{"id":8674,"date":"2013-08-22T14:35:47","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T04:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=8674"},"modified":"2013-08-23T09:06:26","modified_gmt":"2013-08-22T23:06:26","slug":"however-its-described-japans-izumo-will-be-its-naval-centrepiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/however-its-described-japans-izumo-will-be-its-naval-centrepiece\/","title":{"rendered":"However it&#8217;s described, Japan&#8217;s Izumo will be its naval centrepiece"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/USS_John_C._Stennis_CVN-74__HMS_Illustrious_R_06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-8687\" title=\"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) (left), steams alongside the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R 06) in the Persian Gulf on April 9, 1998. The two ships were operating in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, which is the U.S. and coalition enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Southern Iraq. DoD photo by Airman Robert Baker, U.S. Navy.\" alt=\"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) (left), steams alongside the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R 06) in the Persian Gulf on April 9, 1998. The two ships were operating in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, which is the U.S. and coalition enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Southern Iraq. DoD photo by Airman Robert Baker, U.S. Navy.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/USS_John_C._Stennis_CVN-74__HMS_Illustrious_R_06.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/USS_John_C._Stennis_CVN-74__HMS_Illustrious_R_06.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/USS_John_C._Stennis_CVN-74__HMS_Illustrious_R_06-205x123.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/USS_John_C._Stennis_CVN-74__HMS_Illustrious_R_06-1024x617.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>Benjamin Schreer offers some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-aircraft-carrier-that-isnt-japans-new-helicopter-destroyer\/\" target=\"_blank\">important qualifications<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-ship-that-dare-not-speak-its-name\/\" target=\"_blank\">Radford\u2019s initial remarks<\/a> about the relevance of Japan\u2019s new carrier, <i>Izumo<\/i>, both for the JMSDF and in relation to naval developments and ramifications for naval politics in Northeast Asia in general.<\/p>\n<p>I think Radford overemphasised, and to some extent misrepresented, the importance of <i>Izumo<\/i> in the context of Japanese efforts to enhance naval capabilities over the last decade. But I don&#8217;t think Schreer is quite right either in his characterisation of <i>Izumo<\/i>\u00a0and aircraft carriers, and by extension and the role of a variety of warships in naval operations. <i>Izumo<\/i>, by design, meets all the established criteria for being called an \u2018aircraft carrier\u2019. It doesn\u2019t feature a well deck or other integrated weapons capabilities aimed at providing either amphibious, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare or anti-air warfare functions, except for short-ranged self-defence purposes. Just as <i>Hyuga<\/i> and <i>Ise<\/i> before it, <i>Izumo<\/i> is wholly focused on supporting naval aviation. The Japanese designation as \u2018destroyer\u2019 can be dismissed as a political choice, as should be done with the <i>Hyuga <\/i>class. It\u2019s safe to say that in no other naval force worldwide would this term be warranted or used for such a ship.<\/p>\n<p>For the time being, the <i>Izumo<\/i> only carries helicopters in support of what are primarily ASW operations in peer-to-peer warfare scenarios. But this doesn\u2019t by any means negate the capabilities of the design. Neither, for that matter, do Japanese comments to the same effect. The ship before our eyes needs to be judged primarily on its own merits, not by what someone would like to make it out to be for the rest of the world.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Nothing in <i>Izumo&#8217;s<\/i> design fundamentally prohibits its use as a STOVL-carrier in the future. Elements such as suitable deck-proofing for use of STOVL-aircraft can be added even during a regular maintenance cycle in dry dock. Schreer notes that Japan wouldn\u2019t procure any aircraft carrier for political reasons. But while Japan clearly walks a fine line between conflict and reassurance, this doesn\u2019t automatically lead to a situation where the choice is between buying nuclear supercarriers capable of striking mainland China and no carriers at all\u2014particularly at a time and in a place where several nations in the region aspire to field a significantly enhanced naval aviation capability.<\/p>\n<p>If Japan wanted, the <i>Izumo<\/i> could fulfil the functions of an \u2018airfield at sea\u2019, the \u2018hit and run\u2019 task, the anti-ship role and specifically the task of scouting. Assuming, of course, that Japan procures the aircraft required for those roles, most notably a fixed-wing capability with the operational potential of the F-35. While this isn\u2019t an immediate or, in Radford\u2019s words, \u2018short notice\u2019 issue, <i>Izumo<\/i> can functionally assume these roles. <i>Hyuga<\/i> also provided significant disaster relief functions in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Schreer&#8217;s term \u2018proper aircraft carrier\u2019 and related choice of examples show why the case of <i>Izumo<\/i> isn\u2019t nearly as clear-cut as portrayed. For the past six decades the USN&#8217;s carriers, have inhabited a niche of naval design not met by any other nation. These ships are rightly called \u2018supercarriers\u2019, as they virtually transcend the more traditional view and operational flexibility of aircraft carriers. They also were employed primarily as strike assets against land targets, or as the article puts it, \u2018offensive strikes\u2019. This isn\u2019t because this is a real carrier\u2019s primary occupation. Rather, it reflects the fact that the US hasn\u2019t engaged in any peer-to-peer conflict at sea since WWII.<\/p>\n<p>Although France slightly narrowed the capability gap with the introduction of <i>Charles de Gaulle<\/i>, several nations across the globe carry the distinction of being considered operators of aircraft carriers. They\u2019re able to achieve this without fielding floating air-bases with virtually limitless endurance in the 65,000+ tonnes range. Included here are, of course, the UK and India, two nations who notably have used aircraft carriers with operating designs comparable to <i>Izumo<\/i> as a decisive capability in peer-to-peer warfare after WWII. Also included is Russia, which, with the carrier <i>Kuznetsov<\/i> is fielding a fairly dubious carrier capability, as illustrated below.<\/p>\n<p>The example of the Chinese <i>Liaoning<\/i> (which began life as the Soviet-era <i>Varyag<\/i>), which Schreer includes in his \u2018proper aircraft carrier\u2019 group, demonstrates the complex nature of such discussions. While the <i>Kuznetsov <\/i>class carrier is certainly large in displacement, as a \u2018real\u2019 aircraft carrier, it\u2019s much less capable than the smaller <i>Charles de Gaulle<\/i>. In Soviet doctrine, the function its sister ship <i>Kuznetsov<\/i> was as a vessel designed to strike at surface ships with its large complement of Granit-AShM missiles. Her deck-layout, hangar-size and choice of aircraft made her naval aviation complement merely a supporting asset to achieve this primary purpose, by providing ASW and local air superiority against an enemy carrier strike group.<\/p>\n<p>China has achieved a remarkable feat in not only completing <i>Varyag<\/i> in a rather short time, but also changing her internal arrangement to some degree. However, the resulting <i>Liaoning<\/i> still suffers substantially from its very different original layout, when it comes to the ability of &#8216;real&#8217; carriers Schreer calls for. Nevertheless, the PLAN can claim to operate an aircraft carrier for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>As with the other DDH before it and <i>Hyuga<\/i> and <i>Ise<\/i> in particular, Japan is destined to make <i>Izumo<\/i> the centrepiece, or capital ship, if you will, of its own dedicated fleet, fielding a substantial ASW and disaster relief capability in addition to enhancing its sea control capabilities that have been emerging for two decades now.<\/p>\n<p><i>Alexander Luck is an\u00a0independent\u00a0commentator, and holds a Master&#8217;s degree in political science and modern history from the University of Leipzig. Image courtesy of the USN via <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:USS_John_C._Stennis_%28CVN-74%29_%26_HMS_Illustrious_%28R_06%29.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benjamin Schreer offers some important qualifications to Radford\u2019s initial remarks about the relevance of Japan\u2019s new carrier, Izumo, both for the JMSDF and in relation to naval developments and ramifications for naval politics in Northeast &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":8687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[477],"tags":[354,135,70,27],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>However it&#039;s described, Japan&#039;s Izumo will be its naval centrepiece | The 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