Hyuga class is composed by two ships that entered service in 2009 and 2011. These are Hyuga and Ise, and bear the same names as two Ise class battleships of the WWII.(Hyuga ship). Until the arrival of Izumo class light aircraft carriers, the Hyuga class have been the largest ships built by Japan since the end of WWII.(Hyuga ship). These ships have a powerful defensive armament composed by vertical launched antiaircraft and antisubmarine missiles, as well as torpedoes and CIWS Phalanx guns.(Hyuga ship). The Hyuga operates SH-60K and MCH-101 helicopters for ASW missions, but in 2016 they operated with the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for rescue missions after the Kumamoto earthquake.(Hyuga ship). The Hyuga class has replaced the Haruna class helicopters destroyers (DDH), which also carried helicopters for their missions, although they were much less capable and only carried three of them.(Hyuga ship). In Japan, these ships are called “destroyers” because of strictly political considerations, in an attempt to show their military forces as merely “defensive”. However, just taking a look at these vessels makes it clear that this definition is a total bluff.(Ise ship). Ise entered service in 2011 and in 2013 took part in aid operations after Typhoon Haiyan over the Philippines Islands. She use her helicopters to sent supplies to remoted areas within the Visayas Islands.(Ise ship). With the commissioning of these vessels, the Japanese Navy’s projection capacity has been greatly increased and has caused distrust among the countries of the area. However, we must not forget what the growth of the Chinese Fleet and the constant threat from North Korea mean for Japan.
