Japan has adopted a seventh Mogami-class frigate to its fleet

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force held an official flag-raising ceremony and welcomed the 7th Mogami-class frigate, Niyodo, into its fleet.

This was reported on the official website of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The flag-raising ceremony took place at Mitsubishi’s shipyard in Nagasaki, where the ship was also built.

After the ceremony, the ship left the Mitsubishi shipyard and headed for the Kure naval base, which will become its home port.

There, the ship will be officially incorporated into the 12th patrol group and will complement two similar frigates, JS Agano and JS Yahagi, as well as two Ashigara-class ships and one Abukuma-class destroyer.

It should be noted that Niyodo was the first frigate of this type to be equipped with the Mk 41 vertical launch system. In total, the ship carries two blocks of 8 cells each, for a total of 16 cells.

In addition to the already known ESSM Block 2 missiles and Type 07 anti-ship missiles, the ship will be equipped with Japanese Type 23 anti-aircraft missiles, the funding for which Militarnyi recently reported.

The frigate’s construction began in a dry dock in Nagasaki on June 30, 2022. On September 26, 2023, the ship was launched.

The ship, with a displacement of 3,900 tons, was designed to improve the anti-submarine and anti-mine capabilities of the Japanese Navy against the backdrop of high submarine activity by the People’s Republic of China. An OQS-11 sonar system for detecting underwater mines and submarines is installed on the bottom of the frigate’s hull.

An OQR-25 stern sonar is located in the stern to search for submarines. The ship is also equipped with an OZZ-5 unmanned mine clearance system.

Militarnyi previously reported that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ shipbuilding division in Nagasaki had launched the 10th Mogami-class frigate.

The official naming ceremony and launch took place on December 19, 2024, at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard, where frigates of this type are being built.