It is a ship for anti-aircraft shooting training support, and its main purpose is to launch and guide unmanned target aircraft. It was built as a complement to the air threat, higher performance of air defense weapons, and the obsolescence of the predecessor training ship .
It is a flat deck type ship type, equipped with one 76mm single gun on the front deck. The target aircraft will be equipped with four BMQ-34AJ Firebee and four BQM-74E Chaka III, for a total of eight. These target aircraft are launched from the rear helipad, and up to three aircraft can be simultaneously guided and controlled by a four-sided phased array radar on the top of the ship's structure. A radar for evaluating shooting results is also installed separately.[1] [2]
Kurobe was laid down on 31 October 1987 at JFE Holdings, Kure and launched on 23 May 1988. The ship was commissioned on 23 March 1989.
In September 1990, a female Self-Defense Forces officer (correspondent, Naoko Matsuo, 3rd Lieutenant) became the first ship of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to be on board. On 24 June 1994 Kurobe was reorganized into the escort fleet as a ship under direct control.
On 26 March 2008 the 1st Maritime Training Support Corps was newly formed under the escort fleet and was incorporated together with . In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, the vessel departed for the disaster area, Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, to aid in disaster relief.