Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer

Hyūga at sea in 2010
Class overview
Name:	Hyūga class
Builders:	IHI Marine United
Operators:	Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Preceded by:	Shirane class
Succeeded by:	Izumo class
Completed:	2
Active:	2
General characteristics
Type:	ASW carrier
Displacement:	13,950 tons standard; 19,000 tons full load
Length:	197 m (646 ft)
Beam:	33 m (108 ft)
Draft:	7 m (23 ft)
Propulsion:	COGAG, 4 Ishikawajima Harima/General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines Two shafts 5-bladed CP props 100,000 shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed:	more than 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:	360 (Hyūga) 371 (Ise)
Sensors and processing systems:	ATECS (advanced technology command system) OYQ-10 advanced combat direction system FCS-3 AAW system OQQ-21 ASW system NOLQ-3C EW system OPS-20C surface search radar
Armament:	16 cells Mk 41 VLS 16 ESSM 12 RUM-139 VL ASROC 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × triple 324 mm torpedo tubes 12.7mm MG
Aircraft carried:	3 × SH-60K, 1 × MCH-101 18 aircraft maximum
Aviation facilities:	Flight deck and enclosed hangar

The Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer (ひゅうが型護衛艦, Hyūga-gata-goei-kan^?) is a class of helicopter carrier built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Two - Hyūga and Ise - were built; upon completion the class were the largest ships built for the Japanese navy since the Second World War.Hyūga was described in a PBS documentary as the "first Japanese aircraft carrier built since WWII."

The Hyūgas were followed by the larger Izumo class, the first being commissioned in March 2015. The Izumos will replace the Shirane-class helicopter destroyers; the Hyūgas were originally meant to replace the Shiranes.

The specifications of the Hyūga class are comparable to light aircraft carriers, such as the Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi and Spanish Príncipe de Asturias. Under the JMSDF's naming conventions, the ships are called Goei-kan (護衛艦, lit. escort ship) in Japanese and destroyer in English, as same as all the other combatant ships of JMSDF.

During development, Hyūga and Ise were provisionally named "16DDH" and "18DDH" respectively. The numbers derived from the Japanese calendar, specifically the 16th year and 18th year of the Heisei reign (2004 and 2006), when the provisional name were given.