JS Takanami (DD-110)

JS Gao Bo (DD-110) Story

Japan's insularity has forced the country to invest in a vast navy of various types of warships, including submarines, amphibious assault support ships and surface fighters. In the latter category, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) relies on about forty destroyer-type ships made up of several groups of combat ships.

These include the Gaobo class, which consists of five warships of the 6,300-ton class - led by JS Gaobo (DD-110) himself.

JS Takanami (DD-110) ordered in 1996, built by specialists at IHI Marine United, keel laid on 25 April 2000. The ship was launched on July 26, 2001 and officially commissioned, and on March 12, 2003, it was commissioned with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and assigned to Yokosuka.

At the time of writing (2020), she is still in service.

The Takanami was built with a barrel length of 495 feet, a beam of 57 feet, and a draft of 17 feet. Power comes from a combined gas turbine arrangement that includes two Ishikawajima Harima (General Electric) LM2500 gas turbines and two Kawasaki (Rolls-Royce) SM1C gas turbines.

These generate over 60,000 hp to drive the 2 axles at the stern and allow the vessel to reach speeds of 30 knots in ideal conditions.

With 175 officers and sailors on board, the ship is equipped with a variety of systems and sensors to meet any modern challenge at sea. These include the OPS-25B radar, OPS-28D surface search radar, OQS-5 sonar, UQR-2 towed sonar array and Type 81 Fire Control System (FCS).

The boat's kit includes the NOLQ-3 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) system and 4 x Mk 137 chaff dispenser units.

Armament is a mixture of conventional and missile weapons. A 127mm/54 caliber OTO Breda turret deck gun is located above the forecastle, supported by a 2 x 20mm Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS). At the heart of the warship's armament is a 32-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) that showcases the evolved Sea Sparrow Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) or RUM-139 VL-ASROC anti-submarine missile.

In addition, two SSM-1B (Type 90) anti-ship missiles are housed in quad launchers. The armament on the warship consists of 2 x 68 triple torpedo tubes.

All in all, the ship can attack air, surface, and underwater targets with great deflection. In addition, the vessel supports a Sikorsky SH-60J/K medium helicopter from the stern helipad with full hangar facilities for maritime missions.

The helicopter is equipped for an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role, giving the Kobo more firepower against enemy submarines.

The Kobo class is designed to address the air defense and anti-submarine limitations of the previous Murasame class destroyers introduced in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Therefore, the new level contains weapon types such as the Evolution Sea Sparrow and various anti-submarine solutions. Essentially, the High Wave class represents an evolved Murasame class with greatly expanded capabilities to deal with modern threats from a potential enemy (i.e.

China).

The profile of the JS Takanami includes a single deck gun and turret located above the forecastle with excellent forward and side firing angles. Behind is the bridge structure, which supports a trussed main mast and is integrated into the first of two combined chimneys. The smoke funnel features a flat panel side design to promote "stealth". While resting in the middle of the ship, two quadruple anti-ship missile launchers are installed in front of the stern combined funnel. The structure of this chimney was then integrated into the rear of the fuselage, which contained the full-service hangar shell and helipad.

This is not a fully modern ship by today's standards (using more edge and fewer protrusions), but the High Wave is still a capable warship for the region.

For her most recent Japanese naval history, JS Takanami has been deployed to multiple Indian Ocean deployments in support of counter-terrorism missions related to Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and counter-piracy operations off Somalia. After the earthquakes of 2004 and 2011, the ship was used for humanitarian purposes on several occasions.

In February 2020, the USS Kobo was deployed to Middle Eastern waters for maritime security as part of a U.S.-led effort in the region amid rising tensions between the U.S. and regional power Iran.

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