Ruairí Ó Síoda-class destroyer
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Ruairí Ó Síoda-class |
| Operators: |
 Royal Ossorian Navy |
| Built: | 1988 - 2008 |
| In commission: | 1991 - Present |
| Planned: | 27 |
| Completed: | 27 |
| Active: | 27 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Guided-missile destroyer |
| Displacement: | 4,550 t standard |
| Length: | 151 meters |
| Beam: | 17.4 meters |
| Draught: | 5.2 meters |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | +30 kts |
| Range: | Unlimited |
| Complement: | 165 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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| Aircraft carried: |
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The Ruairí Ó Síoda-class destroyer is a class of destroyers, built for and serving with the Royal Ossorian Navy (RON). The class was the fourth class of guided-missile destroyers built by the RON and the first class to be specifically designed and built around the Caer Warfare System.
Design
General characteristics
The Ruairí Ó Síoda-class ships have an overall length of 151 m, a beam of 17.4 m, and a draught of 5.2 m. They displace approximately 4,550 t at standard load. Each of the class' two steam turbines drive a single 5-bladed Variable-pitch propellers and are powered by a single CS-2 LFTR and are rated at 60,000 shaft horsepower. This gives ships of the class a reported speed of approximately 30 knots.
Protection
The Ruairí Ó Síodadesign is the first Ossorian warship to incorporate stealth techniques, such as the exposed surfaces being canted at an angle rather than left presenting a flat surface as in most traditional designs, which has the effect of reducing the radar cross-section of the ship and making the vessel more difficult to detect by radar systems, in particular by the guidance systems of antiship missiles. The class is also designed with an air-filtration system to protect against nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) agents.
The class also integrates lessons learned from the 1979 Sorcha Ní Bhuachalla Incident, in which the LB Sorcha Ní Bhuachalla was attacked by Shalumite forces in the vicinity of the Arzell Islands. Post-battle analysis led the RON to abandon the use of aluminum in future ship designs as a main structural element and to incorporate passive defenses around the ship's vital spaces, including double-spaced steel armor (thus creating a buffer against modern warheads) and kevlar spall liners.
Sensors
The Ruairí Ó Síoda-class ships were designed and built around the Caer Warfare System and its active phased array radar. The ships are also equipped with a hull-mounted sonar system and a towed sonar array.
Armament
- One 115 mm/55 calibre gun for use against surface, airborne, and shore targets, mounted forward.
- Two 30 mm autocannons for use against close-in surface targets, mounted amidships on either beam in single mounts.
- Four 12.7 mm machine guns for use against close-in surface targets, mounted fore and aft of the superstructure on either beam in single mounts.
- Two 30 mm close-in weapon systems for use against close-in surface and airborne targets, mounted fore and aft of the superstructure.
- Two 16-cell vertical launch systems capable of launching surface-to-air missiles and anti-submarine missiles for use against standoff-range airborne and subsurface targets, mounted fore and aft of the superstructure.
- Two quad-canister anti-ship missile launchers for use against standoff-range surface targets, mounted amidships between the forward and aft superstructures and trained outward of either beam.
- Two triple torpedo tubes for use against close-in subsurface targets, mounted amidships on either beam.
Aviation
The Ruairí Ó Síoda-class ships are outfitted with a helicopter hangar and a flight deck on the stern and are capable of operating a single helicopter. The ships were later refitted to include the launch and retrieval system for a set of five reconnaissance UAVs.