Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Notable Point · 7:00-9:25

Kongo combines long-range air defence with fleet command facilities

Kongo follows the early Arleigh Burke arrangement while adding the command capacity needed by a small fleet of major surface combatants.

Aegis Combat SystemAir DefenceArleigh Burke Class DestroyersDestroyersJapanese NavyKongo Class DestroyersNaval ProcurementShip Design
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Notes

Kongo follows earlier Tartar-equipped destroyers into the fleet's long-range air-defence role and draws heavily on the Arleigh Burke design. Like the early Burkes, the class has a helicopter landing platform without a hangar. Expanded flag and command facilities suit ships expected to direct substantial parts of Japan's force. Even after the Atago and Maya additions, the fleet described here has only eight ships in this large guided-missile category. With Kongo construction dating from 1990 to 1998, replacing the class is suggested as a likely major programme after the Aegis System Equipped Vessels. That sequence remains a prediction.