If nothing changes, Indonesia will soon own eight Mogami class stealth frigates from Japan
Under the agreement in Tokyo in the "two plus two" security talks between representatives of the Indonesian and Japanese governments
Japan will sell defense equipment to Indonesia to promote military cooperation between the two countries
to counter China's expansion in the East Sea and East China Sea
Japan plans to build 22 of the frigates, four of which will be bought by Indonesia
The agreement gives Indonesia the right to build four more Mogami-class frigates at Indonesian dockyards
They will be the most modern operated by the Indonesian Navy
The Mogami is the world's most modern frigate, developed for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
Construction has been in progress since 2019, and only 2 have been launched
They will soon enter service in 2022
The Mogami-class frigates cost up to 50 billion Yen per ship (approximately $ 450 million)
The Mogami-class frigate is developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
It was envisioned as a stealthy multi-mission frigate
The ship's design looked similar to the United States Navy's Freedom-class littoral combat ship with an integrated mast
The ships will have a full load displacement of about 5,500 tons, a length of 130 m (426 ft 6 in), and a beam of 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Mogami's design emphasizes stealth capabilities
based on research and development from the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin stealth fighter technology demonstrator
also developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Along with stealth capabilities, the frigate also emphasizes on having a high level of automation
This allows the frigate to possess a low crew size of only 90 personnel compared to other ships of similar size
The Mogami class is powered by a Combined diesel and gas propulsion system, including a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine and 2 MAN Diesel engines
Mogami can reach a top speed of over 30 knots
As a modern frigate, the Mogami is armed with a variety of modern weapons
including a 127 mm Mk-45 Mod 4 naval gun, two remote weapon stations above the bridge
16 Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) at the bow, 8 anti-ship missiles, one SeaRAM, an SH-60L helicopter, torpedoes, and decoy launchers
It can also deploy and recover unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), unmanned surface vehicles (USV),
and sea mines from the rear ramp beneath the helideck
It is also expected to use a naval version of the Type 03 Chū-SAM
The overall design of the Mogami class is to achieve a frigate-sized vessel
with the capabilities similar to the Akizuki-class destroyer but with half the VLS cells, and is optimized for stealth
The two Mogami class frigates undergoing sea trials are the JS Mogami and the JS Kumano
If the purchase of the Mogami-class frigates are completed, it would represent the largest arms deal ever between Japan and Indonesia
It will make a significant contribution to build an alliance of like-minded nations to contain China’s maritime ambitions