Posted on 08/06/2013 10:03:50 AM PDT by JerseyanExile
Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest warship since World War II, a huge flat-top destroyer that has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a conventional aircraft carrier.
The ship, which has a flight deck that is nearly 250 meters (820 feet) long, is designed to carry up to 14 helicopters. Japanese officials say it will be used in national defense — particularly in anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance missions — and to bolster the nation’s ability to transport personnel and supplies in response to large-scale natural disasters, like the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Though the ship — dubbed “Izumo” — has been in the works since 2009, its unveiling comes as Japan and China are locked in a dispute over several small islands located between southern Japan and Taiwan. For months, ships from both countries have been conducting patrols around the isles, called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyutai in China.
The tensions over the islands, along with China’s heavy spending on defense and military modernization, have heightened calls in Japan for beefed-up naval and air forces. China recently began operating an aircraft carrier that it refurbished after purchasing from Russia, and is reportedly moving forward with the construction of another that is domestically built.
Though technically a destroyer, some experts believe the new Japanese ship could potentially be used in the future to launch fighter jets or other aircraft that have the ability to take off vertically. That would be a departure for Japan, which has one of the best-equipped and best-trained naval forces in the Pacific but which has not sought to build aircraft carriers of its own because of constitutional restrictions that limit its military forces to a defensive role.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Who cares if it p*sses off the Chinese & Koreans.
I say good on them. We are no longer in any position to complain about anything any nation does.
Take a close look at the flight deck and the sides of the hull. Aircraft carriers, meaning jets, have discernable elevators in the flight deck, access to the hanger deck.
Real modern carries have elevators on the port and starboard outboard edges of the flight deck. Also normally visible are the vast openings in the SIDES of the hanger deck, both port and starboard.
I have no idea of the spaces used here for maintainence and/or repair of the helicopters but there could be an elevator.
Also the bow of the flight deck shows NO sighs of catapults.
It may LOOK like a traditional carrier, buy it seems to lack most of the visible features. (to me)
I say good on them. We are no longer in any position to complain about anything any nation does.
Um, er, well, yea, that looks like a destroyer. It just has a really big, um, exercise deck.
I seem to recall when the Emperor said, “Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station! Fire at will, Commander!”
I kinda like the idea of pissing off the Chinese.
I mean, every destroyer has one, right? :-))
It isn’t very noticeable in the pic at the top of this thread, but it does have an elevator on the side. Other news reports indicate that it does have an aircraft elevator on the side.
It looks like there is an elevator on the starboard side, aft of the tower.
That’s it.
This may be just me, but the hull of the ship seems very smooth in contrast with the highly visible welding of other ships.
Anyone?
Isn’t the Rising Sun flag seen on the left side of the bow from WWII?
If it looks like an aircraft carrier, carries "aircraft" like an aircraft carrier and launches aircraft, then it is an aircraft carrier, even though it may "destroy" this or that as a collateral duty.
BTW, "aircraft" = n. pl. aircraft. A machine or device, such as an airplane, helicopter, glider, or dirigible, that is capable of atmospheric flight.
I can obviously see (in a historic context) why both Koreas and the Chinese would be a little uneasy about this new ship.
However, given the aggressive moves made by China and North Korea in this region, I’d say that the Japanese are well justified in building this ship.
Agreed. Who do they think they're kidding?
As 'they' say, "You could put wheels on my grandmother but that don't make her a wagon."
That’s the Japanese naval ensign.
Time to let Japan rewrite the armed forces section of their constitution, and cut them loose.
That is the Japanese Naval Ensign.
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