The manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavies Industries, or MHI, presented the model that will succeed it, called frigate FFM-AAW by the manufacturer, and New-FFM by the Japanese authorities, on the occasion of the Indopacific Expo 2023 show. While the 8th unit of the Mogami class is due to be launched in the coming days, the new frigate will be longer, heavier and above all much better armed than the ships to which they will succeed.
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Launched in 2015, the Japanese 30FF program aimed to develop a multi-purpose frigate dedicated to low to medium intensity engagement, close in concept to the US Navy's LCS, to replace its light destroyers and escort destroyer classes. Asagiri and Abukuma.
Like the American LCS, the 30FF was to carry limited armament, with a 127 mm cannon, two light RWS cannons, a SeaRAM CIWS system and an SH-60L helicopter for anti-submarine warfare.
Mogami-class frigates of the Japanese Navy
In 2017, however, the original concept was abandoned in favor of 30 DX program, which will give birth to the Mogami class. 133 meters long with a loaded tonnage of 5 tonnes, the new frigate carried, in addition to the systems which were to arm the 200FF, 30 Type 8 anti-ship missiles, as well as 17 Mk2 VLS systems for 41 silos, armed with Type 16 anti-aircraft missiles Long-range Chusam, and Type 03 anti-submarine missiles.
Initially, the FFM program was to involve 22 ships. In addition, for budgetary reasons, the first eight units did not receive, during construction, the 2 VLS Mk41 systems planned, even if they should quickly receive them in the years to come.
Production of Japanese frigates began in October 2019 with the keel of the first unit, the JS Mogami, together with the second frigate, the JS Kumano, with an annual production of two ships. The JS Mogami was launched in March 2021, and was admitted to service in April 2022, a few days after the JS Kumani. Since then, the rate of 2 new frigates per year has been respected.
In December 2022, faced with the hardening of relations with Beijing, but also with Moscow and Pyongyang, and the threats that these countries represent for Tokyo, the Japanese authorities announced that the Mogami class will be limited to 12 ships, and will be followed by a new class, also of 12 frigates and then called “new-FFM”, responding better to threats.
MHI’s FFM-AAW frigate with enhanced anti-aircraft capabilities
This new class was presented by MHI at the indopacific Expo, which was held earlier this week in Sydney, Australia. The new ship turns out to be, in fact, much more formidable than the one it will succeed.
Designated by MHI as “FFM-AAW”, to accentuate its anti-aircraft specialization, the new frigate will, in fact, be longer (142 m vs. 133 m), heavier by 1000 tons with a tonnage of 6 tons loaded, and more heavily armed, with 200 vertical launch silos, and not 32 as for the Mogami.
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