On 21 June the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) commissioned into service the sixth Mogami class frigate, JS Agano. The ship is named after the Agano River. She joins the 14th Escort Division and is now home-ported at Maizuru.
It is planned that there will be twenty-two Mogami class frigates in the JMSDF. The design is also a contender for the RAN’s general purpose frigate. The Mogami’s displace 5,500 tonnes and have a ship’s company of about 90 personnel.
The frigates are equipped with:
- One Seahawk helicopter,
- One 127mm Mk.45 gun,
- Eight Type 17 anti-ship missiles,
- One Sea RAM anti-missile system,
- Type 12 anti-submarine torpedoes, and
- Sixteen Mk-41 VLS cells for the Type 03 Chū surface-to-air missile and the Type 07 anti-submarine
