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 ...
With an 820’ deck there’s no need for a skijump. The USN/USMC have done studies showing that at around a 650-700’ deck run the benefits of a ski jump are negligible. And not worth the loss of a helo spot or two. That’s why the Tarawa/Wasp/America classes don’t have them.
I’ll bet you that the aft flight deck might just be a bit stronger than you postulate and there might just be hidden spaces and fittings for easy addition of arrestor gear!
Don’t you mean “Akagi”?
Don’t you mean “Akagi”?
Yes. I blame lack of coffee or the Mods messing with my post. That's my story, and I'm stick'n to it.
Thanks.
5.56mm
Then again, someone pointed out to me yesterday that a former Izumo was converted into the aircraft carrier Hiyo. If we use the same logic, and assume that Izumo's sister will be named for the vessel that was transformed into the Hiyo's sister carrier Junyo, then the sister will be named...Sharnhorst!
I'm thinking not. ;-)
In the anticipated area of operations these activities could be handled by land-based aircraft. The Japanese don't seem interested in projecting power outside of their immediate neighborhood. Now, if they were to deploy these to the Horn of Africa things could get interesting. I suspect that if they go global they will want to co-deploy with a US carrier task force.
The name Izumo is appropriate. It is the name of the flagship the Japanese naval force that invaded China. And the Chinese have noticed and do not like it one bit.
AEW could be handled with helos ( like the Brit Sea King/Searchwater that’s been adopted by the Spanish and Italians, or the projected Merlin-based follow on) or V-22s (using the ramp mounted radar that the AEW Merlins are going to use)
The Brits were also looking at buddy refueling using the F-35C, but then switched back to the F-35B. Not sure if the B would work given weights, wing loading, bring back limitations.
They could use V-22s tho. A roll on package for using the V-22 as a tanker (hose deployed through the ramp) was announced by Boeing last Spring.
This is the 22DDH project and is the first vessel of that class, the Izumo. There will be two of those. They displace 27,000 tons reportedly, but I believe they are closer to 30,000 tons full load.
Here is an image of how the two would look together:
The Japanese are not sitting on their laurels as The Chinese Navy builds up rapidly. They are building up themselves.
Interesting info. One way or the other, it is no oversight.
Good.
5.56mm
Yes. An EV-22 AEW Osprey would be a huge game changer for all of our LHAs and LHDs as well as our allies STOVL carriers like this.
Add to that a CV-22 ASW version and you end up with a very effective and powerful Sea Control aircraft carrier for any of these types vessels when deployed with F-35Bs and those two aircraft.
Dai Nippon Teikoku, here we go (again)...
Yamato ... Musashi....Shinano... Akagi ... Kaga ... Hiryu ... Soryu and now Izumo
My uncles (USMC and US Army) fought these guys in the Pacific... if they were still around, I can just imagine the commentary I'd hear about this.
In all the time I knew them, they were not too crazy about those guys from the Empire of the Sun (which is totally understandable)....
If I recall correctly, this is not the first time the Japanese have had Ise and Hyuga as sister ships. I believe they had two dreadnoughts of the 1912 class with those names, both “bastardized” as “hermaphrodite” carriers with the rear turrets removed and made into flight decks.
Not that I care but this gets awful close to an offensive weapons platform which by their terms of surrender in 1945 they cannot build.
lol
I remember watching that series on KTLA Channel 5 here in SO CAL on Saturday afternoon LOL!
You don’t have to “suspect” -—remember during gulf War I and from then on in the middle east the Japanese were paying our naval fuel bill——and getting it to us. They were/are part of Task Force 150 patrolling the Arabian Sea. It was only recently that they pulled back from supplying fuel.
That Chinese carrier was purchased from Ukraine-—started by the Russians but never finished and abandoned in Ukraine after the breakup. The Chinese are still learning how to drive it.
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