Preceded by PG 1-go class Planned 6 | Building - Completed 6 | |
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Builders Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shimonoseki Operators Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force | ||
The Hayabusa-class is a guided missile patrol boat class of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Six boats were built between 2002 and 2004.
Contents
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force initially built three hydrofoil missile boats of the PG 1-go class between 1993 and 1995. However, after commissioning, problems with seaworthiness and operational range at mid-speed became clear. As a result, no more ships of this first class of Japanese missile boat were built.
The Hayabusa class was designed to correct these problems. After an incident off the Noto Peninsula involving a North Korea spy ship, two ships of the class were included in the 1999 fiscal year plan. They were named for Imperial Japanese Navy ships, the torpedo boat Hayabusa and the minesweeper Wakataka.
Hull
The boat's displacement was enlarged to four times that of the PG 1-go class to improve seaworthiness. The maximum speed was increased to improve the ability to intercept ships; however, the speed increase proved to be difficult to implement.
Both double-hull and single-hull designs were considered; the single-hull design was selected for reasons of hull strength and seaworthiness. The hull is long and narrow with a V-shaped bottom, allowing for a high hull speed and improved high-speed stability.
Stealth characteristics were incorporated. The slope of the superstructure, designed to minimize direct radar reflection, was chosen using computer simulation of the radar cross section. The tripod mast and Stealthshield 76mm gun also have stealth features.
Propulsion
Three LM500-G07 gas turbine engines, built under license from General Electric by Ishikawajima-Harima, provide the main propulsion.
Armament
The main armament is a pair of SSM-1B ship-to-ship missile twin launchers installed in the stern and a Otobreda 76 mm gun on the front deck. Additionally, two 12.7mm M2 machine guns are installed on the back of the bridge.
The weapons systems for the Hayabusa Class is controlled by the OYQ-8B Tactical Data Processing System. It uses a smaller AN/UYK-44 computer but is vastly superior to the previous generation UYK-20. Also it is capable of supporting Link 11 data link, which the previous OYQ-5 and UYK-20 system was not able to. As a result, it is now able to provide supporting data to other ships and aircraft. This enhances offensive and defensive capability as they can now feed data into the larger Maritime Operation Force System of the Self Defense Forces.