Arabe-class destroyer
French Navy destroyers built in Japan in 1917
In 1917 Japanese yards built twelve Arabe-class destroyers for France, a precedent for Onomichi Dockyard's agreement, reported on 21 September 2026, to build Bulwark Dynamics' robot landing craft.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for Arabe-class destroyer
Mentioned in: Onomichi to build Bulwark robot landers
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
In 1917 Japanese yards built destroyers for France while European yards were full. Onomichi Dockyard's 2026 agreement to build Bulwark Dynamics' robot landing craft repeats the arrangement, though the Arabe class used an established design and the Caravel-35 is not yet built even as a prototype.
The French Navy ordered twelve destroyers from Japan in the First World War because it had no capacity to build more in France, Britain or the United States. They were an export version of Japan's Kaba class, built in 1917 at the Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo and Maizuru arsenals and at Kawasaki and Mitsubishi yards. The ships were named after peoples of the French Empire and served from 1917 to 1936 before being scrapped.
The class is an early case of a navy buying hulls abroad because its own yards, and those of its allies, were full.