Hyūga class helicopter destroyer

The Hyūga-class helicopter destroyer (ひゅうが型護衛艦, Hyūga-gata-goei-kan ^?) are a type of helicopter carrier being built for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).^[1][2] Two ships of the class were built to replace the two 7,000-ton Haruna-class helicopter destroyers. The new ships are the largest combatant ship operated by Japan since the Imperial Japanese Navy was superseded by the JMSDF.^[1] The first ship in the class, Hyūga, was commissioned on March 18, 2009 and stationed in Yokosuka, near Tokyo.^[3] The second ship Ise went into service on March 16, 2011 and will be stationed in Kure.
The Hyūga-class' specifications are comparable to light aircraft carriers, such as Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi, Spanish Principe de Asturias and Royal Navy's Invincible-class carriers.^[4] Under the JMSDF's naming conventions, the ships are called Goei-kan (護衛艦, lit. escort ship) in Japanese and destroyer in English, as same as all the other combatant ships of JMSDF.
According to a PBS documentary, JS Hyūga is the "first Japanese aircraft carrier built since WWII."^[5]
The Hyuga 's code-name (16DDH) and Ise 's code-name (18DDH) derive from the Japanese calendar, specifically the 16th year and 18th year of the Heisei reign (2004 and 2006), when the provisional title was given.^[1]
Construction of the first ship Hyūga was started in 2006 and it was launched on 23 August 2007. The second was launched and named Ise on 21 August 2009.^[13]

Pennant no.	Name	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Homeport
DDH-181	Hyūga (16DDH)	11 May 2006	23 August 2007	18 March 2009	Yokosuka
DDH-182	Ise (18DDH)	30 May 2008	21 August 2009	16 March 2011	Kure

Hyūga was named after Hyūga Province (日向国, Hyūga no kuni^?) (present-day Miyazaki Prefecture) on the east coast of Kyūshū, and Ise after Ise Province (伊勢国, Ise no kuni^?) (present-day Mie Prefecture). They inherited the names of the Ise-class battleship Hyūga and Ise of the Imperial Japanese Navy. These two ships had been built during the World War I and served in World War II. Following the Battle of Midway, the Hyuga and Ise were converted into a hybrid battleship/aircraft carriers in 1943 with the replacement of the aft gun turrets and barbettes by a small flight deck and hangar deck with which they could launch a squadron of Yokosuka D4Y dive-bombers and Aichi E16A seaplanes.^[4]
In November 2009, Hyūga participated in Annualex 21G joint naval exercise with USS George Washington and other USN and JMSDF ships to maintain the interoperability between the two navies.^{[citation needed]}
On 11 March, 2011, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast part of Japan. Hyūga immediately moved to off the coast of Miyagi prefecture and started search and rescue operation.^[14] Ise, which went into service on 16 March, also will join aid delivery operation for refuge shelters.