Hayabusa-class patrol boat

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.

JS Kumataka
Class overview
Builders	Mitsubishi, Shimonoseki
Operators	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by	PG 1-go class
Planned	6
Building	-
Completed	6
Active	6
General characteristics
Type	Patrol boat
Displacement	200 tonnes standard displacement 240 tonnes full load
Length	50.1 m (164 ft 4 in)
Beam	8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Draft	4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	3 × General Electric LM500-G07 gas turbine 3 × Pump-jet propulsion
Speed	46 knots (85 km/h; 53 mph)
Complement	21
Sensors and processing systems	OYQ-8B Information processor Tactical Digital Information Link OPS-18-3 surface search radar OPS-20 navigation radar OAX-2 optronic sight FCS-2-31C Gun FCS
Electronic warfare & decoys	2 × Mk 36 decoys
Armament	4 × SSM-1B SSM 1 × Otobreda 76 mm gun 2 × 12.7 mm machine gun M2

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force initially built three hydrofoil missile boats of the PG 1-go class between 1993 and 1995. The Hayabusa class was designed to correct the issues that arose with the preceding class. After an incident off the Noto Peninsula involving a North Korean spy ship, two ships of the class were included in the 1999 fiscal year plan.

Outline

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 76 mm 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 an Otobreda 76 mm gun on the front deck. Additionally, two 12.7 mm 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 AN/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.

List of ships

Name	Number	Laiddown	Launched	Commissioned	Status
Hayabusa (はやぶさ)	PG-824	9 November 2000	13 June 2001	25 March 2002	Active
Wakataka (わかたか)	PG-825	9 November 2000	13 September 2001	25 March 2002	Active
Otaka (おおたか)	PG-826	2 October 2001	13 May 2002	24 March 2003	Active
Kumataka (くまたか)	PG-827	2 October 2001	13 August 2002	24 March 2003	Active
Umitaka (うみたか)	PG-828	11 December 2002	21 May 2003	24 March 2004	Active
Shirataka (しらたか)	PG-829	11 December 2002	8 August 2003	24 March 2004	Active

References

• Saunders, Stephen (2002). Jane's Fighting Ships 2002–2003. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0710624328.

External links

• Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World entry
• GlobalSecurity.org entry