Maratea-class amphibious helicopter dock
 MRS Maratea (L23)
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Maratea-class |
| Builders: |
Manley Shipyards, Smith Island,  Meridon |
| Operators: |
 Meridonian Navy |
| Preceded by: | Chapleton-class |
| Cost: | 800,000,000 |
| Built: | 2001- |
| In service: | 2005-present |
| Completed: | 7 |
| Active: | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement: | 55,000t |
| Length: | 85.5 ft |
| Beam: | 120ft |
| Draught: | 25 ft |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | Over 25 knots max sustained |
| Range: | 10,000 nm @ 15 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
list error: mixed text and list (help) Organically carried:
|
| Complement: | 985, ship's crew, up to 1,000 Marine Commando personnel |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
|
| Armament: |
|
| Aircraft carried: |
|
| Aviation facilities: | 2 aviation-capable lifts (1 aft and one forward-port), enclosed hangar |
The Maratea-class amphibious helicopter dock are a class of amphibious assault ships used by the Meridonian Navy. The Maratea-class was designed as part of the Navy's 1980/1990's Comprehensive Commando Carrying Initiative (CCC-I), which aimed to replace a large variety of amphibious assault craft with a streamlined set of equipment for utilization in ship-to-shore operations for the Regiment Marines Commando.
Maratea-class amphibious helicopter docks serve as flexible multirole aviation ships with a large through-deck flightdeck and spacious hangar and well deck facilities. In Navy Amphibious Ready Groups, Maratea-class LHDs serve as the center for a Commando Task Unit's Air Warfare Element (AWE), able to house all of the ARG's air-based complement organically. It serves as a secondary command ship in lieu of an Argos-class amphibious command dock ship and is responsible alongside Argos-class ships for providing self-escort in medium to low-threat environments. Maratea-class AHDs regularly participate in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations and are capable of adapting to both peacetime and wartime mission profiles. They were adopted with a modular and flexible design program to allow them to adapt to a wide range of missionsets.
The Maratea-class were ordered alongside the Argos and Hemana class sometime in the 1990s, with Maratea being the first of these vessels laid down in 2003 at Manley Shipyards in Smith Island. The last vessel, Masahi, was commissioned in 2019. One of each vessel is assigned to one of Meridon's seven Amphibious Ready Groups.
Description
Design
As part of the CCC-I initiative, all three planned classes of ships were designed from the ground up, taking design cues from the then in-construction Sistine-class aircraft carriers in its flight deck and superstructure layout. Maratea was built utilizing commonized modular construction which allowed for rapid periods of construction. At over 55,000 tons, Maratea is the heaviest amphibious warfare vessel class to serve in the Meridonian Navy. Her hull is streamlined to minimize protrusions and increase hull integrity, with in-cuts to the hull provided for boat launches and defensive weaponry mounts excluding the rear sponsons for the Type 40 RCG and 30mm chaingun mounts. Her superstructure is separated into two primary sections- the forward holding the navigation bridge and the aft containing the flying bridge, providing redundancy, increased deck space, and spacing for the ship's two gas turbines to have separate exhausts.
The Maratea-class' primary role is air warfare and air support of amphibious operations, and was designed to support the entirety of the Commando Task Unit's Aviation Warfare Element. It has an expansive hangar bay capable of fitting the entirety of the rotary airwing of a CTU within it, as well as expansive flight deck parking. Belowdecks, significant hull space is allocated to airframe and powerplant maintenance and sustainment. Emphasis was placed on modularity and adaptability for multirole operations including non-combat operations. Maratea is capable of reconfiguring her hangar and vehicle decks to store aircraft or vehicles in either hangar and can move them readily between both decks utilizing her portside forward elevator and offload them directly from ship to port utilizing a pair of ramps on her starboard side. Her well deck is capable of housing and holding two LCA hovercraft landers, which serve as the ship's primary ship-to-shore connectors.
Construction
The Maratea-class was designed utilizing commonized modular construction techniques, which allowed for standardized, modular, and expeditious construction, allowing for an average of roughly 2 years from laying-down to launch for most vessels. Construction of all vessels was conducted at Manley Shipyard's facility outside of Runimbla, Smith Island Territory. The first ship, Maratea, was laid down on 23 March 2003, with the final ship, Masahi, being launched on 23 April 2016.
Propulsion
Maratea utilizes a combined diesel electric and gas propulsion system, with two Merrigo TMH-333 gas turbines developing 33,280 shaft horsepower each supplemented by a trio of Merrigo EDN-111 diesel turbines producing 11,000 shaft horsepower each. These produce power for a pair of electric motors driving two Azimuth thruster pods capable of 19,500 shp each.
Armament and protection
As is typical with most conventional warship designs, Maratea has thin armor rated up to 55mm autocannon fire protection on critical areas, with hull protection limited to 30mm or kevlar spall lining elsewhere. Maratea is equipped with a self-defense suite of guns and missiles, including three 16-cell Type 1 ANVIL Vertical Launching System emplacements, two on her superstructure and one forward of her portside elevator, capable of firing CADS-S with 4 missiles per cell, or MSU-14 COSRO anti-submarine rockets. Four Type 40 25mm RCG "Goalkeeper" close-in weapons system mounts are positioned with the aft two on sponsons above the well deck door and the forward two on inboard cut ins, beside a pair of remotely-operated Type 318 30mm chainguns. Six optionally-manned 50 caliber RCW stations are positioned, with two to each side and one mount both fore and aft. Additional defensive and offensive capabilities are offered both by her embarked Marine complement- which has demonstrated the utilization of ship-launched guided rockets and ballistic missiles from her elevators as well as the employment of HMMAV-AD air defense systems- and her air group. Proposals to equip the Maratea-class and other warships with a Modular Strike Component to equip it with organic stand-off cruise or ballistic missiles, or long-range artillery, have been made.
Flight deck and aircraft facilities
Maratea features a through-deck flight deck that is 727 feet long and treated to operate STOVL jet aircraft such as the F-35, although none are currently in service. The flight deck is large enough to simultaneously launch up to eight C11M2 Adjutant tiltrotor aircraft with starboard side deck space reserved for parking and taxiing. She features a 37,156.5 square foot hangar deck that is large enough to hold and handle all of a Commando Task Unit's organic rotarywing aviation. Her flying bridge, located aft, is capable of operating and directing air traffic both to the ship and other nearby vessels in all weather conditions, day or night and features standard TACAN and ILS navigational aides.
She is equipped with two aviation-capable elevators- 1 Elevator and 2 Elevator. 1 Elevator, located at the rear of the flight deck and the aft end of the hangar, exclusively handles aircraft and can move two folded C11M2 Adjutant helicopters to the rear end of the flight deck, and is held in-line with the hull. 2 Elevator is located on the forward middle and port side of the ship, and can transport aircraft and/or vehicles from the vehicle deck and hangar deck up to the flight deck.
Maratea's turbines run off of the same aviation fuel as all of its embarked aircraft and LCA landing craft, which is held in store beneath the well deck and above the machinery space.
727 feet long flight deck, 37,156.5 square feet hangar deck 24,378 square feet vehicle ready deck and deck
Well deck and vehicle handling
The lower aft portion of the ship is preoccupied with a well deck for launching and recovery of landing craft and vehicles. The well deck is large enough to house a pair of LCA hover landing craft, and the 24,378 square foot vehicle deck/ready deck portion is capable of housing a large amount of an embarked CTU's vehicles and supplies. The vehicle deck is served by a pair of starboard-facing elevators that allow Maratea to serve as a roll-on/roll-off ship with its vehicles. A forward elevator can transport additional supplies and material to a 14,145ft flex storage deck, which can also be converted to extra accomodation, hospital space, or other such purposes.
Operational History
The combat debut of the Maratea-class was made in 2015, when Aranui and Tullamarina participated in the Marquesan Emergency. The self-defense equipment of the warships, not seen on prior Meridonian designs, enabled crucial escorting warships to perform more critical tasks elsewhere. The war highlighted Maratea''s ability to conduct landing operations at both stand-off and proximal distances utilizing both sea and air-based insertion methods- they also served as crucial floating hospitals during the conflict, providing robust lifesaving treatment to thousands of both military and civilian casualties.
Maratea-class vessels have been the Navy's go-to humanitarian crisis response vessels and have regularly provided relief and repair operations especially to territories in the Southern Islands Territory after monsoons or tsunamis hitting the area.
Maratea, Aranui, and Mahawe participated in the 2023 New England War, deploying 2 Marine Amphibious Regiment in securing objectives from Long Island to Boston in the two-week war. Her embarked air groups provided combat and humanitarian relief operations up and down the northeastern American seaboard through the entirety of the war.Aranui and her CTU remained on station until late November providing civil and humanitarian assistance to the New England and New York government as well as training to security forces in the area. The war itself saw the air groups of the three CTUs conducting nearly 10,000 cumulative hours of combat flight hours without a single major incident reported.
Tullamarina participated in the 06 November Incident in Joseon, deploying elements of 4 Commando Task Unit and its air element in support of elected Joseonite government institutions to locations across Seoul. The government of Joseon awarded 4 ARG and 4 CTU with commendations for their actions.
Ships in class
| Ship | Pennant number | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRS Maratea | L23 | 23 March 2003 | 12 April 2005 | 03 January 2007 |
| MRS Aranui | L24 | 13 June 2005 | 12 March 2008 | 31 July 2009 |
| MRS Tullamarina | L25 | 02 May 2006 | 21 February 2009 | 20 February 2010 |
| MRS Otahu | L26 | 09 May 2008 | 13 August 2010 | 16 October 2009 |
| MRS Mahawe | L27 | 23 December 2010 | 23 April 2013 | 11 October 2015 |
| MRS Setsuna | L28 | 11 May 2012 | 14 June 2015 | 03 May 2016 |
| MRS Masahi | L29 | 12 November 2014 | 23 April 2016 | 19 August 2018 |
See also
Modern equipment of the Meridonian Navy
Structure of the Meridonian Navy
