JDS Amatsukaze (DDG-163)

JDS Amatsukaze was a guided missile destroyer (DDG) of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the only ship of its class. This was the first Japanese surface combatant equipped with surface-to-air missiles. She was launched on October 5, 1963, and decommissioned in 1995.

It was planned as the DDG variant of its predecessor Akizuki-class anti-aircraft destroyers at first, but unfortunately, the Tartar weapon system was more large-scaled than expected. So finally, the design became completely anew with enlarged hull with shelter deck design based on the one of Isuzu-class destroyer escort and uprated steam turbines.

This ship is one of the earliest foreign ships equipped with the Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System (the other is the French Kersaint-class DDG). Because of the financial burden of this expensive weapon system, the other equipment were almost the same as those of the Ayanami-class destroyer at first. But JMSDF applied a spiral model to this ship, so these equipment were continued to be constantly updated as the following table.

The Tartar weapon system of this ship made a strong impression on the JMSDF, but it was too expensive to have another Tartar DDG at once. So the JMSDF had to wait 10 years to have another DDG, Tachikaze-class destroyer.