Japan's largest submarine, the Moby Dick, entered service
21 Mar 2023, 10:43
© Photo : Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Japan's largest submarine, the Moby Dick, officially entered service on March 20. The submarine will be deployed at the Kure base in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture.
At the Kobe Plant of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Japan, a ceremony was held on March 20 for the delivery of the Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Moby Dick and the presentation of the flag of the self-defense ship that entered the Self-Defense Force lineup.
Japan's largest class submarine "Moby Dick"
© Photo : Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
According to Haizi, the "Moby Dick" has a standard displacement of about 3,000 tons, a total length of 84 meters and a total width of 9.1 meters, making it the largest class submarine in Japan. The crew is about 70 people, the construction cost is about 72 billion yen (about 3.8 billion yuan), and the stealth performance that is difficult to detect has been improved, and the submersible time has been extended by the lithium-ion battery.
At the ceremony, Atsuo Suzuki, Undersecretary of Defense of Japan, and Yasuhiko Hashimoto, president of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, handed over the letter of delivery, and the crew boarded the submarine with the play of the Kaizi Band. Referring to the situation in North Korea and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Suzuki pointed out that Japan's security environment is in the most urgent situation since the war, and said that "I hope that you will lead the traditional Japanese submarine force."
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