Mitsubishi Launched 12th Mogami Frigate as Conclusion to Japan’s Largest Shipbuilding Program

The last of the 12 Mogami frigates, the JS Yoshii, was officially named and launched at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki.

This is reported by the official website of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces and the Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, who personally attended the ceremony.

The ship was named Yoshii (よしい) in honor of the river in Okayama Prefecture. The Imperial Japanese Navy had never used this name before.

After the launch, the frigate will be towed to the berth for further completion. According to the plans of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces, the ship is scheduled to join the fleet in 2026.

The ship was built in a fairly short time. The foundation stone was laid on July 3, 2024, and the launch took place only 17 months after the start of construction.

Main characteristics:

• Standard displacement: 3,900 tons
• Full displacement: about 5,500 tons
• Hull length: 132,5-133 m
• Beam: 16,3 m
• Draft: 9 m
• Crew: approximately 90 people

The main artillery caliber of the ship is the 127-mm Mk 45 Mod 4 by BAE Systems, which is capable of firing at sea, air and shore targets.

To defeat air threats and submarines, the frigate is equipped with a 16-cell Mk41 vertical launcher, and close-range defense is provided by the SeaRAM anti-aircraft missile and artillery system.

The anti-ship potential is represented by eight Type 17 (SSM-2) anti-ship missiles.

Anti-submarine weapons include Type 12 light torpedo tubes, and two remotely controlled combat modules with 12.7 mm machine guns are installed on deck to repel asymmetric attacks.

A separate feature of the project is the availability of simplified mine equipment, which allows the frigate to be used for the deployment of defensive minefields, turning it into a universal platform for the protection of territorial waters.

The frigate’s aviation wing is centered around one Mitsubishi SH-60K/L multipurpose helicopter.

Mogami frigate construction program (FFM)

The construction of the Mogami frigates began in 2019 as part of the program to replace the Hayabusa missile boats and Abukuma escort destroyers.

To ensure the rapid pace of construction, it was decided to produce two hulls simultaneously. In 2019, the first two ships of the series, Mogami and Kumano, were laid down: they were launched on October 29 and 30, respectively.

The launching took place on a slightly different schedule. The second frigate, Kumano, was launched on November 19, 2020, while the lead ship, Mogami, was launched only on March 3, 2021.

The reason for the delay was the damage to the Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine during bench tests: the turbine suffered technical damage due to interaction with a faulty part of the bench. As a result of this incident, the launch of the lead ship took place four months later than the Kumano.

After that, the construction of the next ten frigates proceeded smoothly. It is worth noting that this program is the largest shipbuilding series in Japan since the end of World War II.Mitsubishi has launched the last, 12th Mogami frigate. This is the largest shipbuilding program in Japan.