| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
On 18 March 2009 JS Hyuga (DDH 181) was commissioned and delivered to
the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). The unique characteristic of this ship is its aircraft-carrier-like design, with a "through" flight deck and
an island on the starboard side.Hyuga was planned in the five-year Midterm Defense Buildup Plan (MTDBP) of 2001 and funded in Japanese fiscal year (JFY)
2004 as the replacement for the aging first-generation helicopter-carrying destroyer (DDH), JS Haruna (DDH 141), which was to reach the end of its service
life of thirty-five years in 2009. The second ship of the new class, JS Ise (DDH
182), of the JFY 2006 program, was commissioned 16 March 2011. A third DDH,
an improved sister of the Hyuga-class ships, was funded in the JFY 2010 budget.
The fourth and last DDH, most likely to be a second ship of the improved type, is
to be built in the next five-year program, from JFY 2011 to 2015 (see figure 1 and
sidebar).
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