# Kongō-class destroyer
The Kongō class (こんごう型) is a class of four Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyers of the [Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-maritime-self-defense-force) (JMSDF), derived directly from the [United States Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-navy)'s Arleigh Burke Flight I design and commissioned beginning in March 1993.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) • [2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf) Japan was the first US ally to acquire Aegis (US naval radar-missile combat system for air defense) capability, and the class was one of the earliest non-US applications of the Aegis combat system at sea.[2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf) • [3](https://hiwars.com/en/equipment/jpn-kongo)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operator | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force; four ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) |
| First commissioning | March 1993, following the Japan Defense Agency's 1988 budget[2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf) |
| Dimensions | Length 161.0 m, beam 21.0 m, displacement about 9,500 tons[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) |
| Performance | Maximum speed 30 knots; range 4,500 nautical miles at 20 knots; crew 300[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) |
| Design basis | Licensed DDG-51 (Arleigh Burke) hull form; full-load displacement 10,000 long tons on a hull 598 ft long, 17.5% longer than the Arleigh Burke[4](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=0c5c9b1dfc60894e17c2fd9f4bbe5c6876e9a7cb&repid=rep1&type=pdf) |
| Ballistic missile defense | In December 2007 the lead ship JS Kongō conducted a successful test intercept of a ballistic missile[5](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/about/history/index.html) |
| Successor planning | Japan's FY2025 budget funds research into a successor to the Kongō-class Aegis destroyers, which are scheduled to be decommissioned[6](https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/d_budget/pdf/fy2025_20250411a.pdf) |
## Design and origins
The class emerged from the Japan Defense Agency's 1988 budget, and the JMSDF commissioned the first of four new Kongō-class destroyers, with the Aegis system installed, in March 1993.[2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf) The ships are built on a licensed DDG-51 hull form and carry the same weapons as the Flight I Arleigh Burke destroyers.[4](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=0c5c9b1dfc60894e17c2fd9f4bbe5c6876e9a7cb&repid=rep1&type=pdf) The United States did not export the Tomahawk system, and several other systems were deleted from the Japanese ship, which was oriented toward more defensive missions.[2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf)
The Japanese hull is larger than its American parent. A naval-engineering cost study records the Kongō class at 598 ft in length, 17.5% longer than the 509 ft [Arleigh Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/arleigh-burke), with a beam of 69 ft against 66 ft, and an extrapolated full-load displacement of 10,000 long tons.[4](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=0c5c9b1dfc60894e17c2fd9f4bbe5c6876e9a7cb&repid=rep1&type=pdf) The study attributes the added length to reducing internal density and complexity: the Kongō class works out to a density of 6.62 lbs/ft³ against 7.81 lbs/ft³ for the Arleigh Burke, the latter the highest of any warship in the world by that source's measure.[4](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=0c5c9b1dfc60894e17c2fd9f4bbe5c6876e9a7cb&repid=rep1&type=pdf) Published specification tables give the class a length of 161.0 m, a beam of 21.0 m, a displacement of about 9,500 tons, a maximum speed of 30 knots, a range of 4,500 nautical miles at 20 knots, and a crew of 300.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) A Turkish naval-academy design study lists the displacement more precisely as 9,485 tons on the same 161.00 m by 21.00 m hull.[7](https://openaccess.pirireis.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12960/65/601063.pdf?sequence=1)
## The four ships
The class comprises four units.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) The lead ship JS Kongō carries hull number DDG-173.[5](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/about/history/index.html) The second ship, JS Kirishima, was ordered in 1990, began sea trials in August 1994, and was formally commissioned in September 1994.[8](https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=833) On December 16, 2002, Kirishima left [Yokosuka](https://www.edgepedia.org/yokosuka) for the Indian Ocean, where she supported the US-led war on terrorism.[8](https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=833) JS Chōkai carries hull number DDG-176.[9](https://news.usni.org/2026/03/27/japanese-aegis-destroyer-completes-modifications-to-operate-u-s-made-tomahawk-missiles)
The class sits within a JMSDF force structure that keeps four Escort Flotillas, each centered on one helicopter destroyer and two Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyers.[10](https://www.mod.go.jp/en/publ/w_paper/wp2023/DOJ2023_EN_Reference.pdf) The ships remain active in combined exercises: JS Kongō conducted a Japan-US bilateral exercise in the [Sea of Japan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sea-of-japan) with [USS Mobile Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/uss-mobile-bay) and USS Spruance in April 2022,[11](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/news/2022/04/0415.html) took part in a bilateral exercise with US amphibious ready groups and a carrier strike group in February 2022,[12](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/news/2022/02/0208-01.html) and conducted a replenishment at sea with the [Royal Canadian Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-canadian-navy) supply ship MV Asterix during RIMPAC 2026.[13](https://www.7atc.army.mil/Media-News/Video/dvpTag/exercise/dvpmoduleid/4969/videoid/1015023/)
## Ballistic missile defense role
[Ballistic missile](https://www.edgepedia.org/ballistic-missile) defense is a central mission for the class. The JMSDF works with the US Navy on ballistic missile defense, deploying Aegis destroyers with SM-3 missiles, and has succeeded in test launches.[14](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/en/about/role/) In December 2007 the Aegis destroyer Kongō conducted a successful test intercept of a ballistic missile, a milestone recorded in the Self Defense Fleet's official history.[5](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/about/history/index.html)
## Strike capability and successor
The class's offensive reach has changed since the original design. In March 2026, JS Chōkai (DDG-176) completed modifications to operate the US-made Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile, becoming Japan's first Aegis destroyer to operate the weapon; the ship was at [Naval Base San Diego](https://www.edgepedia.org/naval-base-san-diego) for a Dockside Alignment Test ceremony.[9](https://news.usni.org/2026/03/27/japanese-aegis-destroyer-completes-modifications-to-operate-u-s-made-tomahawk-missiles) In July 2026, a Japanese destroyer launched a Tomahawk for the first time in a drill with the US Navy, with Chōkai identified as Japan's first Aegis destroyer to operate the missile.[15](https://news.usni.org/2026/07/30/japanese-destroyer-launches-tomahawk-for-the-first-time-in-drill-with-u-s-navy) This reverses the original export restriction under which the Tomahawk system was not provided to the Japanese ships.[2](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf)
Replacement is now on the budget books. Japan's FY2025 defense budget overview states that the Ministry of Defense will conduct research to consider a successor to the Kongō-class Aegis destroyers, which are scheduled to be decommissioned.[6](https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/d_budget/pdf/fy2025_20250411a.pdf) Despite being over thirty years old, the lead ship was still deployed as a first-generation Aegis air-defense asset to RIMPAC.[16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqLkqorUeM)
## Comparison with the Arleigh Burke class
Side-by-side figures place the two classes close in performance but distinct in role. The Arleigh Burke measures 155.3 m against the Kongō's 161.0 m, displaces 9,900 tons against about 9,500 tons, reaches 31 knots against 30 knots, and carries a crew of 323 against 300; the American class numbers 78 units against Japan's 4.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) The US vessel serves as a mass-produced, multi-mission platform for global strike and defense, while the Japanese variant comprises only four units modified for fleet command and regional interception roles.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/) The Kongō class modifies the base design to accommodate flagship command and control facilities.[1](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/)
## References
1. [Arleigh Burke vs Kongo: Warships Full Comparison, Global Military](https://www.globalmilitary.net/compare/ships/arleigh-burke-vs-kongo/)
2. [Guran, PhD thesis, King's College London (JMSDF Aegis acquisition)](https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/files/7936624/Guran_PhD_Final_Submission_1_09.pdf)
3. [Kongo – Destroyer – Japan, HiWars Military Equipment Database](https://hiwars.com/en/equipment/jpn-kongo)
4. [Improving the Parametric Method of Cost Estimating Relationships of Naval Ships (NPS Calhoun archive via CiteSeerX)](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=0c5c9b1dfc60894e17c2fd9f4bbe5c6876e9a7cb&repid=rep1&type=pdf)
5. [History, JMSDF Self Defense Fleet official](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/about/history/index.html)
6. [Major Projects, Japan Ministry of Defense FY2025 Budget Overview](https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/d_budget/pdf/fy2025_20250411a.pdf)
7. [Evaluation of Design Parameters, Piri Reis University](https://openaccess.pirireis.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12960/65/601063.pdf?sequence=1)
8. [Kongo Class, Forecast International](https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=833)
9. [Japanese Aegis Destroyer Completes Modifications to Operate U.S.-made Tomahawk Missiles, USNI News](https://news.usni.org/2026/03/27/japanese-aegis-destroyer-completes-modifications-to-operate-u-s-made-tomahawk-missiles)
10. [Defense of Japan 2023, Reference PDF, Japan Ministry of Defense](https://www.mod.go.jp/en/publ/w_paper/wp2023/DOJ2023_EN_Reference.pdf)
11. [JS KONGO Japan-US bilateral exercise, JMSDF Self Defense Fleet News](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/news/2022/04/0415.html)
12. [JS KONGO and P-3C conducted a Japan-US bilateral exercise, JMSDF Self Defense Fleet News](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/sf/english/news/2022/02/0208-01.html)
13. [JS Kongo replenishment at sea, RIMPAC 2026, 7th ATC video](https://www.7atc.army.mil/Media-News/Video/dvpTag/exercise/dvpmoduleid/4969/videoid/1015023/)
14. [Mission of JMSDF, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force](https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/en/about/role/)
15. [Japanese Destroyer Launches Tomahawk for the First Time in Drill with U.S. Navy, USNI News](https://news.usni.org/2026/07/30/japanese-destroyer-launches-tomahawk-for-the-first-time-in-drill-with-u-s-navy)
16. [Key Japanese Air Defense Asset: First-Generation Aegis Destroyer "JS Kongō" Joins RIMPAC, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqLkqorUeM)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Armed forces and security organizations › Warships and ship classes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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