The Izumo-class two ships are officially the helicopter destroyers. But, if we trust our
eyes, we could say easily that they are not destroyers, but aircraft carriers. It is that
simple. Well, why does Japan prefer to use this definition? Answering this question is
more complicated. As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating the Izumo-class, the
so-called helicopter destroyer. Please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
before we start and give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our
new video, please click the bell button. The biggest Japanese warship since the Second
World War, the Izumo-class, is one of the most important symbols of the change in the
Asia-Pacific region. However, due to its constitution, Japan can not have an offensive weapon system
such as an aircraft carrier. Here, we should answer the following question
that whether the aircraft carrier is an offensive weapon system.
For modern weapon systems, it is always hard to find a solid mission definition. They can
conduct both offensive and defensive duties. Basically, a destroyer is an escort ship.
Its mission definition is to protect the fleet. But, current destroyers have an offensive
capability that is much greater than the Second World War battlecruisers.
A country could use the same fighter jets to defend its airspace or to conduct an airstrike
on other countries. The best anti-tank weapon is another tank.
These steel beasts could penetrate the enemy's defensive lines or hold the enemy's armoured
punch. Besides, the concepts of offence and defence
have many grey areas. For example, the concept of the pre-emptive
strike is aggressive by its nature, but it serves the protection of a country.
So, we could not say that an aircraft carrier is just an offensive system.
Also, we could not say that the aircraft carrier is a single type of naval vessel. There are
many subtypes of it. Thanks to its supercarriers, the USA can rule
the seas and conduct operation against any nations overseass.
The medium type aircraft carriers of the China, UK, France, and Russia are highly capable.
But, they can control only some areas, and they are not a real threat for many countries.
The small aircraft carriers are an ideal platform for anti-submarine warfare duties, supporting
multi-national operations, or fighting against countries, which have limited military capability.
So, even we define the Izumo-class as an aircraft carrier rather than a helicopter destroyer,
but its offensive capabilities cannot be compared to the aircraft carriers of the USA, the UK,
China, and Russia. Before we start our analysis, let's look at
the history of Japan's efforts to own an aircraft carrier after the Second World War and examine
the ship. After the end of the Second World War, the
Allies permitted Japan to form a coast guard force, in 1948, which called that time the
Maritime Safety Agency. As early as 1952, this agency put owning an
escort aircraft carrier for the anti-submarine warfare mission on the agenda. Surprisingly,
the USA was not against this ambitious plan. In 1954, the newly established Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force took over the aircraft carrier procurement plan.
Tokyo was initially considering procuring one of the Essex-class ships.
However, in 1959, the construction of a new ship came to the fore. This would be a helicopter
carrier and could carry 18 Sea King helicopters, three of which could operate simultaneously.
But, the project was terminated after a while. Because, at that time, the helicopters were
not as effective as today. Also, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
was being reorganized, and Tokyo decided to use the budget to build a large number of
cost-effective destroyers instead of a highly expensive helicopter carrier.
In late the 1960s, the new and improved conventional and nuclear submarines of the Soviet Navy
became the major threat for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
So, in 1967, Tokyo initiated the Third Defense Build-up Plan. According to the Japanese naval
staff, to deal with the Soviet submarines, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force had
to have escort fleets, which consists of eight surface combatant and six anti-submarine warfare
helicopters. As the core of an escort fleet, it was planned to build the 8,300-ton helicopter
destroyers, which would carry six helicopters. But, this plan was also terminated because
of budget problems. So, Japan decided to build two Haruna-class
destroyers at first and two Shirane-class destroyers later. These ships had three Sea
Kings. In the 1970s, Soviet bombers carrying long-range
cruise missiles brought aircraft carriers back to the agenda.
Different from previous plans, this time, Japan was also considering the jet fighters
besides the helicopters. The Harriers was the only available short
take-off and vertical landing capable jet fighter at that time.
However, they were not sufficient to intercept the Tu-22M, whose NATO reporting name is Backfire.
In the 1980s, Japan began to considering airborne early warning and control aircraft as well
as tanker aircraft. By these aircraft, the Japan Air Self-Defense
Force could provide efficient air cover for the escort fleet. This was also a cost-effective
solution than a carrier with the Harriers. The first concrete step towards Japan's dream
of owning an aircraft carrier was the two Hyūga-class helicopter destroyers commissioned
in 2009 and 2011. These ships were followed by the Izumo-class.
The first ship of this class, JS Izumo, was laid down in 2012. She was launched on August
6, 2013, which was the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima.
The ship was commissioned in 2015. The second and last Izumo-class vessel, JS
Kaga, was commissioned two years later. The complement of the Izumo-class is 970-person.
Its empty weight is 19,500 tons, while its fully-loaded displacement is 27,000 tons.
The ship has a length of 248 metres, a beam of 38 metres, and a draught of 7.5 metres.
The combined gas and gas configuration propulsion system consists of four 33,525 horsepower
GE/IHI LM2500IEC gas turbines. The maximum speed of the Izumo-class is 30 knots. The
ship has two Mk 15 Phalanx and two SeaRAM close-in weapon systems.
The Izumo-class has a special design, which reduces the radar cross-section.
The air traffic control room, at the rear of the bridge, has a panoramic view of the
flight deck. The OPS-50 active electronically scanned array
radar performs both air search and air traffic control missions. Different from other OPS-50
radars on the other Japanese vessels, it has only C-band search antennas. Because there
are no long-range weapon systems on the Izumo-class, the X-band tracking antennas have been eliminated.
The Izumo-class has a heavy bow-mounted sonar. It is not for is anti-submarine warfare missions
but to detect a possible torpedo attack. The ship has two large elevators for the aircraft.
Also, there are three small elevators, two of which to carry ammunition, and one is connected
to the medical facilities. The medical facilities include a 35-bed hospital,
operating rooms, intensive care units, and dental treatment units.
The gas turbines have electronic fuel control systems and are controlled from the bridge.
The Izumo-class can produce 60 tons of freshwater per day.
Some of this water is used to clean the flight deck after air operations.
It can refuel other ships at sea and also transfer freshwater. But, the vessel does
not have the ability to transfer aviation fuel.
The Izumo-class has two hangars and one maintenance facility.
Each hangar can accommodate up to six helicopters, while the maintenance facility has room for
two others. Currently, in a typical mission, the Izumo-class
carries seven SH-60K anti-submarine warfare and two MCH-101 utility helicopters.
But, the ship can accommodate 28 aircraft. Five helicopters can be operated simultaneously.
One SH-60K always waits for an alert on the deck.
This helicopter rotates another one every few hours to avoid from negative effects of
sun and salty water. The ship can carry up to 400 marines to support
amphibious operations and the same number of people in the disaster relief operations.
Currently, the Izumo-class can not operate fixed-winged aircraft. Yet, in 2018, Japan
decided to modify these ships to make them suitable for the F-35Bs and V-22s.
The conversion of JS Izumo began in 2020. This is a two-stage plan.
At first, the decks of the ships will be reinforced to endure the additional weight of the F-35B,
as well as the heat and forces from the jet engines during vertical landing.
As the second phase of the conversion work, the current trapezoidal flight decks of each
vessel will be modified into a square shape. The Izumo-class will not be fitted with a
ski-jump ramp. Because together with the heavy bow-mounted sonar of the ship, the ski-jump
ramp could cause a balance problem. Also, the hangars and the maintenance facility
will be modified. Japan has already ordered 42 F-35Bs.
It also has V-22s. But, the Japanese Government has announced
that there is no plan to deploy these aircraft on the Izumo-class ships. We can easily say
that this announcement is just to prevent the reaction of other countries in the region.
Eventually, everybody knows that we will see them on the Izumo-class' flight deck.
The US Marine Corps plans to operate its F-35Bs from the Izumo-class to train Japanese forces
to operate this aircraft. Why does Japan define the Izumo-class as a
helicopter destroyer? The answer is obvious. Tokyo does not want to be aggressive. Does
changing a name make a real difference? Interestingly, it works.
For example, to avoid the limitations of the Montreux Convention, the USSR built aircraft
cruisers. China promised to not convert Varyag into
an aircraft carrier. And, she passed to the Turkish Straits as a tourist attraction ship.
Now, Japan has declared that we will not see its F-35Bs on its helicopters destroyers.
Does Japan really need an aircraft carrier? The East China Sea is a problematic area.
All countries in the region have sovereignty claim disputes.
Again, the Chinese Navy has to use the Miyako Strait to sail the Pacific. This approximately
250 kilometres wide strait lies between Miyako and Okinawa Islands.
Naha Air Base on Okinawa Island is the southernmost fortress of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
But, it is too far from the nearest airbases on Kyushu Island.
Between them, there is gap over 700 kilometres. To control this vast area, an aircraft carrier
is the best option for Japan. Of course, there are some other auxiliary
airfields in the region. But, they are not capable of housing a large number of fighters
safely. In case of war in the south, Japan has to
concentrate its airpower in the Naha Air Base. It would not be wise to deploy many aircraft
in a single place, considering the long-range strike capability of the Chinese H-6K bombers.
An aircraft carrier could easily solve this problem.
Thanks to the Izumo-class ships, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force can operate far
from the air cover of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. It gives defensive depth to Japan.
The world is changing, and the Second Cold War is rising. In this new era, Japan is naturally
transforming. The Izumo-class is one of the most shining symbols of the new world order.
Two ships of this class have constantly joined multi-national naval exercises. They gave
the message that the region needs Japan to balance China. And, many countries in Asia-Pacific,
which have bad memories of the Second World War, have received and accepted this message.
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