Posted on 08/06/2013 9:52:49 PM PDT by Ron C.
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 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.
Japan, China and Taiwan all claim the islands.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
They can call it whatever they like, but the world knows a carrier when they see one.
The question is no longer how many F-35’s something like that could carry; it’s more like how many Japanese versions of the X47B it could carry.....
They already have two of the smaller Hyuga Class that look almost exactly the same, just smaller, and there will be a second one of these.
This is all in response to The Rise of the Chinese Navy.
I noticed that the infrastructure looks very much like the aegis destroyer, so maybe in this sense it is a destroyer mounted on top of an aircraft carrier hull.
Maybe it will become a big Giant Robot!
Given the extremely low birth rate in Japan who will they get to crew it?
I guess they could sell them to the Philippines
HAH! that’s what I was thinking...wait till it transforms ;)
Also, if the Capt. goes by the name of Harlock...well....
The Philippines needs a real military but I doubt they could afford this.
They have a frigate and one about to be commissioned as the stars of their navy fleet. They do not have the support vessels to even dream of a carrier, not even a small one.
Nope.
Now, if you want to talk about adding a ski-jump bow... now you have something to go with. notice how nice and flat it is up front? Take off the vertical skin, about 1/8th of the deck plating and I'll bet there's mounting for the jump frame work there.
As to handling a squadron of F-35’s... No problem. It's designed to carry MV-22’s... If they can fit those below deck for maintenance, they can do those as well.
The bigger problem is how to handle mid-air refueling and the functions of an E-2. Now those are problems.
I’ve been to China—it is not that impressive. A lot of buildings going up, that are of very poor quality. You see new buildings interspersed with slums. Contrary to popular opinion, the Chinese are very disorderly....you see it in their behavior and their traffic.
If it ever came to a real conventional war, I think Japan would kick their a$$. Of course, the Chinese have nukes and the Japanese supposedly don’t. I say supposedly, because it wouldn’t surprise me if they had a few secretly tucked away for emergencies.
That’s one big target.
What’s the second “destroyer” called? Akagi?
http://www.examiner.com/article/global-hawk-uav-aerial-refueling-will-accomplish-a-real-milestone
did they ever do the Global Hawk refueling another Global Hawk?
btw- if an a-6 can be a tanker, why can’t an MV-22 refuel other MV-22’s or even F-35’s in a pinch?
ruh-roh...
launched in 2007
Ise
Launched in 2009
The Japs have been the greatest “copiers” the world has ever known. Why reinvent the wheel?
That's easily converted into a carrier with VSTOL aircraft. The Japanese should have named the ship "Agaki." That would have pissed off a lot of people.
5.56mm
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