-class frigate
| File:Warrior class NB.png Warrior-class frigate
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Warrior-Class Frigate |
| Builders: | Kaplanksy Naval Arms Consortium |
| Operators: |
list error: <br /> list (help) File:NB flag in Pardes.png Imperial Belhavian Navy  Eagleland NavyTemplate:Country data Valinor Royal Valinese Navy  Lion's Rock Navy |
| Succeeded by: | South Dakos-class (partially) |
| In service: | 1978 - present |
| Building: | 13 |
| Completed: | 69 |
| Active: | 66 |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 4,200 tonnes (full load) |
| Length: | 124m (waterline), 139m (overall) |
| Beam: | 14m |
| Draught: | 6.7m |
| Propulsion: | 2 x gas turbines (41,000KW overall) |
| Speed: | over 29kn |
| Range: | 8,300km at 20kn |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armour: | steel shrapnel sheets, kevlar spall liners |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 x helicopters |
The Warrior-class frigate was introduced into service with the Belhavian Imperial Navy in 1978. It was designed as a cost effective, general purpose workhorse frigate, with a focus on escort duties and littoral combat. It was especially capable in the former capacity, due to its arm-launchers ability to fire Standard Missiles, giving it an area-defense capabiity not usually present among small, generalist frigates. It was simple enough to construct that smaller shipyards could be contracted to build them.
At the same time, they are surprisingly tough vessels with excellent damage control capabilities, which was amply illustrated when HIMS Sword's Thrust struck a mine during a peacekeeping operation in 1986. Though it caused numerous casualties, the ship survived and was fully repaired within a year.
In the early 2010s, the Imperial Navy embarked upon a major upgrade program for its remaining Warrior-class vessels. Their short-range air defense capabilities were significantly improved with an eight-cell Mk41 VLS at the front, quadpacked with 32 Enhanced Sea Sparrow missiles, and a 21-shot RAM launcher above the helicopter hangar. It was also retrofitted with the AN/SPY-1K, the most compact variant of the SPY-1 family, as well as the AEGIS combat system. Its new towed sonar, the 2087, is also present in the Warrior's intended successor, the South Dakos-class frigate.
Until 2014, Warrior-class frigates were slated to remain in service until they were completely replaced by the South Dakos-class. However, in September 2014, the Imperial Naval Staff reversed course, in light of the early 2010s upgrades and strong performance tests, and will continue to order the Warrior-class well into the 2030s. The South Dakos-class will complement, but no longer outright replace, this frigate class.
Variants and Derivatives
Eagleland
The Eagleland Navy currently has nine Warrior-class frigates, and has officially announced the procurement of a tenth frigate in late February 2015. Of the nine frigates, five are upgraded with the A/N SPY-3 AESA Radar and the Tafoplaka Ladar. The Tafoplaka Ladar can detect a missile-sized target flying at an altitude of 60 meters (200 ft) at least 40 km away, at an altitude of 100 meters at least 60 km away, and at high altitude up to 175 km away. The AN/SPY-3 is a shipboard Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) system, operating in the X-band radar frequencies; X-band functionality (8 to 12 GHz frequency range) is optimal for minimizing low-altitude propagation effects, narrow beam width for best tracking accuracy, wide frequency bandwidth for effective target discrimination, and the target illumination for Anti-Air Missiles. The remaining four frigates are expected to receive a modernisation upgrade of the same nature as well, during the 2015-2018 timeline.
All design upgrades were in line with the procurement agreements, as agreed to by the Eaglelander and Belhavian Governments.
The tenth frigate ordered is designed by Kaplanksy Naval Arms Consortium but has some specific modifications to the specifications requested by the Eagleland Government. Whilst retaining original features of the design the design team aim to develop an air defence frigate, with minimal interference to the original design. This includes a subtle lengthening of the ship, introduction of new radar systems and an armament augmentation in the form of more VLS Tubes, so as to increase the ship's potency against sustained air attacks. It will also be upgraded with the A/N-SPY-4 Volume Search Radar, which will supplement the A/N-SPY-3. This is a 'proof-of-concept' to the Machitis II-Class frigate, which is based on the Warrior-class and is currently under consideration by the Eaglelander Government. Order placements, if approved, may begin by the end of 2015.
Operators
- File:NB flag in Pardes.png Imperial Belhavian Navy operates 25 frigates of this class as of February 2015. Three are retired, and 4 more are under various conditions of construction.
- Eagleland Navy operates 9 frigates as of October 2014. In January 2015, the slated phasing out of the 4 oldest frigates in the medium-term has been cancelled. Instead, they will be retained but extensively modernised, as authorised according to the procurement agreements with the Belhavian Government. On the 22nd of February 2015 the Eagleland Ministry of National Defence ordered one more Warrior-class frigate, optimised for anti-air warfare, which will be supported by the new Machitis II-Class frigate.
- Template:Country data Valinor Royal Valinese Navy operates 25 frigates as of August 2014.
- Lion's Rock Navy operates 6 frigates as of March 2015. Their Harpoons were replaced with eight box-launched ACM-13 Lilith to provide a measure of land-attack capability.