Foreword: At present, the gap between the combat strength of surface ships between China and Japan is becoming more and more obvious, and they have achieved catch-up in performance and technology, and the 055 type destroyers have the advantage of being a latecomer to the 8 Aegis destroyers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the so-called thick accumulation and thin hair have achieved leapfrog development; The gap between China and Japan in destroyers of more than 5,000 tons is quite obvious, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is in the overall disadvantage of small and medium-sized frigates under 4,000 tons. With the completion of the first phase of the aircraft carrier modification of the Izumo helicopter carrier, the largest tonnage warship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B carrier-based fighter for the first time achieved the take-off and landing of the Japanese quasi-aircraft carrier "Izumo" to test its deck modification effect. In the future, the "Izumo" will carry f-35b carrier-based fighters to realize the ambitions of Japanese aircraft carriers, while the quasi-aircraft carriers of "Izumo" will be equipped with F-35 carrier-based fighters, which is bound to clash with the Chinese Navy's Shandong aircraft carrier.
I. The Origin of Japanese Aircraft Carriers after World War II
In 1962, when Japan formulated the "Medium-term Defense Force Development Plan", it was envisaged to build a helicopter aircraft carrier that could carry 18 anti-submarine helicopters and form a new japanese anti-submarine convoy group. In the late 1970s, the Soviet Far East and the Pacific Fleet increased in strength, deployed Tu-22m bombers, rekindled the aircraft carrier plan, planned to build a 20,000-ton light aircraft carrier with a displacement similar to the British Navy's "Invincible" class aircraft carrier, carrying "Harrier" fighter jets to counter the Soviet Tu-22m bomber and the Pacific Fleet, but under the pressure of the United States, it believed that its own aircraft carriers were enough to deal with the Soviet Navy at that time, and insisted that Japan developed the "Aegis" destroyer. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has also built Haruna-class and Shirone-class helicopter destroyers. Japan has always believed that the Maritime Self-Defense Force without aircraft carriers, even if it is strong, is at best the "right-hand man" of the US Navy, and has never given up on developing a maritime self-defense force for aircraft carriers, and has gradually approached the aircraft carrier target in disguise.
In 1993, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force through the means of stealing beams and columns, to build the first "quasi-aircraft carrier" - "Osumi" class transport landing ship, the standard displacement of 8900 tons, the maximum displacement of 13000 tons, the use of all-access deck, can park 6 helicopters side by side, can take off and land "Sea Harrier" vertical take-off and landing fighter and V-22 Osprey tilt-wing rotorcraft, bow modification of the skid deck and hangar slightly finished, ready to modify light aircraft carriers; The Osumi-class transport landing ship is a rehearsal for Japan's quasi-aircraft carriers and an important starting point for building a new round of helicopter aircraft carriers. In 2001, Japan played "edge ball" and approved the construction plan of the 16ddh aircraft carrier, the Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer; Taking advantage of the construction of the "Stick Name" class helicopter destroyer replacement ship, two new helicopter destroyers with a standard displacement of 13,500 tons were built, and the full load displacement reached 19,000 tons, and the Hyuga and Ise were deployed in the 2nd and 3rd escort groups in 2009 and 2011, compared to the replacement of the full load displacement of 6800 tons, the deployment of 3 anti-submarine helicopter "Stick" class helicopter destroyers, the former is equipped with 4 helicopter take-off and landing points on the left side, which can accommodate 4 helicopters to take off and land at the same time. The 125-meter-long and wide hangar, deck and hangar can carry 16 carrier-based helicopters of various types.
The Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer is equipped with FCS-3 system, using active phased array radar to assume air defense radar, the stern is equipped with two eight-unit mk41 vertical launch systems, 16 "Sea Sparrow" air defense missiles and 12 "Aslok" anti-submarine missiles are deployed, equipped with 4 gas turbines, with an output of 100,000 horsepower and a speed of up to 30 knots, while the "Ise" helicopter destroyer adopts fcs-3 modified phased array radar, that is, "Aegis" phased array radar, and the aviation anti-submarine capability has been increased and accelerated "Aircraft Carrier-like Formation". In 2009, the Japanese Ministry of Defense adopted the same old trick and decided to build a new type of helicopter destroyer, replacing the "Shiragan" class helicopter destroyer, its appearance is the same as the Japanese "Hyuga" class helicopter destroyer, using an aircraft carrier-style straight-through deck, but the tonnage breaks through the "Hyuga" helicopter destroyer, the standard displacement reaches 19,500 tons, the full load displacement is 27,000 tons, can carry 20 shipboard helicopters, while taking off and landing 5 helicopters, hangar and deck area have been increased. It was named the 22ddh new helicopter destroyer, the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer; Izumo and Kaga were deployed in Convoy Groups 1 and 4, with the first ship Izumo being called 22ddh and the second ship Kaga being called 24ddh.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force "Izumo" class helicopter destroyer (22ddh) "Izumo" and "Hyuga" class helicopter destroyer (16ddh) "Hyuga"
Compared with the difficulty of converting hyuga-class helicopter destroyers into light aircraft carriers, the Izumo-class helicopter destroyers have reserved space for the F-35B carrier-based aircraft, and their tonnage exceeds the Italian Navy's 13,850-ton "Garibaldi", the Spanish 17,000-ton "Prince of Asturias" aircraft carrier and the Royal Navy's 21,000-ton "Invincible" class aircraft carrier, which is a light aircraft carrier, and it is difficult to use "destroyer" to refer to this ship; The length of the hangar of the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer has a hard injury, but the upper limit of the modification of the aircraft carrier is also quite high, coupled with Japan's obsession with the "aircraft carrier dream", and the birth of the American F-35B carrier-based fighter, just give the Cloud-class helicopter destroyer to the aircraft carrier motivation, more let Japan think about it, the deck length is 248 meters, the width is 39 meters, equivalent to 50% larger than the "Hyuga" class battleship, equipped with f-35 vertical / short take-off and landing fighters. Once on board, the F-35 fighter jet will make the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer a "standard aircraft carrier."
2. Modification of the Japanese Izumo-class helicopter destroyer
Izumo-class helicopter destroyers were equipped with carrier-based helicopters in the early days, including sh-60 Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters, UH-60 "Black Hawk" utility helicopters, UH-1 "Huey" utility helicopters and V-22 "Osprey" tilting rotorcraft, etc., but with full straight flight deck, equipped with heavy lifts and large hangars, slightly modified can directly take off and land F-35B fighters, to meet the standard equipment of light aircraft carriers, and the F-35B fighter jet was reserved for the possibility of landing at the beginning of construction. There is no need to subversively adjust the hull structure of the Izumo-class helicopter destroyer, the overall difficulty is not large, in the first phase of the modification work, painted with yellow marking lines from the stern to the bow through the flight deck, take-off and landing F-35B fighters; Increase the laying of heat-resistant coatings to enhance the strength of the flight deck at the take-off and landing points of the F-35B fighter jet to prevent the F-35B from spewing out high temperature tail flame ablation deck; The Izumo bow is reinforced to maintain hull balance; Division of the hangar and the interior of the ship to meet the standards of light aircraft carriers; The main engine of the hull was modified to ensure speed and combat system in the event of an increase in displacement. The second stage changed the bow shape from trapezoidal to rectangular, and the internal cabin was rearranged. At that time, the 22ddh Izumo will be a truly "frigate sheepskin" aircraft carrier with 18 F-35B fighters.
The sister ship "Kaga" of the "Izumo" will also adopt a modification plan to complete the two-stage modification of the "Izumo" at one time, equipped with 18 F-35B fighters; In 2020, Japan and the United States signed a total $23 billion arms sales contract, purchased 105 F-35 fighters, including 42 F-35B fighters, equipped with Izumo-class helicopter destroyers, and built F-35B fighters to form the "Expeditionary Strike Group" of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, with the mission of seizing air supremacy in the combat sea area; F-35B fighters have a combat radius of 800 kilometers, a sailing rate of 70-80%, an air cruise time of 3 hours, each batch of 2 F-35B fighters air patrol, 2 F-35B fighter decks are in a state of take-off and waiting for battle, each with an average daily duty of up to 8-12 hours, 18 F-35B fighters are all responsible for formation air defense tasks, responsible for carrying out precision strikes against ground targets. Japan's purchase of F-35B fighter jets costs about $122 million, each equipped with 18 F-35Bs costs about $2.2 billion, the Cloud and Kaga two combined about $44, plus modification and daily maintenance costs, training costs, etc., but compared to Japan's dream of building an aircraft carrier, it is obviously insignificant.
Third, the performance comparison of the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and the Japanese light aircraft carrier "Izumo"
The Japanese Izumo successfully took off and landed the F-35B fighter for the first time
The "Izumo" light aircraft carrier is a modified japanese "Izumo" helicopter destroyer, with a full load displacement of 27,000 tons, even with the F-35B fighter in the displacement has increased, compared to the increase in tonnage is also quite limited, it is also reasonable to be classified as a light aircraft carrier, and the Shandong aircraft carrier is 100% made in China, known as the "first domestic aircraft carrier", on the basis of the Liaoning made many improvements. The liaoning aircraft carrier is 302 meters long, 70.5 meters wide, flight deck length 300 meters, width 70 meters, hangar length 262 meters, width 26 meters, height 7 meters, standard displacement of about 55,000 tons, full load displacement of 67,000 tons; The Shandong aircraft carrier is roughly equivalent to the Liaoning, with a full load displacement of nearly 70,000 tons, and is a medium-sized aircraft carrier without compromise. The light aircraft carrier "Izumo" can carry 18 F-35B fighters, but the actual number is likely to be maintained at about 12, all equipped with F-35B fighters, unable to carry carrier-based helicopters and carrier-based transport aircraft, the British aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" is currently carrying 18 f-35b carrier-based aircraft, but the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier standard displacement reaches 65,000 tons.
Normally, the Russian kuznetsov aircraft carrier carries 41 carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based options: 20 Su-33 fighters, 15 Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters, 4 Su-25 attack aircraft and 2 Ka-31 early warning helicopters. During the deployment of the Mediterranean in 2016, it was equipped with 15 Su-33 fighters, MiG-29k fighters, and more than 10 Ka-52k, Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters. The Liaoning aircraft carrier carries 24 J-15 carrier-based aircraft, and the Shandong aircraft carrier optimizes the hull load, and can carry up to 36 J-15 heavy carrier-based fighters during normal missions, which is equivalent to 1.5 times that of the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier. Since 1994, Japan has basically realized that each convoy group is equipped with 1 helicopter destroyer, forming a maritime mobile combat force, consisting of 1 helicopter destroyer (2 Hyuga-class and 2 Izumo-class), 2 "Aegis" destroyers (4 Kongo-class, 2 Ai-Dang-class and 2 Maya-class destroyers), 5 general-purpose destroyers (3 Murayu-class, 2 High-wave class), 1 large supply ship, and 1 large amphibious dock carrier, 1-2 or more conventional submarines. The number of carrier-based aircraft, if the helicopter destroyer carries 11, the entire formation is 16. Even if Japan developed the early "Eighty-Eight Fleet" into the "Ninety Fleet" and again into the "Nineteenth Fleet", the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force also had a disadvantage in the number of warships, while the Chinese naval aircraft carrier consisted of 1 aircraft carrier, 2-3 Type 055 destroyers, several 052d destroyers and 1-3 Type 054a frigates, and the size and number of formations would surpass the Japanese "Nineteenth Fleet", that is, the above-mentioned Japanese frigate group configuration.
Japan's Izumo-class light aircraft carrier forcibly carrying carrier-based fighters, the number is difficult to exceed 18, the advantage lies in the f-35b fighter stealth performance and active phased array radar, hoping to be able to implement the "first enemy fire" on the Chinese "Shandong" aircraft carrier J-15 carrier-based aircraft; In the airspace of the East China Sea, the F-35B fighter is facing triple detection of space-based, sea-based and air-based radar, and it is difficult to escape the radar law, and the comprehensive combat effectiveness of 12 F-35B fighters is much inferior to that of 36 J-15 fighters. In normal mode, F-35B fighters can carry about 1.2 tons of heavy ammunition (each side magazine can be equipped with one 1000 pounds of attack ammunition (JDAM) GPS-guided bombs of about 450 kg, one 335 pounds aim-120 equals about 150 kg of air-to-air missiles), each fighter is equipped with 2 aim-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles, and all 24 medium-range air-to-air missiles can be equipped in stealth mode; in air combat mode, four aim-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles are mounted in the main ammunition bays on both sides; in air combat mode, four aim-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles are mounted in the main ammunition bays on both sides; According to Japan, it can be equipped with 18 F-35B fighters, and carry up to 72 AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles in air combat mode; The J-15 carrier-based aircraft is equipped with 6 Thunderbolt-15 long-range air-to-air missiles and 4 Thunderbolt-10 short-range air-to-air missiles, with a combat radius of 1000 kilometers, equipped with an active phased array radar, with the ability to detect F-35B fighters, while the Shandong ship is equipped with 36 carrier-based aircraft, which can carry 216 Thunderbolt-15 long-range air-to-air missiles to surpass the F-35B fighter, while the F-35B fighter adopts an external plug-in mode and will lose stealth performance. At present, China's 052D destroyers are equipped with a new "fly shoot" radar, increasing the detection capability of the F-35B fighter.
The Type 055 destroyer is stronger than Japan's anti-ship and air defense capabilities with Aegis radar, compatible with hot launch and cold launch, that is, cold and hot co-launch capabilities, can launch Red Flag-9b long-range air defense missiles, hot-launched Eagle Strike-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, Longsword-20 cruise missiles, to achieve over-the-horizon strike capability, while the 052d destroyers are equipped with general-purpose destroyers such as the Murayu class relative to Japan. Both the Gaobo-class and Akizuki-class destroyers are equipped with two quad-mounted Type 90 anti-ship missile launchers and four eight-mount mk-41 vertical launch systems, equipped only with Sea Sparrow missiles and anti-submarine missiles, the former "Sea Sparrow" short-range air defense missile is rim-7m type, the maximum range of the missile is 18 kilometers, the maximum combat height is 5 kilometers, compared to the 052d destroyer equipped with the same configuration as the Type 055 destroyer, and the same as the Type 054A destroyer equipped with the Sea Red Flag-16 and the Sea Red Flag-7 air defense missile. It has undertaken the heavy responsibility of short- and medium-range air defense. The effective range of Japan's Type 90 anti-ship missile is 150-200 kilometers, which is a gap in range from the Eagle Strike-18 supersonic anti-ship missile, and the maximum range can reach 400 kilometers. Even if the Japanese light aircraft carrier "Izumo" is equipped with F-35B fighters, it is difficult to defeat the "Shandong" aircraft carrier equipped with J-15 carrier-based aircraft; The F-35B fighter is too slow, occupies the upper hand in the most crucial part of the air battle, and the bomb load is too small, compared with the J-15 carrier-based aircraft, the F-35B fighter is at a disadvantage in terms of thrust-to-weight ratio and maneuverability, and it is difficult to escape the pursuit of the J-15 carrier-based aircraft.
IV. Conclusion
After the Japanese Izumo helicopter destroyer was converted into a light aircraft carrier, coupled with the upcoming modification of the "Kaga", after all four helicopter destroyers of the Hyuga class such as the Hyuga and the Ise were in place, two light aircraft carriers and two "quasi-aircraft carrier strike groups" would be formed in the future, but the gap in naval power between China and Japan made it inevitable that Japan would have a psychological gap, and it would take cunning and cunning means to build its own aircraft carrier formation, calling it a large helicopter destroyer in disguise, and the "Izumo" class "aircraft carrier" modification It is only the beginning of Japan's breakthrough of the "taboo" of aircraft carriers. With the development of China's military power, breakthroughs have been made on the road of aircraft carriers, and it is not a problem to completely suppress Japanese light aircraft carriers. As the saying goes: "it is easy to buy a car and it is difficult to raise a car", Japan's F-35B fighter jet and the core equipment of the supporting ships all rely on the support of the United States, and it is difficult for Japan to go too far on the road of aircraft carriers.