A rendering of the P-39 Ship Handling and Combat Training Facility, which is expected to be completed in 2027 at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The U.S. Navy’s largest overseas base broke ground this week on a new building that will eventually house a state-of-the-art virtual training simulator.
The P-39 Ship Handling and Combat Training Facility will feature at least five simulators and training spaces where sailors may improve a variety of skills, according to a March 2023 contract notice on SAM.gov.
Training will include navigation and ship handling, air and missile defense, radar navigation, anti-submarine warfare and a multipurpose reconfigurable training system, according to the notice.
Construction on the two-story, 32,800-square-foot building about 400 yards from Yokosuka’s main gate is scheduled to conclude Aug. 12, 2027, according to information provided by Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Charles Maib.
Aki Minoru, a general manager for Tokyu Construction, uses a ceremonial tool to break ground on the P-39 Ship Handling and Combat Training Facility at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on Oct. 7, 2024. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Tokyu Construction Inc. secured a $63.5 million contract for the project on May 21, according to SAM.gov.
Additional information, including specifics on the simulators and who will be using them, was not immediately available, according to Maib and base spokesman Justin Keller.
The simulator would be at least the second high-tech addition in recent years at the homeport of 7th Fleet. In 2022, the Center for Surface Combat Systems Detachment Yokosuka unveiled its own anti-submarine warfare trainer.
That facility allows sailors to practice tracking enemy vessels through interactive 3D models, simulated “gaming” courses, instructor-led exercises or a virtual simulator.
A Shinto priest carries out a purification ritual during a groundbreaking ceremony for the P-39 Ship Handling and Combat Training Facility at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on Oct. 7, 2024. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Around 40 people gathered at Yokosuka on Monday for an official groundbreaking ceremony officiated by the Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers and Tokyu.
“We at Tokyu Construction are honored to contribute to the security of the Indo-Pacific region with the United States of America and Japan,” Aki Minoru, general manager for Tokyu’s construction division, said during the ceremony.
The ceremony included traditional Shinto purification and blessing rituals administered by a Shinto priest from Suwa Daijinja, a shrine about 2½ miles south of the base.
“In closing, I’d like to express my sincere prayers for continuous prosperity and deepening of friendship between the United States of America and Japan, as well as the welfare of all who are present here today,” Minoru said.
