Nemesis Class Command Surface Vessel
 Profile of a Nemesis Class vessel, Port Side.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | FDI Group (Initial designers of Doujin Class, builders of original hull & superstructure), The Nemesis Project (reconstruction and reconfiguration) |
| Operators: |
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| Preceded by: | none |
| Succeeded by: | none |
| Cost: | $862,800 million (including infrastructure costs, and the cost of Gracie Units) |
| In commission: | 2 |
| Active: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Super Heavy Surface Combatant |
| Displacement: | 2,850,000 tonnes |
| Length: | 985m |
| Beam: | 149m (main hull), 72m (outer hulls), 298m (total width) |
| Draft: | 28.5m |
| Propulsion: | 6 AE Shipboard Fusion Reactors, 4 Waterjets, 12 Port Waterjets |
| Speed: | 27 knots |
| Range: | Theoretically Unlimited (Limits on Crew Endurance, and periodic refuel required). |
| Complement: | 150 Officers, 280 E-7+ Petty Officers, 7,200 Enlisted |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
AE/RA-59 Air and Sea Search Radar AE/RA-59 Fire Control Radar AE/RA-59 Gun Control Radar AE/SO-42 Sonar Suite |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
AE/EW-57 Electronics Warfare Suite AE/DE-59 Infrared and Radar Decoy Suite |
| Armament: |
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6,000 500mm VLS Cells (double stacked) armed with:
4 ACAS 500mm Mass Driving Cannons (2 Turrets) 8 ACAS 155mm ETC Cannon 36 75mm Automatic Cannons 80 ACAS 30mm CIWS 36 Marcs CL3A Laser CIWS Turrets 48 MkXIV ASWM Launchers (Arm Launcher) 24 ACAS 30mm Underwater Mass Driving Cannons |
| Armor: | Multilayer Titanium and Composite Armor |
| Aircraft carried: | 50 Eurofighter Cyclone, 4 E-101 Little Eye, 10 UA-12 Damocles, 6 UAR-4 Ghost Reaper, 5 UV-24 Swiftfox (Further accommodation for 15 additional craft with full services in starboard hull, additional amphibious assault hull with facilities for and additional 80-100 VTOL Aircraft) |
| Aviation facilities: | Starboard Carrier Hull (Fixed Wing and VTOL), Port Amphibious Assault Hull (VTOL only) servicing under both hulls with additional service and storage space in a secondary "transit" area between both hulls. |
| Notes: | Gracie Artificial Intelligences serving aboard both Nemesis Class vessels. |
The Nemesis Class Command Surface Vessel is a Commonwealth application of the concept of the "Super Dreadnought", which is to say a super heavy surface combatant seagoing vessel intended to provide heavy fire support and act as the center of fleets. The Nemesis itself is a test bed of several concepts that are new to the Commonwealth, most prominently are the two concepts of the Super Dreadnought itself, and the issue of status for Sapient Artificial Intelligences within both CODFOR and within wider society. The Nemesis Class is built upon the refurbished hulls of an older class, the Doujin Class of The Freethinker Commonwealth, and is loosely configured around similar principles (given the limitations that refurbishing an old hull particularly one of such great size impose). The Nemesis represents the pinnacle of Commonwealther naval technology with several systems designed as a part of the Nemesis Project, oftentimes built exclusively for mounting on Nemesis Class Vessels. Currently there are two Nemesis Class vessels in service (with no plans for more), both of which are named for Winged Deities in Greek Mythology (CNS Nemesis and CNS Nike respectively).
Construction & Expected Service
Throughout the late 2050s, there was intense debate among Naval Planners within the Ministry of Defense. The conflict was between 'modernists' and 'prestigists', over the nature of the Commonwealth's planned heavy vessel programs. The 'modernist' side, believing solely in the power of the carrier as the sole projector of force, and minimizing the role of surface vessels in naval warfare, was counterbalanced by the 'prestigist' view of a more balanced force at the highest levels of naval combat. Though the more 'modernist' planners won most initial debates regarding Naval funding, the 'prestigists' did managed to secure monies for the building of the Charybdis Class of vessels. The constantly advancing technology of missiles, and the high mortality rate among combat pilots in the Commonwealth's deployed Carrier Air Wing during the Phonencian War, helped revive support for a "missile-naught" in the War Ministry and within Parliament which had been steadily increasing the defense budget since "The Opening". The increasingly prevalent view of the Imerian State as a strategic threat to the Commonwealth's long term ambitions in the Mist Continent, and the subsequent increasing fear of the seemingly primitive, yet powerful Fasan Class, helped secure a mandate for the commissioning of a new class of "Super Dreadnought" in the Commonwealth Navy, if only as a proof of concept. In short order, a design bureau referred to as The Nemesis Project was created to undertake the massive project.
The first major initial challenge to Naval designers was the hull of the ship. Commonwealthers had up to that point never even considered constructing or working with a ship of the required size. As a result of this the infrastructure was quite simply nonexistent. Initial projections (once the challenge of building a hull that size from was fully appreciated) expected such a project to take nearly thirty years to complete even with the latest available technology in 3d printing and nanotechnology, as building vessels that massive from scratch was out of reach with existing marine construction infrastructure. Given that budgetary legislators were expecting results in a much shorter time frame, designers had to find an existing hull that would meet the requirements set by the Naval department. The planners in the Nemesis Project proved themselves to be extraordinarily lucky as they made contact with a breaker's yard in the Freethinker Commonwealth, and had managed to secure the stripped down hulls and superstructures of two decommissioned Doujin Class vessels that had been slatted for scrapping. Given that the hulls were being prepared for breaking, the designers managed to secure the hulls for a very low cost, and used savings to quickly build massive retrofitting dry docks in the Bayo Serpiente in Isla Verde, while the hulls were prepared for towing back to Commonwealther territory.
The second major challenge was then designing a possible reconfiguration and retrofit that could reawaken the massive vessels. While initial designs (before the securing of the Doujin hulls), were oriented around the construction of a mono hull "'pure' missile-naught", the Doujin hulls being trimaran, with the outboard hulls clearly oriented around a carrier layout required a major redesign of the original Commonwealther concept. The design was re-envisioned as a "Force Projection Command Ship" serving both as a super heavy surface combatant and as a theater level command center for inter-service and multi-fleet operations. The starboard secondary hull was envisioned as a fleet level aircraft carrier with a full air wing, to protect the ship, and its supporting fleet against enemy air attack. The port secondary hull was envisioned as an amphibious assault ship with the capacity to support a brigade independently for the duration of a short term operation. Also added to the design was a small (relative to some Super Dreadnoughts) set of massive guns to provide backup for the massive arsenal of missiles that would serve as the main armament of the new ship.
The last major hurdle was the actual cobbling together of the ship. While the engineers of the Nemesis Project had performed a miracle, setting up the massive infrastructure necessary to retrofit the vessels, the task was still daunting. The Doujin hulls were in a sorry state, having been only a few months away from scrapping before having been purchased. In spite of this Nemesis Project workers managed to refurbish the hulls in a miraculous amount of time (owing largely to the massive improvements in Naval Construction technique, coming out of the lessons learned with the construction of the Charybdis Class), cutting two years off of the estimated construction time. After the refurbishing of the hulls came the matter of retrofitting and constructing the ship. The initial design had been worked out, and due in large part to the aforementioned advances in Naval construction technique managed to finish well under the initial goal, though not nearly as under budget. The vessels were commissioned on 30. September. 2065, slightly more than eight years after the start of the project.
With the recent commissioning of the vessels, there is still some problem with the deployment of the Nemesis Class vessels. It is widely believed that they will be attached to the 4th and 7th Fleets where they will be of great utility to counteract the smaller but more numerous Fasan Class vessels of the Imerian Federal Navy, and to be forward deployed in off-world holdings where they can rapidly respond to the vastly more common foreign threats in that vector invasion. The Nemesis Class, having been built almost entirely of the latest military technology, and as a proof of concept in many ways will almost certainly serve with the most active elements of the Commonwealth Defense Force.
Design
The Nemesis Class Command Surface Vessel is designed to fulfill three roles within the Commonwealth Heavy. The first of these roles is as a Super Heavy surface combatant and as a "Fasan Killer", to complete this task the Nemesis comes heavily armed with a massive arsenal of surface to air, surface to surface, and surface to sub-surface missiles, as well as massive 500mm Mass Driving Cannon. The second of these roles, is as a "Command Vessel" capable of serving as a multi-fleet or theater level command center, which it is capable of due to its highly advanced sensor and communications suite. The third is as a support ship for a brigade level operational force, which it performs with its weaponry and as a logistical hub and base from its port side hull.
Powerplant & Propulsion
The Nemesis Class comes equipped with a prodigious total of six highly advanced AE ship board Fusion Reactors which provide for the massive power requirements of the ship. One of these reactors is dedicated to powering the fairly efficient but massive waterjets used for propelling the ship; another is dedicated to powering the massive Mass Drivers of the ship for extensive combat operations; the remaining four power all of the other systems of the ship. The Nemesis Class is propelled by four massive waterjets which enable the Nemesis to travel at a cruising speed of 27 knots under favorable conditions. Additionally there are twelve smaller waterjets used for fine maneuvering in tight spaces.
Armament
The Nemesis Class boasts an enormous arsenal of offensive weapons, the most formidable of which are the main guns and the SLBM launchers mounted on the main hull. There are four main guns, in pairs, mounted on turrets on the main hull. They are 500mm Mass Driving Cannon, which are enormously powerful capable of engaging targets at ranges of nearly 200km with devastating firepower. They do have a massive power requirement, using an entire fusion reactor's energy output in the case of sustained fire. The other main weapon of the Nemesis, the 'Damocles' SLBM launchers are nuclear armed missiles primarily for engaging enemy Super Dreadnoughts and their accompanying fleet after smaller missiles have overtaxed their defense systems, though they could be used in a strategic nuclear strike if necessary, there are thirty two of these missiles. In addition to these main weapons are the massive missile batteries of the Nemesis which consist of 4,000 1,000mm missile tubes and 6,000 500mm missile tubes (all of which are double stacked, with a thin nanofiber divider in between), to ensure the long term combat prowess of the Nemesis, as well ASW arm missile launchers. Rounding out the offensive firepower of the Nemesis Class are 8 155mm ETC cannons mounted on the outer sides of the secondary hulls used for engaging smaller targets at closer ranges, and 24 small Underwater Mass Driving Cannon used to engage submerged targets as well as hostile torpedoes.
Defenses
The Nemesis Class also has a thick multilayer defensive blanket. At the outer band are the Surface to Air missiles which can engage most targets are ranges from 5km-over the horizon (in the case of Anti-Ballistic Missiles). Within those defenses are CIWS weapons in the form of Lasers, heavy cannons, and light cannons scattered all along critical sections of the hull. Some of the cannons could also be used to engage small watercraft if need be. The CIWS net is expected to be responsible for a range band from 50m to 20km. As last ditch measures the Nemesis sports numerous decoy launchers as well as the latest EW jamming suite which is hoped to spoof missiles that have entered within 800m of the ship. If all else fails, the Nemesis is one of the most heavily armored vessels in the Commonwealth Navy, with a highly advanced honeycomb structure and multilayer Titanium and Composite Armor.
Electronics
The Nemesis Class was equipped with the latest in Commonwealther military electronics, and software. As a designated "Command Ship" the Nemesis Class is given an extremely advanced, and powerful communications suite (which is keyed in as a capital ship to the Commonwealth Navy's Battlenet) that enables it to communicate over prodigious distances and with several ships to coordinate actions with extreme effectiveness. Additionally the Nemesis comes equipped with a powerful Air and Search radar array as well as the extremely advanced NP/OTHRA-61 'Metis' Over the Horizon Search and Fire Control Radar which enables the Nemesis to locate and track nearly 55,000 objects over multi-thousand kilometer distances with a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Gracie Artificial Intelligences
As part of a dramatic new initiative by the Commonwealth Government to engage a paradigm shift in public perception and legal status with Sapient Artificial Intelligences (SAI), the Commonwealth's government struck a deal with the governments of New Dornalia to produce two Gracie Artificial Intelligence programs for service as equal members of the crew on board Nemesis Class ships. These two Gracies (named Nemo and Nikki respectively), were created and brought into service as an experiment to demonstrate to the average Commonwealther citizens that SAI is a benign development at worst, and that SAI entities deserve the right to exist as much as Organic Intelligences (OI), and to start a path to granting citizenship to digital entities. As a result both Gracies have been put into important positions on board Nemesis Class ships (that of Unit Morale Officer).
Air Wing
The Nemesis Class supports an indigenous air wing similar to that of the remaining Gerald Ford class vessels in the Commonwealth Naval Service. The organic air wing is based on the starboard hull of Nemesis Class vessels, and consists of 50 Eurofighter Cyclone, 4 E-101 Little Eye, 10 UA-12 Damocles, 6 UAR-4 Ghost Reaper, and 5 UV-24 Swiftfox aircraft, though the carrier hull does allow for 15 additional aircraft to be serviced if operating at maximum capacity. Most of the fixed wing servicing capability is located in the starboard carrier hull though additional storage is possible if one makes use of the central hangar that runs between hulls, though doing so reduces support for amphibious assault operations. The Deck is a flat top, with four electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft, as well as two recovery systems and two external aircraft elevators. Service systems for Aircraft are located underneath the flight deck in the starboard secondary hull.
Amphibious Support
The port hull is the primary supporter of Amphibious Operations. This hull serves as a large Amphibious Assault Ship, capable of supporting the operations of a Brigade sized element of Air Assault or Light Infantry formations, or a Regiment of heavier troops. The port hull has a large flat surface upon which VTOLS of all size can take off and land with three external elevators on the hull, and service areas under the main deck. Additional storage is located in the central hangar. The Nemesis, if fully stocked (and optimized for an amphibious support mission) can support the activities of a Brigade sized force for three months of limited "peacekeeping" operation, or for a single month of heavier combat operation.
Ships in Service
| Ship Name | Hull Number | Shipyard | Launched | Commissioned | Home Port | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNS Nemesis | CBVN-1 | Nemesis Project Shipyard | 27. June. 2062 | 30. September. 2065 | Corazón del Rio, Isla Verde | In Service |
| CNS Nike | CBVN-2 | Nemesis Project Shipyard | 27. June. 2062 | 30. September. 2065 | Port Fairhaven, Veiled Isle | In Service |