in ruins.

After the war, Americans occupied Japan and stripped its military machine to make sure it never had the capacity to wage war again.

They enshrined this in a pacifist constitution the Japanese have grown to cherish.

But 70 years later, this is all changing.

In July, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe pushed through legislation allowing Japan's military to fight overseas again.

The move deeply divided the country. Some see it as simply a response to the new world realities, but the majority fear it will put Japan on a war footing once again.

Toshio Ichiki saw the worst of war and survived.

The 96-year-old fought the Americans at Pearl Habour, Gualalcanal and Battle of Midway as a naval man. Two thirds of the young men he trained with died.

"I have faced danger numerous times. We were bombed and our ship nearly sank. The fact that I survived all that means that I was lucky," he said.

Mr Ichiki said the military needed to be freed up to deal with China's growing might.

"The Pacific is being divided between China and the United States. China wants to control all the trade routes and is building bases. Our access is being threatened," he said.

Rallies against perceived changes to constitution
Former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda said the moves would normalise Japan's Self-Defence Forces, as the military is known.

"Japan becomes a regular country like other countries," he said.

Photo


"The Australian Army went to Iraq; it goes anywhere in the world there is trouble or where they are required to go, and they can go by their own judgment.

"Japan could not do that. Japan should do that to a certain level."

But the moves have met a massive backlash.

Polls show about two thirds of people are against the changes, and the country has seen some of its biggest rallies and demonstrations of recent times.

Many people see the move as a de facto change to the constitution without their approval, causing outrage.

To formally alter the constitution, Mr Abe would need a two thirds majority in the Diet — Japan's parliament — and then a simple majority at a referendum.

One demonstrator said she would never forgive Mr Abe.

"He doesn't seem to understand the word 'constitution'," she said.

"He seems to have forgotten that he has the duty to protect it. I want him out."

An elderly gentleman at the same rally said: "For 70 years, we have taken great care not to go to war under the constitution. It should not be allowed just because one cabinet is re-interpreting the constitution."

Many demonstrators said they feared this was just the first step to large scale changes to the constitution that would lead the country down the path to war again.

They said the existing constitution had delivered 70 years of peace and prosperity.

'Japan cannot send military forces overseas'
Some of the countries top constitutional experts said the legislation was unconstitutional.

Professor Setsu Kobayashi is leading a team of about 1,000 that will take the Japanese government to court.

"Japan has Article 9, which is very unique. So what is the Self-Defence Force? They are the second police," he said.

Japan was ruined - it was burnt up. So even those who did not go to war, those who remained in Japan, suffered hell.

Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama


"If you read the law, you can understand that, as all the clauses are those of a police force. So Japan cannot send military forces overseas. It's unconstitutional."

The government has argued a supreme court case in 1954 changed the meaning of Article 9, making the security legislation lawful.

Another former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, who was responsible for Japan's landmark 1995 World War II apology, said the current government had not considered the consequences of war.

"During the Pacific War, Japan was ruined — it was burnt up. So even those who did not go to war, those who remained in Japan, suffered hell," he said.

"Those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered the first atomic bombs. People know these things well — that is why we made a vow that we will not repeat the same mistake."

But the push to remilitarise has remained.

Japan recently held its first defence trade show since the end of World War II, and Mr Abe lifted the ban on arms exports to kick start the country's military industrial complex.

For past three years the Self-Defence Forces budget has been steadily increasing, and is set for a record budget in 2016.

Japan now has the seventh biggest military budget in the world.




The government has tried to reassure a nervous public the moves will make the country safer.

Mr Abe's advisor, Professor Shinichi Kitaoka, said Japanese people had to change their mindset that the military was evil.

"This is contrary to common sense in the world. Military is necessary to maintain peace," he said.

Jeff Kingston from Tokyo's Temple University said the moves did not represent a danger to the region, but did come with risks.

"I think Japan has signed onto the new US-Japan guidelines so it will be more difficult for Japan to fend off US requests for action," he said.

"So they are going to be Washington's deputy sheriff in the Asia Pacific."

Mr Abe has had great difficulty selling the reinterpretation of the constitution, with his approval rating at an all-time low of about 30 per cent.

Too many Japanese fear their country will no longer be the nation that does not wage war.

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Asian Military Defense said:

TOKYO, -- Recent pictures have emmerged showing the construction work in progress on Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) second Izumo-class helicopter carrier.

The island has been placed on the hull of the destroyer in the dry construction dock at the Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd (IHI Corporation) in Yokohama. The DDH-184 which has yet to be nammed should be launched on August 27th..

First of class DDH-183 JS Izumo was commissioned on 25 March 2015 in Yokosuka naval base. Izumo is the flagship of the JMSDF fleet and is the largest warship built by Japan since World War II.

The 248-meter-long and 19,500-ton helicopter carrier was unveiled for the first time in August 2013 in Yokohama.

Izumo is able to accommodate nine helicopters. The ceremony took place with some 3,600 people, including the Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the helicopter carrier is expected to play a key role both in defense of territorial sovereignty, in rescue missions, and in case of natural disasters.

Independent experts, however, believe that the warship, given its large size, could conceivably one day be used as a versatile aircraft carrier and serve as a platform to launch fighter aircraft capable of vertical takeoff (such the F-35B).

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August 27th is a week from this Thursday.

Should be exciting.

These are exceptional vessels. With these two, and the two Hyugas, the JMSDF now will have four of these Flattop, helicopter carriers.

Izumo Class DDH L: 814 ft W: 125 ft Displace: 29,000 tons (full)



Hyuga Class DDH L: 646 ft W: 108 ft Displace: 22,000 tons (full)

It is unlikely that Japan will be a threat as in WW II. It doesn't have a nuclear bomb like North Korea who threatens Japan with destruction. It appears a matter of Japanese self-defence, and intentions to assist the US and others in regional security because of recent (21st Century) security developments.