JS Yahagi
Japanese Mogami-class frigate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yahagi (やはぎ) is a frigate of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the fifth ship of the Mogami class. Her namesake comes from the Yahagi River, which flows through Nagano, Gifu, and Aichi prefectures,[1] a name that was chosen by Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi after a competition within the Maritime Self-Defense Forces.[1]
JS Yahagi | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yahagi |
| Namesake | Yahagi River |
| Builder | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki |
| Laid down | 24 June 2021 |
| Launched | 23 June 2022 |
| Commissioned | 21 May 2024 |
| Home port | Maizuru |
| Identification | Pennant number: FFM-5 |
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Mogami-class frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 133 m (436 ft 4 in) |
| Beam | 16.3 m (53 ft 6 in) |
| Draft | 9 m (29 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 × RHIB, UUV, USV |
| Crew | 90 |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys | NOLQ-3E (Passive radar system + Electronic attack capability is integrated into the main radar antenna), Chaff dispenser |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 × SH-60L helicopter |
She is the third Japanese warship to bear this name, following the former Imperial Japanese Navy's Chikuma-class cruiser Yahagi of 1911, and the Agano-class cruiser Yahagi of 1942, though the kanji characters are different, as the former Imperial Japanese Navy's Yahagi was named after the old name of the Yahagi River.
History
Yahagi was ordered in the fiscal year 2020, based on the Mid-Term Defense Program, with her keel being laid down at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard on 24 June 2021,[2] and was launched on 23 June 2022.[1] After undergoing fitting out and sea trials, the ship was commissioned on 21 May 2024,[3][a] assigned to the Escort Fleet 14th Escort Division of Maizuru.[5][better source needed]
The Mogami-class frigates were designed to be multi-functional in various roles, to address the growing peacetime surveillance and monitoring activities around Japan, including anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, surface, and mine warfare.[1]
Yahagi made a port call at Darwin on 5 June 2025 for comparison against the German MEKO A-200 design as part of the Australian general purpose frigate program.[6]