JS Suzutsuki

	JS Suzutsuki in January 2017
History
Japan
Name	Suzutsuki ; (すずつき);
Namesake	Suzutsuki (1942)
Ordered	2009
Builder	Mitsubishi, Nagasaki
Laid down	18 May 2011
Launched	17 October 2012
Commissioned	12 March 2014
Homeport	Sasebo
Identification	DD-117
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Akizuki-class destroyer
Displacement	5,000 tonnes standard; 6,800 tonnes full load;
Length	150.5 m (493 ft 9 in)
Beam	18.3 m (60 ft 0 in)
Draft	5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Depth	10.9 m (35 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	COGAG, two shafts, four Rolls-Royce Spey SM1C turbines
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	200
Sensors and ; processing systems	ATECS (advanced technology command system); OYQ-11 ACDS; FCS-3A AAW system; OQQ-22 ASW system; NOLQ-3D EW system; OPS-20C surface search radar;
Armament	1 × Mk. 45 Mod 4 127 mm (5 in)/54 gun; 8 × Type 90 Anti-ship missile; 2 × 20 mm Phalanx Block1B CIWS; 2 × HOS-303 triple 324 mm (12.8 in) torpedo tubes; Anti-Torpedo system; 32-cell Mk. 41 Vertical Launching System:; RIM-162 ESSM SAM; RUM-139 VL-ASROC (DD 115); Type 07 VL-ASROC (DD 116 to DD 118);
Aircraft carried	1 × SH-60K helicopter

JS Suzutsuki (DD-117) is the third ship of Akizuki-class destroyers, operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. She was commissioned on 12 March 2014.

Construction and career

Suzutsuki was laid down on May 18, 2011 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works as the 2009 plan 5,000-ton type escort ship No. 2246 based on the medium-term defense capability development plan, and launched on October 17, 2012. Commissioned on March 12, 2014, was incorporated into the 8th Escort Corps of the 4th Escort Corps and deployed to Sasebo.

On July 10, 2016, as the 25th dispatched anti-piracy action surface corps, sailed from Sasebo base to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia with the escort ship JS Inazuma and returned to Japan on January 12, 2016.^[1]

From October 13 to November 25, 2017, she was dispatched to the waters around Hawaii and participated in the US dispatch training.^[2]

From August 26 to October 30, 2018, participated in the Indo-Pacific dispatch training with the escort vessels JS Kaga and JS Inazuma, and visited India, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Philippines. On September 13, she joined the submarine JS Kuroshio in the South China Sea and conducted anti-submarine warfare training.

On April 21, 2019, she entered Qingdao to participate in the International Fleet Review Ceremony to be held on April 23 near Qingdao, Shandong Province, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the PLA Navy. It had been about seven and a half years since the last JMSDF ship visited China in December 2011.

From August 15 to 17, 2020, Japan-US joint training was conducted with the US Navy destroyer USS Mustin in the East China Sea.^[3]

On July 4, 2024, without notifying the Chinese government, Suzutsuki briefly entered Chinese territorial waters about 22 kilometers off the coast of Zhejiang Province. At the time, the Chinese Navy was conducting military exercises and Suzutsuki was driven away by the Chinese Navy.^[4] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made "solemn representations" to Japan and asked for an explanation. Japan responded at the time that it was a technical failure.^[5] On September 22, Japan responded that the captain had mistakenly entered Chinese territorial waters without knowing the location and had been replaced.^[6]