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| Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) ships underway |
TOKYO, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) launched a new near-billion U.S. dollar destroyer on Wednesday in Nagasaki Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan, in spite of the pacifist bindings of its constitution and a stagnant economy ill-financed for such extrinsic military hardware.
The newly-built 5,100-ton vessel called "Asahi" will go into full service for the MSDF in 2018 and its launching ceremony was attended by senior vice defense minister Kenji Wakamiya as well as around 1,300 people, local media reported.
The new destroy, sources close to the matter revealed, comprises both an electric propulsion system and a gas turbine engine, which makes for a "hybrid" like fuel efficiency powertrain, enhancing both the vessel's performance and range.
The destroy, standing at 151 meters in length and more than 18 meters in width, is also fitted with sonar technology to detect submarines, military observers said.
At a cost of 76 billion yen (735.37 million U.S. dollars) to the Japanese taxpayer, the destroyer is a small part of an increasingly rising tab for Japan's Ministry of Defense which for fiscal year 2017 has requested a record-high budget, marking the fifth annual increase since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe retook office in 2012.
Read the full story at Xinhua
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PacificSentinel: I really wish China would get off their Japan Bashing kick, this article would be rather good with out the Anti-Japan nonsense.