The ship was commissioned and the JMSDF flag was hoisted during the ceremony. The Kure District Chief presented the ship's captain, Mr. Mamiya, with the flag of the Maritime Self-Defense Ship, and the ship was specifically registered as a ship of the Self-Defense Forces.

Following the ceremony, the ship returned to its home port of Kure. The ship will be assigned to the 1st Ocean Surveillance Division.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's JS Aki (AOS-5203) is a Hibiki-class ocean surveillance ship. She was laid down in March of 2019 and released on February 4, 2020.

Aki is an ocean surveillance ship that is designed to detect underwater acoustic data.

The vessel is equipped with a US-installed AN/UQQ-2 Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS). The Defense Satellite Communications System relays data from the sensors, which is then processed and exchanged with the US. The data is sent to the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS).

SURTASS/CLFA is a low-frequency, passive and active acoustic surveillance device that enables real-time reporting of surveillance information to Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) commanders and provides passive detection of quiet nuclear and diesel submarines.

There are both passive and active elements in the device. SURTASS is the name of the system's sensing membrane. It is made up of a large number of hydrophones that are used to listen for underwater sounds, particularly submarines. LFA sonar is used when the submarine is too silent for SURTASS to hear it. A series of acoustic transmitters suspended on a cable beneath a ship is known as the LFA.

Maritime Business World