JDS Kongo (DDG-173)
Encyclopedia
JDS Kongō (DDG-173) is a Kongō class
Kongo class destroyer
The of guided missile destroyers serves as the core ship of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force 's Escort Flotillas. They are a modification of the United States Navy's Arleigh Burke class .-Design:...

 guided missile destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
The , or JMSDF, is the naval branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. It was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy after World War II....

 (JMSDF). Kongō is the third Japanese naval vessel named for Mount Kongō
Mount Kongo
is a 1125 meter high mountain in the Senshū region of the Osaka Prefecture, Kansai, Japan. It is near Mount Katsuragi.The mountain has lent its name to a series of naval ships and ship classes: the Imperial Japanese Navy's 1877 corvette Kongō; 1912 battleship Kongō, the nameship of her class; and...

.

She was laid down by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

 in Nagasaki, Nagasaki
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

 on 8 May 1990, launched on 26 September 1991; and commissioned on 25 March 1993.

Ballistic missile defense

In December 2007, Japan conducted a successful test of the SM-3 block IA
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 is a ship-based missile system used by the US Navy to intercept short-to intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primarily designed as an anti-ballistic missile, the SM-3 has also been employed in an...

 against a ballistic missile aboard Kongō. This was the first time a Japanese ship was selected to launch the interceptor missile during a test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide defense against ballistic missiles. It is part of the United States national missile defense strategy...

. In previous tests they provided tracking and communications.

External links

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