The Influence of History

During the 1970's, several new technologies such as the helicopter, the gas turbine, and the lightweight surface to air missile became available, driving the creation of a new generation of warship. The United States led the way with the Spruance -class destroyers, and the British followed with the Type 22 frigates. In Japan, these developments took somewhat longer, but eventually led to the creation of the new type of general purpose destroyer. Hatsuyuki-class The first of these new ships was the twelve members of the Hatsuyuki -class, which entered service beginning in 1982. Unlike the preceding Japanese destroyers that relied on guns, Hatsuyuki was built with a substantial missile battery for countering air, surface, and subsurface threats. This consisting of an octuplet ASROC box launcher forward, two quadruple Harpoon canister launchers amidships, and an octuplet Sea Sparrow box launcher aft (on the first ships five ships this was the American Mk 29, while the later ships we...

Since the end of World War II, Japan has been one of America's closest allies and the recipient of some of the most advanced weapons the United States could offer. Naval forces have been no exception, and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force has a rich history of guided missile ships. As the title says, this post will only cover the air warfare ships of the JMSDF, while the armaments of its other warships will be detailed at a later date. Amatsukaze Japan's first guided missile ship was the destroyer Amatsukaze in 1965. She was armed with a single rail Mk 13 launcher for Tartar, and carried a total of 40 missiles. This was the same armament as the American Farragut -class that had commissioned 1959, and Amatsukaze  was the first foreign vessel built with Tartar. While she was considered highly successful, her high cost meant that she was the only ship of her class. Amatsukaze in 1965: 40x Tartar As Japan's sole guided missile ship for over a decade, Amatsukaze ...