IMDEX Asia: JS Kaga commissioned into JSMDF

12th May 2017 - 12:00 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) has commissioned the second Izumo-class helicopter-carrier JS Kaga (DDH 184).

The warship was commissioned at the Japan Marine United Corporation shipyard in Yokohama on 22 March 2017.

The 248m-long and 38m-wide vessels can accommodate up to seven Mitsubishi SH-60K and seven AgustaWestland MCM-101 helicopters. With Japan acquiring 17 Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft as well, these could operate from the flat-top too.

JS Izumo (DDH 183) and JS Kaga are the largest surface combatants in the JMSDF fleet. Both combatants feature a combined diesel and LM2500 gas turbine propulsion system, with the gas turbines using GE's integrated electronic controls. The ships also feature four, 4.6 megawatt GE LM500 gas turbine-generator sets.

GE's suite of propulsion engines are designed to meet any mission profile with power options from 25 megawatts to 52 megawatts. The suite includes the base LM2500 model, LM2500+ and LM2500+G4 and the LM6000 family that features the LM6000PC and LM6000PG gas turbines.

IHI manages in-country design, manufacture and testing of the LM2500 propulsion modules and LM500 gensets for all of the JMSDF and GE military marine programmes and delivers them to shipyards. In addition to the Izumo-class programme, the JMSDF uses LM2500 gas turbines for its Kongo, Murasame, Atago and Hyuga-class ships. To date, IHI has packaged, tested and delivered over 235 GE LM marine and industrial gas turbines.