Japan’s Naval Force

JS Izumo is one of the two JMSDF helicopter destroyers being modified to operate F-35B STOL fighter aircraft. © JMSDF

Japan’s Naval Force Projection

By David Oliver

For the first time, Japan’s 2019 Defence White Paper indicated that China is bigger threat than North Korea. The focus of Japan’s concern has been what it calls the Senkaku Islands. Japan says they are sovereign territory but China, who calls them the Diaoyu Islands, also claims them. The rocky islands are approximately 900 kilometres (560 miles) from the Japanese mainland and 410 kilometres (255 miles) from the nearest Japanese air base on Okinawa.

Japan has raised defence spending by ten percent over the past seven years to counter military advances by Beijing and Pyongyang, including defences against North Korean missiles which may carry nuclear warheads, but to stay ahead of China’s modernising military Japan is expanding its naval aviation capabilities by acquiring new fighter, reconnaissance and unmanned aircraft and other advanced weapons.

In December 2018, the government decided to procure 147 F-35 stealth fighters, 42 of which are now expected to be the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B variant capable of operating from converted helicopter carriers.

The JS Kaga, along with the sister ship Izumo, is the biggest warship that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), has built since the end of World War Two. In December 2018, the government announced plans to convert the JS Kaga and JS Izumo to operate the US-built F-35B STOVL aircraft. The conversion would effectively give the vessels, re-designated from helicopter destroyer to multi-purpose operation destroyers, many of the same capabilities as aircraft carriers–also a first for post-war Japan.

At 248 metres (812 feet) long with a displacement 27,000 tonnes, the Izumo-class vessels were designed to carry up to 28 helicopters, or 400 troops and 50 military vehicles. Their flight decks currently have five helicopter landing spots that allow simultaneous landings or take-offs. Their primary role is anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and quickly deploying Japanese military assets at sea. They also serve as command ships and can

The JMSDF also operates two 19,000 ton Hyuga-class helicopter destroyers that can carry up to 18 ASW helicopters. © JMSDF

be used to quickly ferry humanitarian relief to farflung places in the Asia Pacific region. To operate up to 12 F-35Bs, the flight decks will be reinforced and the below deck hangarage enlarged.

The JMSDF also operates two 19,000 tonnes Hyuga-class helicopter carriers that can carry up to 18 ASW helicopters while there are no plans to modify them to operate the fixed-wing F-35B. Three 14,000 tonnes Osumi-class tank landing ships, which have a rear flight deck for helicopters, are due for a major refit to enable them to embark MV-22 Ospreys and Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) to improve their amphibious capabilities.

The JMSDF’s Fleet Air Force has a large rotarywing fleet including more that 100 Mitsubishi-built Sikorsky SH-60J and UH-60J Seahawk ASW and SAR helicopters, and 12 Kawasaki-built MCH-101 airborne mine-countermeasures helicopters. The 2020 defence budget includes the acquisition of seven SH-60K naval ship-borne ASW helicopters.

Its JMSDF fixed-wing fleet is dominated by 70 Lockheed P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), more than 100 of which were built under

US Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys landing on the JS Shimkita one of three JMSDF Osumi-class tank landing ships. © US Navy

license in Japan by Kawasaki. They are being replaced by the P-1, a four jet MPA developed and manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). Unlike many maritime patrol aircraft, which are typically conversions of civilian designs, the P-1 was designed from the onset for the ASW/ MPA roles. It has the distinction of being the first operational aircraft in the world to make use of a fly-by-light control system which has superior performance in decreasing electromagnetic interference. With its large wing and spacious fuselage, the P-1 is especially suited for lowaltitude ASW operations. The P-1 has entered service with the JMSDF as a replacement for the P-3C Orion. On 26 March 2013, the JMSDF took delivery of the first two operational P-1 aircraft of 20 on order. The service has a requirement for a total of 60 P-1 MPAs to be acquired by the end of 2027.

KHI is aiming to develop an electronic warfare (EW) version of the P-1 MPA to replace a small number of EP-3 ELINT aircraft in service and the JMSDF plans to equip an undisclosed number of its P-1 with artificial intelligence (AI) to boost the platform’s intelligence gathering capabilities, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA).

The AI technology is expected to enhance the P-1’s ability to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations more effectively. The ATLA aims to apply the technology to radar target recognition, which uses inverse syntheticaperture radar (ISAR) image data in the sea and synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) image data on the ground.

To improve its ship-borne airborne surveillance capabilities, the Japanese Government intends to

The JMSDF’s Fleet Air Force has a large fleet of Mitsubishi-built Sikorsky SH-60J Seahawk ship-borne Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters. © US Navy

Twelve Kawasaki-built MCH-101 airborne minecountermeasures helicopters are operated by the JMSDF, one of which is seen taking off from the carrier USS Ronald Reagan. © US Navy

acquire around 20 rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the JMSDF with a type being down selected by 2022, with actual procurement starting a year later. The ship-based UAV would augment Japan’s early warning and surveillance activities around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture that are currently being carried out by P-3C aircraft. The Northrop Grumman MQ8C Fire Scout in production for the US Navy is currently said to be in the lead as the unmanned helicopter choice.

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is a twinturboprop carrier-borne airborne early warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft operated from land bases by the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) although many of its operations are over water in support of the JMSDF. Thirteen EC-2Cs have been in JASDF service since 1983, being upgraded to Hawkeye 2000 standard ten years ago that included an upgraded mission computer and a new CEC data-link system.

More than 100 Lockheed P-3J Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) were built under license in Japan by Kawasaki for the JMSDF. © JMSDF

In June 2015, the Japanese government requested to buy four E-2Ds, a new variant of the Hawkeye with new avionics suite, improved engines and a new “glass cockpit” through a US FMS, to serve alongside the JASDF’s E-2Cs. Following the rising threat from China, in 2019 Northrop Grumman received a US$ 1.4 billion FMS contract from the US Department of Defense covering the supply of nine additional E-2Ds to supplement and eventually replace the JASDF’s E-3C fleet. In September 2014 Japan announced plans for deploying 17 V-22 Osprey with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) for air insertion on remote islands. The US$ 41.7 billion Fiscal Year 2015 defence budget included the purchase of the first five Block C MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft and in July 2016 a US FMS order was issued for the first four Ospreys to be delivered by May 2020. The first Japanese MV-22 was rolled-out in August 2017 at the Bell facility in Amarillo, Texas. The type’s ability to combine the vertical take-off and landing capability of a helicopter with the higher potential range and speed of a conventional aircraft are vital attributes given the over 965 kilometres (600 miles) separating the southwestern-most Japanese islands from Kyushu.

In May 2019, the US Marine Corps (USMC) launched a one year training plan to help JGSDF crews to gain proficiency with the MV-22 Osprey. The training at the North Carolina based Marine Corps Air Station New River involved 20-50 Japanese students at any given moment, and will span until May 2020. The JGSDF brought the first of its new Block C variant MV-22s to the training evolution to New River, which includes an upgraded weather radar and enhanced displays in the cockpit.

USMC MV-22Bs have taken part in numerous exercises with the JMSDF and have landed on its Hyuga-class helicopter carriers and Osumi-class tank landing ships, and it is likely that JGSDF Osprey pilots will be qualified for ship-borne operations.

The JMSDF P-3s are being replaced by Kawasaki P-1 four-jet MPAs, 60 of which will be acquired by 2027. © Kawasaki

On March 27, 2018, the JGSDF underwent its most significant structural reform since its formation in 1954 with the creation of a unified command and the launch of an Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) tasked with defending Japan’s remote islands. It is the first time Japan has had an amphibious marine force since World War II. The new unit is tasked with defending Japanese islands and conducting amphibious raids and landings. The new unit will allow Japan to project power in the East China Sea where the country holds a major territorial dispute with China over the energy rich Senkaku Islands.

The JMSDF has six 180 tonnes Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercraft for transporting weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel of assault elements both from ship to shore and across the beach. The Marine component of the JGSDF acquired 30 US-built fully tracked Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) in 2017. Vehicles are AAV7A1 Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard (RAM/RS) versions, with a more powerful engine and drive train and an upgraded suspension system, providing improved mobility, command, control, and repair capabilities.

During the Philippine-led KAMANDAG 3 exercise held in October 2019, the Philippine Marine Corps launched its AAVs for the first time alongside AAVs from the US and JGSDF Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB). The training drills included amphibious operations reconnaissance, low altitude air defence, live-fire drills, military operations in urban terrain, and aviation operations. The JGSDF also participated in training scenarios covering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Japan’s focus has now reached Africa with the JMSDF Detachment of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 equipped with two P-3C Orion MPAs based at Djibouti Airport. The JMSDF Counter-Piracy Facility was opened in July 2011 to house some 200 personnel and include administrative, housing, medical, kitchen/dining, and recreational facilities as well as an aircraft maintenance hangar and parking apron. It is Japan’s first and only overseas air base to open since the end of World War II and has been used for hot weather operational trials of the JMSDF’s new Kawasaki P-1.

Kawasaki is developing an electronic warfare (EW) version of the P-1 MPA to replace a small number of EP-3 ELINT aircraft in JMSDF service. © David Oliver

Seventeen Block C MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft are being delivered to the Japan Ground Self Defence Force (JGSDF) for air insertion on remote islands. © USMC

In November 2017 it was confirmed that the base would be expanded. Djibouti is set to become an operational centre for JSDF troops in the Horn of Africa region, with the additional military capabilities at the base. Japan plans to step up training efforts with East African nations and to increase military cooperation with the United States in the region. Due to constitutional limitations, Japan is restricted from training African troops in combat tactics, but it is able to provide instruction in areas such as disaster response, engineering and humanitarian relief. These activities form part of Japan’s changing focus in Africa from peacekeeping to security capacity building.

Japan eased a decades-old arms export ban in 2014, allowing for weapons exports and

participation in joint arms programmes when they serve international peace and Japan’s security. Two years later the Philippines agreed to lease from Japan five ex-JMSDF Beechcraft TC90 training aircraft to help the Philippines Navy to patrol the disputed South China Sea, where China is also expanding its military presence. Japan is also selling spare parts for the Philippine Air Force’s ageing fleet of UH-1H Huey helicopters, after a deal for new Bell 412EP helicopters from Canada collapsed. The US$ 96 million parts package would keep about 20 US-made Bell utility helicopters flying until 2020 when the Philippines expects to take delivery of the first of 16 new Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from PZL Mielec in Poland.

More than 100 Bell UH-1H helicopters were built under licence by Fuji Heavy Industries for the JGSDF, many of which were upgraded to UH-1J standard with a Kawasaki-built Lycoming T53-K-70 turboshaft engine. They are due the be replaced by 150 UH-X which is being developed jointly by Bell Helicopter and Suburu Corporation.

Japan has also been negotiating the sale of 12 ShinMaywa US-2 aircraft for the Indian Navy. The four-turboprop long-range amphibian aircraft is operated by the JMSDF in the SAR role. The Kawasaki P-1 was a contender for the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s P-3 replacement but lost out to the Boeing P-8 Poseidon.

Japanese Soldiers from the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), depart the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Germantown in an AAV during exercise KAMANDAG 3. © USMC