Mirai-class aircraft carrier
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_underway_at_sea_on_31_May_1962_(KN-4507).jpg) FNS Mirai during Operation: Guardian Seas, July 1985 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mirai–class aircraft carrier |
| Builders: | Kosheku Shipyards |
| Operators: |
 Fuso Navy |
| Succeeded by: | Shokaku-class aircraft carrier |
| In service: | 1958–1991 |
| Retired: | 2 |
| Scrapped: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Aircraft carrier |
| Tonnage: | 62,500 tonnes |
| Displacement: | About 68,889 short tons; 62,500 tonnes |
| Length: | 902 ft (275 m) |
| Beam: | 118 ft (36 m) |
| Draft: | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Installed power: |
Steam turbines 268,000 shp (200,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | Four shafts |
| Speed: | In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range: | Unlimited |
| Complement: |
|
| Crew: | 2,750 approx. |
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: | 60 maximum |
| Aviation facilities: | 1,095 ft × 257 ft (334 m × 78 m) flight deck |
The Mirai-class were two conventional aircraft carriers designed and built for the Fuso Navy. The carriers were built as a plan to expand Fuso's airpower across the surrounding regions of the country and able to deploy FA-4 fighter jets with the carrier's CATOBAR launch system, as well as being a naval platform for the deployment of troops across warzones with its airwing. During wartime, one of the two carriers will be housing high ranking military officials in defense zones across Fuso. The carriers were deployed in numerous operations across the globe and became a cornerstone for Fuso's foreign policy towards many regions.
In 1979, the carriers were given a six-month-long retrofit at their homeports and were deployed in the early 80s on the Bashari peninsula to participate in peacekeeping operations. However, the operational costs of the carriers, as well as the increase of domestic dissent towards the government, the carriers would become the victim of the nation's "Military War Shock" in 1991, which resulted to its decommissioning and eventually both carriers were scrapped in 1997.
Designs of the aircraft carrier were preserved and eventually used for the military's future assessment for a more modern aircraft carrier in the future. Eighteen years later, the Mirai-class was succeeded by the Shokaku-class aircraft carriers.
Description
The Shokaku-class carriers have an overall length of 947 ft (289 m) and a full-load displacement of about 59,000 tonnes. They have a beam at the waterline of 134 ft (41 m), and the maximum width of their flight decks is 228 feet 10 inches (69.72 m) to 253 feet 3 inches. The ship's company can number up to a maximum of 2,800. Until the completion of the FNS Kaga, they are currently the largest warships in the Fusoese Navy.
The carriers armament and defenses are complemented by two anti-missile and anti-aircraft ESSM launchers, as well as four Phalanx CIWS. Some parts of the carriers are equipped with mounted anti-infantry weapons across with M2 Brownings. The carrier also carries one company-sized troops ready for offensive and defensive operations.
The Shokaku-class carriers can accommodate up to 60 aircraft of different types, but the Ministry suggests to carry 42 aircraft in order to accommodate for any aircraft to make a landing on the carriers itself, specifically in any emergency or other necessities. Five combat air squadrons, with each squadron having 6 FA-18s. A sixth and seventh squadron would either be composed of EFA-18s for electronic warfare operations, E-2 Hawkeyes for airborne early warning operations and other such, with the rest filled in by any aircraft such as a squadron of Anti-submarine helicopter squadrons that would compose of 5 to 6 SH-60s. The aircrew is also made up of support personnel involved in roles including maintenance, aircraft, and ordnance handling and emergency procedures. Each person on the flight deck wears color-coded clothing to make his role easily identifiable.
Ships in class
| Pennant no. | Ship | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | Homeport | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shokaku subclass | ||||||||
| DCV-12 | FNS Mirai | 19 July 1958 | 18 October 1991 | Broken up at Kone, 1997 | Yokosa Naval Base, Yokosa City | |||
| DCV-13 | FNS Koukai | 23 January 1959 | 18 October 1991 | Broken up at Sukochi, 1998 | Kure Naval Base, Hanoshine City | |||