Pliant predators

摘要

In mid-July this year Japan's Fleet Air Squadron 51, a unit of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Fleet Air Wing, announced it had successfully conducted the first deck landing of the MCH-101 helicopter on a Mogami-class frigate. The trials involved the air-frame with serial number 53 and the JMSDF's third Mogami-class frigate JS Noshiro. The event was an important milestone for the Mogami class and the helicopter type. The MCH-101 is Japan's primary airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) platform. The aircraft is not known to be regularly deployed on the JMSDF's fleet of other surface combatants and has largely operated either from land or from the service's squadron of Hyuega and Izumo helicopter carriers.