JS Kaga

For other ships with the same name, see Japanese ship Kaga.
JS Kaga (DDH-184)
History
Japan
Name
  • Kaga
  • (加賀)
NamesakeKaga Province
Ordered2010
CostUS$1.05 billion
Laid down7 October 2013
Launched27 August 2015
Commissioned22 March 2017
Identification
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeIzumo-class aircraft carrier
Displacement
  • 19,500 long tons (19,800 t) empty;
  • 27,000 long tons (27,000 t) full load
Length248 m (814 ft)
Beam38 m (125 ft)
Draft7.5 m (25 ft)
Propulsion
Speedmore than 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • OYQ-12 combat direction system
  • FCS-3 fire control system
  • OPS-50 AESA radar
  • OPS-28 surface-search radar
  • OQQ-23 bow sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • NOLQ-3D-1 EW suite
  • Mark 36 SRBOC
  • Anti-torpedo mobile decoy (MOD)
  • Floating acoustic jammer (FAJ)
Armament
Aircraft carried
  • 7 ASW helicopters and 2 SAR helicopters
  • 28 aircraft maximum

JS Kaga (DDH-184) is a helicopter carrier of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).[1] She is currently undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier, which is scheduled to be complete around fiscal year 2027.[2] Officially classified as a multi-purpose operation destroyer, she is the second ship in the Izumo class, the other being JS Izumo.[3][4][5] Her namesake arises from Kaga Province (加賀国, Kaga no kuni) in present-day Ishikawa Prefecture.

The ship bears the same name as the World War II-era Kaga, the Tosa-class battleship turned aircraft carrier that was produced in 1928 and participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She is also slightly longer than her World War II predecessor. Kaga and Izumo are the first aircraft carriers built by Japan since the end of World War II. Kaga was built as part of a wider Japanese military buildup, triggered by heightened Sino-Japanese tensions regarding the contested ownership of the Senkaku Islands.

As of 2024, the Kaga is being upgraded into a fixed-wing carrier, capable of operate VTOL aircraft such as the F-35B.

  1. ^ "Another Japanese warship is on its way to carrying F-35B stealth fighters". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  2. ^ Takahashi, Kosuke (2024-04-08). "Japan completes first stage of JS Kaga modification to operate F-35B". Naval News. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  3. ^ "海自のヘリコプター搭載護衛艦、「かが」と命名". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). August 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. ^ "新護衛艦「かが」：旧日本海軍の空母「加賀」 その違いは". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). August 27, 2015. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  5. ^ Sam LaGrone (August 27, 2015). "Japan Launches Latest Helicopter Carrier". United States Naval Institute.