Otapara-class destroyer

Ohikati, one of the Otapara-class destroyers.
Class overview
Builders:	Manley Shipyards, Smith Island, Meridon
Operators:	Meridonian Navy
Preceded by:	Mystere-class destroyer
Succeeded by:	Helena-class destroyer
Built:	1985-TBD
In service:	1988-present
Planned:	14
Completed:	8
Cancelled:	6
Active:	8
General characteristics
Class and type:	Guided missile destroyer, general purpose destroyer
Displacement:	10,600 tons, full load
Length:	Overall: 557 ft
Beam:	Overall: Around 70ft
Draught:	20ft
Propulsion:	4x COGAG turbines powering 2 shafts, 100,000 shp total
Speed:	In excess of 35 knots
Range:	In excess of 6,000 nm at 18kts
Complement:	300, with accomodations for up to 360.
Sensors and processing systems:	Delta IMRAS phased array 3D multifunction radar Delta AM8491 2D air search radar 2x Delta SM333 I Band surface search/navigational radar 1x Delta SM315 E/F Band surface search radar 2x Delta TM220 missile radar illuminators 2x MATCA combined AHRS/INS systems MATCA Command Navigation Program MATCA RAGOTS combined radar and optical gun tracking suite Matca R43E sonar suite Matca Seafin R300 towed array sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	MATCA SHREWD electronic warfare suite MATCA NGSEE signals exploitation suite Nulka decoys Advanced Counter-Torpedo Decoy System Offboard Float Decoy System Nixie decoys
Armament:	1x Type 42 4.5in naval gun 2x Type 318 30mm chaingun 2x 7.62 miniguns 6x 7.62 general purpose machine guns 2x 48-cell + 1x 32-cell VLS (128 total cells) with capacity for: MSA-7 short range anti-aircraft missile (up to 4x per cell) (legacy) MSA-6 long range anti-aircraft missile (legacy) MSA-15 short-range anti-aircraft missile (up to 4x per cell) MSA-30 long-range anti-aircraft missile MSU-14 antisubmarine rocket-propelled torpedo MSS-18 cruise missile 2x Goalkeeper CIWS 16x MSS-33 anti-ship missiles 2x triple torpedo tubes for MSU-90 anti-submarine torpedoes
Armour:	Kevlar over vital spaces
Aircraft carried:	2x H50M5 normally carried
Aviation facilities:	Enclosed hangar for up to 2x H50M5 Hawk

The Helena-class is a class of air warfare guided missile destroyers in service with the Meridonian Navy. Designed from the ground up as specialized air warfare escorts for the upcoming Sistine-class aircraft carriers using lessons learned in the 1980s, the Helena-class pioneered a number of new technology systems for the Navy. They are named after territories, districts, and large settlements. They were built starting in the early 1990s, and the first ship, Helena, was commissioned in 199X, with the last ship Caster Ridge commissioning in 201X.

The Helena-class was commissioned shortly after the Otapara-class destroyers began construction when naval planners realized that the Otapara-class would not be able to meet the anticipated fleet needs for a air defense platform, currently provided by the Mystere class of destroyers. Due to the Otapara's general purpose requirements of being capable of anti-air, anti-submarine, and surface warfare and the design of its hull it was determined the class would be better suited to a destroyer leader and multirole destroyer. This was critically important with the development of the Sistine-class aircraft carriers, who were to make up the core of the naval fleet into the 21st century. The Helena-class was also to be a testbed for technology critical to not only the coming carriers, but to the Defense Force as a whole with the advent of the Common Air Defense System, which serves as its principal armament.

The Helena-class is optimized for air defense and operates primarily as an escort destroyer, acting as the Carrier Task Group's principal anti-aircraft platform with supporting roles in anti-submarine warfare with MSU-14 antisubmarine rocket-propelled torpedoes and embarked anti-submarine helicopter, and anti-ship warfare with its eight MSS-33 anti-ship missiles. While capable of carrying land attack munitions in the form of the MSS-18, as reported by the Defense Department, the ship does not regularly carry these munitions. Its primary armament consists of a mix of MSA-15 and MSA-30 CADS interceptor missiles, which were designed to intercept maneuvering supersonic cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. Its powerful Broadlight air search and air targeting radars are capable instantaneously tracking over 2,000 targets and coordinate the flight of multiple missiles towards targets.

Description

Design

A rear view of Alexandria, showing her Broadlight air search and tracking radars. The radar set, and the integration of the Common Air Defense System, were the first implementations of a number of new naval systems first seen aboard Helena-class destroyers.

The Helena-class was designed from the outset as a dedicated air defense platform centered around the BROADLIGHT air radar suite system and the Common Air Defense System. The latter was a major tri-service effort to standardize a motley of air defense systems across the Defense Forces for standardized procurement, and would be its first employment aboard naval vessels after successful integration tests on land-based vehicles. The primary role of the class was to provide air defense escort for the Sistine-class aircraft carriers that the Otapara-class destroyer was too few in number and lacking in processing and armament capacity to effectively provide, allowing for the latter to be employed primarily as the lead ship of surface action groups and escort coordination in strike groups. This lead to the emergence of the semi-formal designation of the Helena-class as an "air warfare destroyer", with the Otapara-class labeled as "general purpose" destroyers.

Helena improved on the design plans from the previous class, further reducing the radar cross section and reducing the hull height and width while extending the length. The Helena-class' radar signature was able to be reduced by about 23% compared to the Otapara-class' using this method.

The design of the Sistine-class carriers, due to a number of shifting requirements during its development, took a period of nearly ten years from conceptualization to construction. Key to its requirements from the design was the capability to meet or exceed the airwing size carried by the Atlantia-class, have a higher top speed, be capable of landing and launching aircraft simultaneously, and modularity to accommodate emerging technologies and aircraft. Sistine was originally designed to feature integrated electronics propulsion, but the design was altered to operate off of nuclear propulsion.

One of the most recognizable features of the Sistine-class is its dual-island configuration, which is primarily a holdover from the diesel-operated design. The forward island is responsible for ship operations, including navigation, defensive systems, radar operations, and other such functions, while the rear island conducts coordination of air operations, including launches, landings, air battle management, and airspace control. Both bridges are redundant and each bridge can conduct operations of both if one of the bridges is damaged.

Sistine is a CATOBAR carrier that features 4 steam catapults and 4 arresting wires on an angled flight deck.

Ships in class

Ship	Pennant number	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned
MRS Otapara	D30	23 March 1985	12 April 1988	33 November 1988
MRS Kaimai	D31	10 July 1985	24 December 1988	30 August 1989
MRS Kaihiku	D32	2 June 1986	30 March 1989	20 February 1990
MRS Ohikati	D33	13 November 1986	20 March 1989	11 March 1990
MRS Rotoma	D34	24 July 1987	14 July 1990	2 January 1992
MRS Whitikau	D35	18 February 1988	2 January 1991	11 January 1992
MRS Pipiroa	D36	2 March 1989	3 March 1992	16 December 1992
MRS Anamaru	D37	20 December 1989	14 December 1992	3 May 1993