Sugashima-class minesweeper

JS Sugashima
Class overview
Name	Sugashima
Builders	NKK, Keihin Hitachi, Kanagawa USC, Keihin
Preceded by	Uwajima class
Succeeded by	Harishima class
Built	1996-2005
In commission	2001-present
Planned	12
Completed	12
Active	7
Lost	1
Retired	4
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Displacement	570 t (560 long tons) standard 650 t (640 long tons) full load
Length	57 m (187 ft 0 in)
Beam	9.8 m (32 ft 2 in)
Depth	4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	2 × Mitsubishi 6NMU diesel electric engines 2 × shafts
Speed	14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	48
Sensors and processing systems	OPS-39 surface-search radar OYQ-201 sonar ZQS-4 sonar
Armament	1 × single JM61R-MS 20mm guns

The Sugashima class is a class of coastal minesweepers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).^[1][2]

From the lessons learned in the 1991 dispatch of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to the Persian Gulf, the JMSDF took the example of the Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunter, built after the 1994 plan especially in order to improve its capabilities regarding mine clearance. However, due to the fact that Sandown-class was basically a minesweeper that did not have minesweeping ability and the fact that the waters around Japan have many muddy seabeds that are not suitable for minesweeping, the abandonment of minesweeping ability was unacceptable to the JMSDF. For these reasons, the ships have the ability to sweep with Australian-made DYAD^{[clarification needed]}-sensitive minesweepers, but, due to magnetic management issues, it was decided that it would not be installed all the time but would be received from a mother ship at sea as needed. Operational restrictions were large, and mobility was also restricted^{[clarification needed]}.^[3][4]