Send in Japan's Marines? Tokyo Wants a New Amphibious Assault Ship

David Axe

Security, Asia

Here's Japan's plan.

Key point: Tokyo is rebuilding its power projection capabilities in order to deter China and North Korea.

A Japanese shipbuilder is pitching a new amphibious assault ship that could transport the Japanese military’s new Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade marine force and its MV-22 tiltrotors.

Japan Marine United Corporation revealed, at the DSEI Japan 2019 exhibition in Chiba in late November 2019, its design for a new landing helicopter dock, or LHD.

The 19,000-ton-displacement vessel’s design features a floodable well deck for embarking two LCAC air-cushion landing craft plus 20 AAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicles. Its full-length flight deck boasts five marked landing spots for helicopters or tiltrotors. Two below-deck hangars have space for five more rotorcraft.

The crew would number 500. It’s unclear how many troops the ship could embark, but similar vessels in service with other navies typically carry 500 passengers for long missions and up to a thousand for shorter hauls.

The Japanese navy does not have a formal requirement for an LHD, but there’s an obvious gap in the fleet’s structure that an assault ship could fill. Tokyo is building up a force of 17 MV-22 tiltrotors, 52 AAV7s and six LCACs to carry marines into combat. But the landing craft, vehicles and rotorcraft require ships to transport them close to shore.

At present, Japan’s amphibious flotilla includes two Izumo-class big-deck assault ships that Tokyo is converting into light aircraft carriers for embarking F-35B jump jets. Another two light carriers are on order. In addition, the amphibious fleet includes two Hyuga-class helicopter carriers and Osumi-class three landing ship tanks, or LSTs.

The navy is updating the three LSTs to support V-22s and AAV7s. But the LSTs each can carry just 330 troops on long missions. Tokyo’s marine brigade numbers 3,000 personnel. If the Japanese fleet aims to deploy the entire brigade in one amphibious group, it needs more ships.