Maya-class destroyer

In August 2015, a new subclass of the Atago-class destroyer, dubbed the 27DDG Destroyer, was announced. With an empty displacement of 8,200 tons, the new class is intended to be equipped with the Aegis combat system and also be equipped with Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) equipment, equivalent to that used on the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA:Restart guided missile destroyers which are capable of launching SM-3 block II anti-ballistic missiles. The ships' propulsion system has been changed from Combined gas and gas (COGAG) from Atago-class to Combined Gas-Electric and Gas (COGLAG) to improve fuel economy.

Future armaments for the ships is slated to include locally built railgun and laser point-defense system.[2]

Being an improved subclass of the Atago-class destroyer, the Maya-class is very similar to its parent class but with several differences and improvements.

1. While it shares the same design characteristics as the Atago-class, the Maya-class possesses a larger hull. The enlarged hull is believed to allow future naval weapons to be accommodated, most notably railguns and laser point-defense systems.
2. The ships will be powered by a COGLAG propulsion system to improve the management and distribution of power in light of its future weapon accommodation.
3. The Maya-class features the newer Aegis Baseline 9 system (referred as J7 in Japan). The Atago-class uses the Aegis Baseline 7 system.[3] The Maya-class is also the first JMSDF Aegis vessel to be ready for ballistic missile defense (BMD) from the time of its commissioning. The Atago-class and the older Kongō-class destroyer underwent modifications to be able to conduct BMD.[4]
4. The Maya-class is equipped with the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system. This will allow the ship to share surveillance or targeting information between other CEC equipped assets, whether that be from ships from the American or Australian Navy or from American or Japanese E-2 Hawkeye.[4]
5. The ships are equipped with the SM-3 Block IIA and SM-6 missiles.[5] The SM-3 Block IIA is the latest variant of the SM-3 missiles and is joint developed between the U.S. and Japan. The SM-6 missiles can be networked to the CEC system and thus allow it to receive targeting information from other CEC equipped sources. While the primary role of the SM-6 is to intercept enemy aircraft and cruise missiles, the SM-6 is also capable of intercepting medium-range ballistic missile and can double as an anti-ship missile. This gives the Maya-class more flexibility in handling threats than its predecessors.
6. The ship will use a Type 17 Ship-to-Ship Missile.[4] The Type 17 missile is ship mounted version of the Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile and the Type 12 missile is an upgraded Type 88 Surface-to-Ship Missile, which in turn developed the Type 90 Ship-to-Ship Missile that the Atago-class uses.

Maya shares her name with the World War II era Japanese Takao-class heavy cruiser Maya,[6] while Haguro shares her name with Myoko-class heavy cruiser Haguro.[7]