Japan's Mogami-Class Frigates Utilize Drones for Mine Countermeasures, Partnering with U.S. Navy
Japan's Mogami-class frigates are employing a new strategy for mine countermeasures by deploying 13-foot OZZ-5 drones to detect sea mines, keeping the steel frigates safely out of minefields. This approach was recently demonstrated in a two-week exercise, Mine Warfare Exercise 2JA, in Mutsu Bay, where a Mogami-class frigate, the Niyodo, operated alongside a U.S. Navy Avenger-class ship, the USS Chief, which has a wooden hull designed to be less detectable by mines. The OZZ-5 drone, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is equipped with two synthetic aperture sonars—a Japanese low-frequency set and a French high-frequency set—allowing it to identify mines buried in the seabed and distinguish them from other objects. The drone only hunts for mines, with an unmanned surface boat, the Umikaze, then deployed to dispose of them. This layered drone system represents a significant shift from traditional mine warfare, which has historically relied on specially built wooden or fiberglass-hulled ships to avoid magnet... 
