Kongō class destroyer

Kongō class destroyer
General characteristics
Displacement:	7500 tons standard 9500 tons full load
Length:	528.2 ft (161 m)
Beam:	68.9 ft (21 m)
Draft:	20.3 ft (6.2 m)
Propulsion:	4 Ishikawajima Harima/General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines; two shafts, 100,000 shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles at 20 knots (8,334 km at 37 km/h)
Crew Complement:	300
Armament:	• RGM-84 Harpoon SSM • SM-2 Standard SAM (29 cells at the bow, 61 cell at the aft) • RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC • 1 x 5 inch (127 mm) / 54 caliber Oto-Breda Compact Gun • 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS • 2 x Type 68 triple torpedo tubes (6 x Mk-46 or Type 73 torpedoes)
Aircraft:	Room for a helicopter to land on the rear deck, but no support equipment installed

The Kongō class of guided missile destroyers, a modification of the United States of America (U.S.) Navy Arleigh Burke class (Flight I), serves as the core ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)'s Escort Flotillas. The Kongō class employs the highly advanced Aegis fire control system and is armed with the RIM-66 SM-2 Block II surface-to-air missile, RUM-139 vertically launched anti-submarine rocket, the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile, two Mark 15 20 mm CIWS gun mounts, two torpedo mounts in a triple tube configuration, and an Oto Melara 127 mm/54 caliber gun. Its Mark 41 vertical launch system can hold 90 missiles. However, in keeping with the defensive mission of the JMSDF and passive role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in general, the Kongō-class lacks the Tomahawk missile. As on other ships employing the Aegis system, the superstructure is dominated by the SPY-1's phased arrays, which eliminates the need for a traditional rotating antenna. The design of the superstructure also incorporates certain stealth features, designed to reduce radar cross section of the ship; however, as a consequence, the ship is considerably more top-heavy than a typical destroyer and requires a much deeper draft. As such, operations in a littoral (coastal) environment are limited. Overall, Kongō-class destroyers are much larger than traditional destroyers and at 9,485 tons displacement come close to cruisers in size. Because of being built to different operational requirements such as for carrying extra equipments for commanding a squadron, the Kongō-class ships' internal arrangement is quite different from that of the Arleigh Burke-class ships on which their design is based. The Kongō class vessels are being modified to serve in a theater missile defense role, with the primary intention of countering North Korean ballistic missiles. This purpose and a financial crisis made the Flight II variant of the Arleigh Burke class the choice for the follow-on class to the Tachikaze and Asakaze. The new destroyer was named Atago in 2005. Kongō class destroyers are powered by four Ishikawajima-Harima LM2500 gas turbines. In December 2007, Japan conducted a successful test of the SM-3 block IA against a ballistic missile aboard JDS Kongō (DDG-173). This was the first time a Japanese ship was selected to launch the interceptor missile during a test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. In previous tests they provided tracking and communications.^[1][2]

Namesakes

All Kongō-class destroyers take their names from Japan's mountains, the class name referring to Mount Kongō. The class shares its name with the 1877 Japanese corvette Kongō and the previous Japanese class of battlecruisers named after the Kongō, all of which were lost during World War II (including the Kirishima). Other ships whose names are shared by Japan's modern destroyers: the heavy cruisers Myōkō and Chōkai.

Ships in the class

DD 174 Kirishima.

The Kongō class in popular culture

• A fictional DDG-182 みらい (Mirai) is the subject of the manga Zipang.
• The fictional ship いそかぜ (Isokaze) from the Japanese movie 亡国のイージス ("Boukoku no Aegis") was designated DDG-175. The actual DDG-175 Myōkō in service with the JMSDF was used for the filming.
• A fictional ship of the line, the Mutsu, figured prominently in the Japanese plot to wrest the US Navy's control of the Western Pacific region in the Tom Clancy novel Debt of Honor.

References

1. ^ Agence France-Presse. Japan shoots down test missile in space: defence minister. Accessed December 23, 2007.
2. ^ MDA press release. 17 December 2007.

External links

• GlobalSecurity.org; JMSDF DDG Kongo Class
• Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces page on Andrew Toppan's Haze Gray and Underway web site