On Thursday, the Mitsui shipyard in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, held a ceremony for the launching of the Kumano, the first 30FFM-class frigate, Tokyo daily The Asahi Shimbun reported.
According to the outlet, the ship cost $443 million to build, or just two-thirds the cost of a larger conventional destroyer. However, while smaller and cheaper, the Kumano is also less-well equipped. It carries defensive RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles and MHI Type 17 anti-ship missiles and has a landing deck for a Seahawk helicopter, but lacks significant offensive capabilities.
In all, the Kumano is just 435 feet long with 3,900 tons of displacement, but 5,500 tons when fully loaded, according to Defense News - that’s half the size of the new Maya-class destroyers.
In light of that, it’s unlikely the new Kumano will live up to the “nine lives” nickname of a much more famous Kumano, a Mogami-class heavy cruiser that took part in more naval engagements than any other Japanese ship during World War II. However, the new ship’s stealthy, angular design, crafted to minimize its radar signature, means it will be better able to evade threats.
It also carries a powerful Mitsubishi Electric OPY-2 multi-function radar and has the ability to deploy unmanned surface and subsurface assets.
According to the Asahi, the ship has a crew of just 90, thanks to extensive automation. That’s half the crew needed for a destroyer and one-third that needed for ships equipped with the Aegis combat system. The outlet also notes that a standardized design will enable a rotating set of four crews to operate any of the vessels that need operating, rather than the one ship they’re used to.
A smaller crew means smaller personnel demands, which the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) needs in the face of diminishing recruitment numbers. A report in the London Times in October noted the MSDF had failed to reach its recruitment quotas for the past several years, even amid an increase in the maximum age limit from 26 to 32 years of age.
Tokyo has ordered up six 30FFM ships, and the Defense Ministry is looking for two more vessels, according to its August white paper, but has eventual needs for a total of 22 frigates. In a strange coincidence, the Kumano was actually the second 30FFM ship laid down; the first remains under construction.
The Kumano is expected to be commissioned in March 2022, at which time it will begin patrols in the East China Sea to monitor the movements of Chinese fishing boats, which have come into increasing conflict with Tokyo in recent years as competition over fertile fishing waters increases.