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Project 04260 submarine

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Project 426.png
Project 04261 HA-240 (2017)
Class overview
Name: Project 04260
Builders: Shipbuilding Plant No.143
Operators: Itayana Itayana Navy
Built: 2010 - present
In service: 2017 - present
Planned: 16-20
Building: 4
Completed: 12
Active: 12
General characteristics
Type: Attack submarine
Displacement:
  • 7,000 tonnes surfaced
  • 7,900 tonnes submerged
Length: 113.67m
Beam: 10m
Draught: 11m
Installed power: Diesel-electric, pump jet
Speed:
  • 15kn surfaced (publicly disclosed figure)
  • 25kn submerged (publicly disclosed figure)
Range: With snorkel: 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) (publicly disclosed figure)
Endurance: 120 days
Test depth: 400m (publicly disclosed figure)
Crew: 45 men (40 officers)
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Surface-Search Radar
  • Electronic Warfare Suite
  • Optronic mast
  • Active Hull Sonar
  • 6 x Hull Sonar Flank Array (Passive)
  • Hull sonar, Mine/Obstacle Avoidance
  • Towed Array Sonar
  • Wake Detection System
  • White Whale Combat Integration and Submarine Management Suite
Armament:
  • 4 x 660mm torpedo tubes (16 torpedoes)
  • 2 x 324mm torpedo tubes (20 torpedoes)
  • 4 x 324mm external launchers (with reloads)

The Project 04260, NATA reporting name: Claire, is a class of long-range diesel-electric attack submarines in service of the Itayana Navy, originally designed in the late 2000s. The class had a protracted development history, being plagued by financial problems, lack of necessary equipment, and overly ambitious requirements, necessitating outside help to be completed and more to be constructed. Despite the difficulties, eight submarines of the initial Project 04261 entered the operational service in the late 2010s. Additional four boats of the improved Project 04262 entered service in early 2020s and six more are on trials or under construction as of 2023.

Development

Unlike most of the Itayana Navy projects, the Project 04260 has a relatively understood design history coming from the interviews of its lead designers and analysis of the open-source intelligence and media leaks.

The decision to design an long-range diesel-electric boat was made by the Itayana Admiralty Staff in 2002. The design requirements called for a submarine capable of operating in Salacian, Oorupaqi, Vespanian and Makrian oceans in anti-shipping and anti-submarine capacity. The submarine was to be armed and equipped with domestic weapon systems, which by then were yet to be developed. Diesel-electric propulsion was chosen over nuclear as it was estimated that the Itayana economy and industry would not be able to handle a significant force of nuclear submarines. Other limiting factors included the capacity of the slipways and available industrial equipment on the Shipbuilding Plant No.143, chosen as place for submarine construction. After a program of industrial re-armament, conducted in parallel with design work on the submarine, the plant became the only facility that could build large ocean-going submarines in Itayana.

The design process was complicated by progressively more ambitious requirements regarding armament, sonars, physical signatures, and automation. The development of domestic weapon systems and sensors was similarly difficult; for example, the torpedo countermeasures suite had to be scrapped and re-designed from scratch. Reports suggest that engineers from the Burning Sun Initiative of Zacapican have aided in the design effort and it was hypothesized that the Tecpatl class of the Zacapine Navy could be derived from the finalized Itayana design.

The design was completed by 2009, receiving the designation Project 04261, and the first two boats were laid down in early 2010. Construction involved expensive and extensive contracts from several countries such as Sante Reze, Orun Redisus, Alanahr, Velikoslavia, Elatia and Zacapican. Both boats were launched in 2014, receiving numerical indexes instead of names, in line with the established naming conventions. The sea trials of the first pair lasted for three years and were succinctly described as "highly problematic". Both submarines entered service in mid-2017, but their first major deployment happened only about a year later. Major efforts of industry and design staff were then directed towards optimizing the design and supply chains, successfully decreasing the construction time down to two years per boat.

In 2021 it was revealed that the fifth pair of submarines was constructed under an improved design, designated Project 04262. The chief designer stated that the primary goal was to incorporate mature domestic equipment that was originally intended for the first six submarines. She did not reveal whether construction of Project 04261 will be continued should the systems fail to match the expectations.

Available information suggests that Itayana Navy plans to receive 16 to 20 of these submarines by 2025, with implications that more submarines could be ordered at the discretion of the Navy. It is believed that Project 04260 will be the mainstay of Itayana submarine force until 2060s.

Design

Project 04260 is a family of large ocean-going submarines designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations. Its single-hulled design is optimized for underwater movement. The superstructure acts as a hydrodynamic cover for additional equipment and the sail forms a base for various masts. Notable design features are a smoothly faired transition from the hull superstructure to the sail, and the "X" arrangement of the stern planes, assumed to improve the maneuverability of the large boat. The safe depth for the boat was stated to be within 400 meters. It has a crew of 45, of which 40 are officers, and is designed for the endurance of up to 120 days.

The submarine is powered by diesel-electric transmission and a water jet. While the lack of primary sources on the water jet suggests its domestic origins, available information indicates that different submarines use different engines from several manufacturers from Alanahr and Zacapican. Despite the variety, it is stated that all submarines are capable of achieving 15 knots while surfaced and 25 knots while underwater. The class employs high-capacity lithium-ion batteries manufactured in Sante Reze to power its electonic equipment and electrical transmission when the generators are offline.

The submarine's primary armament consists of four 660mm torpedo tubes. The choice of the larger torpedoes was dictated by torpedo design bureaus and justified with a significantly larger warhead, improved physical signatures, and more sophisticated guidance systems. The submarine is also armed with two 324mm internal torpedo tubes and four external 324mm torpedo launchers. Information on either 324mm or 660mm torpedoes of Itayana design is sparse at best, but it is stated that the submarine is intended to carry 16 larger and 20 smaller reloads. It is unknown whether the submarine can employ missiles of any kind from its torpedo tubes, and despite theoretical capability, none were ever observed firing any.

The electronic equipment of the submarine is centered around the White Whale Combat Integration and Submarine Management suite. It is stated to allow high degrees of automation, reducing the need for additional crew. The underwater detection suite consists of a spherical bow sonar, six flank arrays, a high-frequency mine search array, a towed antenna, two arrays on the sail, and several antennas of the wake detection system in front of it. Surface and aerial detection are done using an X-band air search radar and a SIGINT and electronic warfare suite. It is suggested that on the Project 04262 the spherical sonar was replaced with a conformal antenna of unknown origins.

Operational history

In May 2018, HA-240 and HA-375 were observed participating in exercises with the Zacapine Navy in south Oorupaqi. In August of the same year, HA-375 visited Orun Redisus.

In May 2019, HA-240 and HA-434 were again observed exercising with the Zacapine Navy. In June 2019, HA-375 and HA-193 made a voyage to the west Vespanian ocean near Kayatman Sea. During the deployment, HA-193 appeared to have suffered mechanical troubles, causing it to lay adrift for two days with HA-375 escorting it. Both submarines were observed by the navies of the Association of Ozeros Nations. In November, HA-193 visited Velikoslavia.

In May 2020, all six commissioned submarines were found in the Salacian ocean, participating in a joint exercise with the Royal Redisan Navy. After the exercises, HA-434 visited Elatia, followed by Mutulese and Belfrasian navies through the Kayamuca Sea.

In May 2021, HA-434 and HA-193 were observed in the eastern Makria ocean, while HA-240 and HA-375 visited the mainland Sante Reze in July of the same year.

The first two of the Project 04262 submarines, HA-169 and HA-235, were observed along with four other submarines and several surface ships in central Oorupaqi in February, June and October 2022. The second pair, HA-486 and HA-343, joined them in June and October and completed their own trials in December that year. Those were the only notable deployments of the Itayana Navy that year.

Variants

  • Project 04261. Baseline design. 8 boats in service.
  • Project 04262. Improved design. 4 boats in service, 6 boats under construction or on trials. Available information suggests a higher ratio of domestic equipment. Details are unknown.

Units

The Shipbuilding Plant No.143 is the only plant capable of building submarines in Itayana and as such, all submarines were built there.

Project 04261
Number Shipyard Project Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Itayana HA-240 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 01.02.2010 05.03.2014 11.06.2017 Active
Itayana HA-375 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 01.02.2010 05.03.2014 11.06.2017 Active
Itayana HA-434 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 06.03.2014 15.06.2017 21.03.2019 Active
Itayana HA-193 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 06.03.2014 15.06.2017 21.03.2019 Active
Itayana HA-278 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 11.01.2016 11.11.2018 11.04.2020 Active
Itayana HA-182 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 11.01.2016 11.11.2018 11.04.2020 Active
Itayana HA-403 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 16.06.2017 04.04.2019 15.09.2021 Active
Itayana HA-387 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04261 16.06.2017 04.04.2019 15.09.2021 Active
Project 04262
Number Shipyard Project Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Itayana HA-169 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 12.11.2018 10.07.2020 11.11.2022 Active
Itayana HA-235 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 12.11.2018 10.07.2020 11.11.2022 Active
Itayana HA-486 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 05.04.2019 05.04.2021 15.01.2023 Active
Itayana HA-343 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 05.04.2019 05.04.2021 15.01.2023 Active
Itayana HA-280 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 11.07.2020 22.06.2022 2024 Under construction
Itayana HA-391 Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 11.07.2020 22.06.2022 2024 Under construction
Itayana HA-??? Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 06.04.2021 2023 2025 Under construction
Itayana HA-??? Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 06.04.2021 2023 2025 Under construction
Itayana HA-??? Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 23.06.2022 2024 2026 Under construction
Itayana HA-??? Shipbuilding Plant No.143 04262 23.06.2022 2024 2026 Under construction

Operators

  • Itayana Itayana Navy ─
    • 8 Project 04261 units in service
    • 4 Project 04262 units in service + 6 under construction
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