The Abukuma class were designed to operate near the coast. They are mainly used for anti -submarine defense and to combat surface targets. Holistic space surveillance, including control of the airspace, is not planned, but the ships have air defense capabilities . The Abukuma , Jintsū , Ōyodo , Chikuma and Tone are named after rivers, the Sendai after a Japanese city.
technical description
The hull of the ships is V-shaped. However, an outdated design was used for the superstructures. This means that the superstructure was built straight and not beveled, as is the case with the American Arleigh Burke-class ships . This severely impaired the ship's stealth capabilities. The main gun has an elevation angle of 85 ° and can fire a six kilogram projectile over 16 km (8.6 nm ) in disputes on the surface or over 12 km (6.5 nm) in air defense. The torpedo launchers are designed for use with the Mark 46 Mod . 5 torpedo. For air defense at close range , this class has a six-barrel automatic cannon, Phalanx-CIWS . The range is 6,485 km (3,500 nm).
