text: The Mark 41 Vertical Launching System arrangement, similar to the Arleigh Burke class, consisted of 29 cells on the foredeck and 61 cells on the afterdeck. These cells contain not only RIM-162, SM-2, and SM-3, but also VL-ASROCs. In addition, they are equipped with HOS-302, one of the Japanese variant of the Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes, as anti-submarine weapons and Harpoon as anti-ship missiles. And as gunnery weapons, an Oto Melara /54 caliber gun and two Mark 15 20 mm CIWS gun mounts are installed.
  Most of electronic devices outside of AWS originated in Japan. For electronic warfare, this class is equipped with NOLQ-2, an elaborate system capable of both ES and EA. The OQS-102 sonar is equivalent to the U.S. SQS-53C.
  Flight tests for Aegis BMD systems
  In December 2007, Japan conducted a successful test of the SM-3 block IA against a ballistic missile aboard . This was the first time a Japanese ship was selected to launch the interceptor missile during a test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. In previous tests, they provided tracking and communications. Afterward, Japan has also undertaken another two successful Ballistic Missile Defense tests aboard  in October 2009 and aboard  in October 2010, while one test aboard  in November 2008 failed to intercept the target.
  Names
  The Kongō-class destroyers are named after mountains in Japan, and all four also share their names with World War II-era Japanese warships. Kongō and Kirishima share their names with two ships of the , while the other two ships share their names with the heavy cruisers  and .