JSAshigara
Class overview
Name	Atago class
Builders	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Operators	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by	Kongō class
Succeeded by	Maya class
Cost	¥140 billion[1] $1.48 billion (constant 2009 USD)
Built	2004–2008
In commission	2007–
Completed	2
Active	2
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,700 tons standard 10,000 tons full load[2]
Length	165.0 m (541 ft 4 in)[2][3]
Beam	21.0 m (68 ft 11 in)[2]
Draft	6.1 m (20 ft 0 in)[2]
Propulsion	4IHI/GE LM2500-30gas turbines Two shafts 5-bladed CP props 100,000 shp (75,000 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × 11-meter work boats 1 ×Rigid hull inflatable boat
Complement	300
Sensors & processing systems	AN/SPY-1D(V) multi-function radar OPS-28Esurface search radar (later replaced by SPQ-9B) 3 ×AN/SPG-62 illuminators AN/SQQ-89 withSQS-53C and OQR-2 (later replaced by SQR-20) Mk. 46 Optronic director
Electronic warfare & decoys	NOLQ-2B intercept and jammer 4 ×Mk. 36 SRBOC Chaff and Decoy Launching System
Armament	1 ×5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 gun 8 ×Type 90 (SSM-1B)anti-ship missile in quad canisters 2 × 20 mmPhalanx CIWS 2 × HOS-302 tripletorpedo tubes: Mark 46 torpedo Type 73 torpedoes 96-cellMk 41Vertical Launching System: SM-2MRsurface-to-air missiles SM-3anti-ballistic missiles VL-ASROCanti-submarine missiles RIM-162surface-to-air missiles
Aircraft carried	1 ×SH-60K helicopter
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and enclosed hangar for one helicopter

TheAtago class ofguided-missile destroyers (あたご型護衛艦,Atago-gata Goeikan) in theJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force is a modified version of theKongō class equipped with theAegis Combat System.^[2][4]

The Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) began construction of the Aegis-equippedKongō class in FY1988 as the core ship for air defense of its fleet. With the commission of the Kongo class, each of the four escort flotillas (護衛隊群,Goei-tai-gun) had oneTartar-equipped destroyer and one Aegis-equipped destroyer.^[4]

In the 2000s, the steam-poweredTachikaze-class destroyers were nearing the end of their life, and their Tartar Weapon Systems were becoming obsolete. As their replacements, two Aegis-equipped destroyers,Atago class, were built in the FY2002 and 2003 budget.^[4]

The design is fundamentally an improved and scaled-up version of theKongō-class destroyers with a 4-meter extension of the hull. Just as theKongō class, the superstructure is larger than aboard the American counterparts,Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA.^[5]

One of the most obvious changes is an additional hangar to carry oneSH-60K helicopter. In comparison to theKongō class which only had ahelicopter deck, these ships have betterhelicopter handling facilities.^[5]

Another external feature is the reduction of theradar cross-sectional area. For example, theAtago class use a new stealthier plain-structure mast, which was originally designed in Japan, rather than familiar sturdy truss mast. A new modified smokestack and other improvements were also introduced to make theAtagos stealthier.^[5]

The propulsion systems are almost the same as those of theKongō class andArleigh Burke class, powered by fourIshikawajima-Harima LM2500gas turbines giving them a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).^[2] The installation of three generators is also retained, but the output per unit is increased to 2,800 kilowatts.^[5]

The class is equipped with theAegis Weapon System (AWS). The system version was Baseline 7.1 immediately after they were put into service; then both ships have been updated to Baseline 9C with modernization.^[6]

Assurface-to-air missiles, TheSM-2MR Block IIIA/B has been used. Since FY 2016, they have also been equipped with amissile defense capability with anAegis BMD 5.0CU system to launch SM-3 Block IA and IBanti-ballistic missiles.^[6]

The missile launcher is the sameMark 41 Vertical Launching System as theKongo class, but the missile reloading crane has been omitted, so the number of missile cells is increased by 3 cells each on the bow and stern sides. The Kongo class had 29 cells on the foredeck and 61 cells on the afterdeck, but the Atago class has a hangar, so 64 cells are placed on the foredeck and 32 cells on the afterdeck.^[6]

These cells contain not only RIM-162, SM-2, and SM-3, but alsoVL-ASROCs.^[2] Additionally, they are equipped with HOS-302, one of the Japanese variant of theMark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes, asanti-submarine weapons.^[6] While theKongō class is equipped with domestic sonar and ASW combat system, theAtago class is equipped with American-made AN/SQQ-89(V)15 with AN/SQS-53C sonar. Only the towing sonar was a domestic OQR-2D-1, which was later replaced with an American-made SQR-20 Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA).^[6]

The 127mm bore gun's barrel has been extended from the 54 caliber of theKongō class to the 62 caliber with strengthened powder charge enabling a 38 km (24 mi) firing range. As with other Japanese ships being refit, the American-madeHarpoon missiles (such as in the initial configuration of theKongō class) can be replaced with the Japanese-madeType 90 (SSM-1B)surface-to-surface missiles; those interfaces are compatible.^[6]

• List of naval ship classes in service
• List of active Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships

• "Technical characteristics of Atago-class DDG".Ships of the World (in Japanese) (918).Kaijin-sha:81–99. February 2020.NAID 40022135570.
• Kōda, Yōji[in Simple English] (December 2015). "History of Domestic Built Destroyers of JMSDF".Ships of the World (in Japanese) (827). Kaijin-sha.NAID 40020655404.
• Wertheim, Eric (2013).Guide toCombat Fleets of the World (16th ed.).United States Naval Institute.ISBN 978-1-59114954-5.
• Yamazaki, Makoto (August 2014). "Development of Japanese DDG".Ships of the World (802). Kaijin-sha:69–75.NAID 40020135975.

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