Plan 1159 weapon trials ship
 TMS-751 as she appeared when commissioned.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | Menghe |
| Built: | 2001-2004 |
| In commission: | 2004-present |
| Planned: | 1 |
| Completed: | 1 |
| Active: | 1 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type: | Weapon trials ship |
| Displacement: | 4,490 tonnes full load |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 17.1 m |
| Draught: | 4.55 m |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 22 knots |
| Range: | 4,000 nautical miles (7,500 km) at 15 knots |
| Complement: |
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| Sensors and processing systems: | |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: | 2 × D-107 datalink |
| Armament: |
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| Aviation facilities: |
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The Plan 1159 weapon trials ship is a type of auxiliary ship operated by the Menghean Navy. It possesses some combat capability by virtue of its armament and equipment, but it is primarily designed to conduct at-sea trials of various weapon and sensor systems, and to support live-fire training exercises. Only one ship in the class was built, with the hull number TMS-751 and no name.
Background and development
After the resolution of the Renkaku Islands dispute in 2001, Dayashina lifted its military export restrictions on Menghe, permitting a flurry of import and licensing agreements with Dayashina, Banbha, and Hallia. As the Menghean Navy accelerated design work new warship classes built around the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System and Suijin Combat System, the Ministry of National Defense issued a request for a dedicated auxiliary ship to check the Mk41's integration with new radar systems and to test-fire new vertically-launched munitions in development.
Previously, the Menghean Navy had used one-off conversions of merchant ships and landing ships to conduct weapon and sensor trials, or simply modified individual warships during their construction (e.g., the Yobu-class destroyer Maepo or the Mugunghwa-class corvette Juksun. Following the growth of Menghe's shipbuilding sector in the 1990s, and in light of the rapid rate of new research and development anticipated by Menghean engineers, the Menghean Navy opted to build a dedicated weapon trials ship using the Plan 1159 design already conceived in 2000.
Description
With an overall length of 117 meters, the Plan 1159 weapon trials ship is about the size of a large corvette or small frigate, and at a glance, appears to resemble a corvette in armament. The foredeck sports a 76mm main gun, the HP-76/1 Type 03--a derivative of the AK-176 in a low-RCS angular composite shell and with a new backup optical fire-control system. TMS-751 was the first Menghean vessel to carry the Type 03 version of the 76mm gun, testing its reliability before its installation on the Yechŏn-class frigates and Mirun-class corvettes.
Between this gun and the superstructure is an 8-cell strike-length Mark 41 VLS module, installed during fitting-out at Songsu-do Naval Base. When TMS-751 was first commissioned, the only Mk41-compatible missiles in Menghe's arsenal were the YDG-60 (licensed SM-2MR) and YDG-62 (licensed SM-2ER); as time progressed, more and more missiles would be added to the list, beginning with the YDG-7G and HŎ-3 Ryongorŭm. As commissioned, TMS-751 lacked a powerful enough radar to acquire targets in the YDG-62's full firing range, and it would have to operate alongside a separate missile range instrumentation ship and receive targeting information via datalink.
The initial sensor suite was meant to simulate that of a Yechŏn-class frigate, with a SMART-S air search radar, an HR-44N short-range search radar, a STIR 2.4 LR illumination radar for missile guidance, and an MR-123 radar for 76mm gun fire control. Over the ship's service life, these sensors were periodically switched out with new ones, as when the MR-123 was replaced by a STIR 1.2 to test the latter's integration with the HP-76/1. The ship never carried sonar equipment of any kind, whether towed or hull-mounted, and had to conduct HŎ-3 test firings in conjunction with other sonar-equipped ships.
On the aft half of the ship is a large helideck and a hangar structure. The hangar is large enough to store a Gyundoan-Han GH-28 Ppulsoeori, including space for maintenance and partial disassembly--more maintenance space, in fact, than the Yechŏn-class frigates, whose low hangar ceiling did not originally leave room to lift out the rotor hub. The landing deck is also very spacious, possibly to aid in helicopter takeoff and landing training, or perhaps to allow test landings with larger helicopters in the future. Tiedown points on the landing deck's surface allow the mounting of heavier equipment to this deck, including missile launch boxes and drone launch rails.
TMS-751 was never fitted with the GBM-23/5 Bulkkot close-in weapon system, nor any of its derivatives, nor with launchers for the YDG-61. These were tested on other weapon trials ships. Nor was this ship fitted with alongside underway replenishment equipment, though she did test some erectable or portable underway receiving posts.
Role
Though officially designated as a "weapon trials ship" (tamgu mugi sihŏmsŏn), the Plan 1159 is capable of undertaking a wide variety of auxiliary roles, including:
- Testing the at-sea performance of new radar and weapon systems;
- Testing the integration of guns and missiles with new radars and fire-control systems;
- Test-firing Mk41-compatible missiles in development;
- Test-firing box-launched missiles from launchers installed on the helicopter deck;
- Hosting at-sea test flights of new helicopter variants;
- Hosting at-sea test flights of new rail-launched or recoverable UAVs;
- Hosting takeoff and landing training for helicopter pilots;
- Hosting cadets from training ships to familiarize them with new sensor and weapon systems in operation;
- Launching target drones for live-fire exercises from other ships and aircraft;
- Taking part in fleet or battlegroup maneuvering exercises; and
- Measuring the radar signatures of missiles and aircraft on Menghean naval radar systems.
Because it carries a 76mm gun, a Mk41 VLS system, and an air search radar, the Plan 1159 weapon trials ship is theoretically capable of taking on combat roles in wartime, for example by operating as an escort ship for convoys or a patrol ship in rear areas. Its lack of hull sonar, however, would seriously limit its effectiveness against undersea threats, and it is not built to military structural standards.
Operational service
Immediately after commissioning, TMS-751 conducted test-firings of Menghean license-built YDG-60 and YDG-62 surface-to-air missiles. These licensed missiles were already proven to work with the STIR 2.4 fire-control radar and Mark 41 VLS in foreign service, but testing aboard TMS-751 provided an opportunity to confirm the quality of Menghean-manufactured models and familiarize officers and skilled crew with their operation. She also provided an opportunity to test the HP-76/1 naval gun, including its composite shell's resistance to the elements in real at-sea operation.
In 2005 and 2006, in between minor refits and maintenance checks, TMS-751 conducted live-fire tests with the YDG-7G and HŎ-3 Ryongorŭm, securing their approval for use on the Yechŏn-class frigates (the HŎ-3 entered operational service in 2007, a few months after HO-324 Yechŏn was commissioned).