Trumpeter 1/350 JMSDF Murasame Destroyer Plastic Model Kit

The Murasame class destroyer is a third-generation vessel in service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), classified by some as a large frigate. The Murasame was a successor to the Asagiri class, and like its predecessor, its main duties included anti-submarine warfare and anti-shipping. The Murasame class was designed to replace the JMSDF's smaller destroyers that were reaching block obsolescence, ensuring the fleet could maintain its strength while increasing its firepower. It was originally envisaged that 14 would be built, but this was reduced to 9 when the Takanami class (a modified variant of the Murasame) was planned. Murasame destroyers' weapon systems include the Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile, anti-submarine rockets, the SSM-1B anti-ship missile, two Mark 15 20 mm Phalanx CIWS gun mounts, two torpedo mounts in a triple-tube configuration, and a 76 mm/62 cal rapid-fire gun. She was launched on 23 August 1994 and commissioned on 12 March 1996.