the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force is one of the more powerful navies in the
world. Its fleet is actually larger than those of the traditional European powers like France
and the United Kingdom. Over the past decade of course, the Maritime Self Defence Force has seen
its position eclipsed by China's Navy. Still, the Japanese Navy remains a force to be reckoned with
and remains a key player in the Pacific Ocean. Among its most important assets are arguably its
Aegis air warfare destroyers, the Kongo, Atago and Maya classes. This video is about the origins and
capabilities of the Japanese Aegis Destroyers. To begin, we need to talk about the evolution of the
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force during the Cold War, and how it incrementally evolved from
being geared primarily at anti-submarine warfare to come to possess both air defence warships in
addition to the anti-submarine warfare ships. In 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy had basically
been destroyed. Of the immense fleet of the IJN in the Second World War, what was the third largest
in the world, only minor units remained. The rest had been sent to the bottom of the Pacific
Ocean. The remaining ships included minesweepers, a few destroyers, and surprisingly a single fleet
aircraft carrier and several lights aircraft carriers. These were used to repatriate the
Japanese garrisons scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean. After this task was completed
the surviving vessels were mostly given to the victorious powers or were scrapped. However,
a few small units remained with the Japanese Coast Guard and these later formed part of the future
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force. According to Article 9 of the new Japanese Constitution,
no offensive naval capability or, indeed, military capability could be established. However, by the
early 1950s, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviets Union was heating up,
and the U.S sought to incorporate the naval power of Japan as part of its naval strategy
against its new communist rival. For this reason, the United States approved the formation of the
Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, essentially the new Japanese Navy in 1954. The new Maritime
Self Defence Force would initially consist of the surviving vessels of the former Imperial Japanese
Navy plus several warships transferred from the U.S Navy, including anti-submarine destroyers.
During the early years of the new Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, so between 1952
and around 1963, it was focused on anti-submarine warfare primarily, and this was because the United
States perceived the main naval threat from the Soviet Union to be from the Soviet submarine
forces. The Soviet Union had acquired some very capable late-war German U-boats, the Type 21.
The U.S Navy was afraid that the Soviet Union would mass produce very capable diesel submarines
and of course later on the Soviet nuclear submarines. Emblematic of this newfound focus
on anti-submarine warfare, the first Japanese destroyer built in Japan after World War II
was basically tailored for anti-submarine warfare only. The Harukaze class destroyers were built by
the Mitsubishi heavy Industries in 1955. She had all the latest anti-submarine warfare equipment,
including K-guns, depth charge launchers and the Mark 32 torpedoes. The second Japanese destroyer
built in 1957, the Uranami class, was also heavily armed in anti-submarine warfare. In fact,
the designers went out of their way to remove other equipment to make room for anti-submarine
equipment, for example the 5-inch guns from the previous design was replaced by 3-inch guns,
which were smaller. The Uranami class featured a variable death sonar in addition to the
heavy anti-submarine armaments. Basically the early Japanese warship design after
World War II followed a heavy anti-submarine purpose. However, starting in the mid-1960s,
something changed. Japan began to build larger air-warfare air-defense destroyers in addition
to smaller anti-submarine destroyer escorts. Japanese warships between 1963 and the early
1990s can basically be split into three types of ships. First are the larger air-warfare
destroyers. The second are the large helicopter- carrying destroyers, which are basically large
anti-submarine air bases, and we continue to have the small anti-submarine destroyer escorts. The
reason for this newfound respect on air defense capabilities is the development of Soviet naval
bombers and cruise missile technology, which the Japanese Navy had to answer. The standard
air defense missile system used on Japanese air warfare destroyers of the time was the U.S Tartar
missile system. This is basically a double missile overarm missile launcher mounted above the deck.
It fires the standard missile 1 medium range surface-to-air missile. For a time, the Tartar
missile system seemed to satisfy Japanese air defense requirements. However, starting
in the early 1980s the Soviet Union started to mass deploy the Tupolev Tu-22M naval bombers,
armed with the new and powerful supersonic Kh-22 cruise missiles. The Japanese Navy estimated at
the time that its current ships cannot survive an attack by the new Soviet naval bomber.
So a new class of air defense warships with more capable air defense capabilities was needed.
So they looked to the new Aegis combat system developed by the United States, and this is
basically the origin of the Kongo class Aegis air warfare destroyer, and I'm sorry it took
so long to get to this point. But I believe the background information is important and I hope
you found it interesting. The Japanese request to purchase the Aegis combat system generated
a great deal of debate within the United States. The Aegis combat system had already been installed
on the U.S Navy's Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser, but it was still a new and very sensitive
technology at the time. In 1988, the proposal went through a congressional review and there were two
major issues raised. The first issue, supported by the U.S shipbuilding industry, was basically:
Why not provide a total Aegis warship to Japan instead of just selling the Aegis weapon system?
At the time, Japan was seen as an economic competitor to the U.S, and the sale of a whole
destroyer to Japan would give the depressed U.S shipbuilding industry some much needed work. The
second question raised in Congress was whether the Aegis combat system should be provided to Japan at
all. There was a concern among the Congressional members that the Japanese might reverse engineer
the Aegis system, and build it themselves. Eventually the U.S Congress approved the sale
of the Aegis combat system, despite reservations about the transfer of technology. The Pentagon
responded to these concerns with additional constraints on the transfer of technology. Still,
the fact remains that Japan is now able to build its own Aegis destroyer. By the way,
if you enjoyed our video so far please press the like button. The resulting Kongo class
was modeled on the U.S Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyers. The Arleigh Burkes were first launched
in 1989. However, the Japanese Kongos were built to different operational requirements,
including the capability to serve as a flagship. The Kongos were designed to carry command
equipment and to accommodate command staff. For example, the Kongo's superstructure is actually
larger than the basic Arleigh Burke to accommodate the headquarters of the naval taskforce. This led
to a greater displacement - 9,500 tons fully loaded, compared to just 8,200 tons for Flight
1 of the Arleigh Burke, or the early model Arleigh Burkes. Like the Arleigh Burke, the Kongo has 90
Mark 41 VLS cells embedded in the front and back sections. Initially, these carry mainly the SM-2
block II medium range air defense missiles on the first two ships of the Kongo class,
and later on the SM-2 Block 3, including the Block 3A and the Block 3B. Eventually, this was used on
all four ships of the Kongo class. Presumably, the Kongo's VLS can also use the RIM-7M variant of the
Sea Sparrow short-range air defense missile, but I can't find any sources on that. In any case,
the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile became available later on for short to medium
range air defense. Additionally the Kongos were also initially armed with the ASROC anti-submarine
missiles. What is missing though is the signature offensive armament of the Arleigh Burkes,
the Tomahawk cruise missiles. These were not provided to the Kongo, at least not yet. So,
on the surface the Kongo class emphasizes defence, especially air defense capabilities, and the focus
on defense is in line with the stated objectives of the Maritime Self Defense Force. The Aegis
weapon system is built around the AN/SPY1D passive electronically scanned array, a radar array with
four faces embedded inside the superstructure providing a 360 degree coverage. The Aegis weapon
system's maximum detection distance, the number of simultaneously tracked targets, reaction time,
and missile range are superior in all respects, in comparison with the former Tartar air defense
missile system. In total four Kongo class ships were built between 1990 and 1998. The lead ship
the Kongo was launched in 1991 and commissioned in 1993. The other ships are the Kirishima,
the Myoko, and the Chokai. Over the course of the late 1990s and the early 2000s, North Korea's
ballistic missile program and nuclear program in general was gaining momentum. As a result,
the Japanese Navy decided to go for anti-ballistic missile defense systems. Consequently the Aegis
ballistic missile defense system was incorporated into the Kongo class, and the standard missile 3
or the SM-3 anti-ballistic missile interceptors were also Incorporated. Next let's talk about the
Atago class, the successor to the Kongo. The Kongo class has a helicopter landing pad, and this is
actually longer than the helipad on the Arleigh Burke Flight 1. But, similar to the Arleigh
Burke Flight 1, the Kongo class has no hanger for supporting helicopters on a long-term basis, and,
because helicopters are so essential for modern anti-submarine warfare, the lack of a hangar
limits the anti-submarine potential of the Kongo class. The new Atago class addresses this weakness
by including a hangar for one anti-submarine helicopter, which necessitated a 4-meter extension
of the hull and an increase in displacement from the Kongo by 500 tons to around 10 000 tons fully
loaded. The Atago also has improved Aegis weapon system, the Baseline 7.1 after commissioning and
this has been further upgraded to Baseline 9C. It is also the first Japanese destroyer to be
equipped with the ballistic missile defense system from the very start of commissioning. The vertical
launching system is the same one as on the Kongo, but the missile-loading crane has been removed.
Therefore the Atago class features six more VLS cells for a total of 96 missile cells. The Atago
class also offers a further reduction in the radar cross section. The effective radar reflection
area has been reduced, owing to better designed features for the mast and the superstructure.
Basically, the Atago class is very similar to the Kongo, with incremental improvements, particularly
in terms of helicopter support facilities, anti-submarine warfare, the Aegis weapon system,
the number of vertical launching cells, and a reduction in the radar cross section. Two ships
of the Atago class were built between 2004 and 2008. The lead ship the Atago was launched in 2005
and commissioned in 2007. Moving on to the Maya class, Japan's most recent class of air warfare
destroyers equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9C, which is newer than the Aegis 7.1 on the Atago,
although the Atago has been modernized to the 9C as well. The Maya features improved domestic
anti-ship missiles compared to the Atago and far superior to the harpoons on the original Kongos.
The Maya's Aegis Baseline 9C is also capable of fielding the standard missile 6 or the SM-6, the
primary long-range air warfare missile of the U.S Navy. The SM-6 is expected to be integrated into
the Maya class by 2026 at the latest, although for now the SM-6 is not yet integrated into the
warships of the Maritime Self Defense Force. The long range SM-6 is expected to work well with the
Cooperative Engagement Capability, or the CEC, on the more advanced Aegis weapon system. It can
share surveillance or targeting information between other CEC-equipped assets, including
warships and combat aircraft, and including US or Australian assets. The Maya class can
use the information to launch the SM-6 extended range missiles outside its own radar horizon.
Lastly, the Maya class features a new propulsion system not seen on its predecessors, a hybrid
electric propulsion. This could be a first step towards integrating things like railguns and
direct energy weapons in the future. In total, two Maya class ships were built between 2017 and 2021.
Japan's modern air warfare destroyers are really the heavyweight frontline surface combatants of
the Japanese Navy. The modern capital ships of the Maritime Self Defense Force will always be a
force to be reckoned with. It will be interesting to see whether Japan will produce fully domestic
destroyers in the future, rather than relying on the American destroyer designs. Very recently,
Japan is seriously considering building two 20,000 ton anti-ballistic missile defense warship. They
will be among the largest surface combatants built in Japan after World War II. You can find
a video on the new Japanese anti-ballistic missile ship right here in the end screen.