Type-24 frigate
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Type-24 frigate |
| Builders: | Arthuristan Dynamics |
| Operators: | Commonwealth Navy, Nekulturnyan Navy (formerly) |
| Preceded by: | Archer-class frigate |
| Succeeded by: | Ahriman-class frigate |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,200 tonnes |
| Length: | 113.4m |
| Beam: | 13.1m |
| Draught: | 4.5m |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft CODOG system, 2 x Apollo Motors Super Wayfarer diesel engines (4,500 shp each), 1x Rollers Engineering Olympus TM3 gas turbine |
| Speed: | 28kn |
| Range: | 8,000 kilometres (15 knots) |
| Troops: | Up to 54 marines |
| Complement: | 180 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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Mod 2:
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| Armament: |
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Mod 2:
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| Armour: | steel shrapnel sheets, kevlar spall liners |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 x Lynx helicopter |
The Type-24 "Ajax-class" is an Arthuristan class of general purpose patrol frigate. Introduced in the late-70s as an ASW-oriented design, the Type-24 was small, rugged, reliable and very cheap to build, a 'no-frills' ship without many of the luxuries of a modern surface combatant: long range air search radar, area defence missile, vertical launch systems and the like. It was, in short an mass-produceable escort ship which, in a full scale war, would be used as an 'attrition-friendly' asset to protect merchant convoys. Due to the fact that these ships are often required to operate in littoral zones, many of them are fitted with up to four 20mm autocannons for self-defence against small boats, many of them stripped from older warships, refurbished and reused.
These frigates were no larger than their predecessor, the Archer-class frigate, and measurably cheaper to operate and maintain due to their use of a simple CODOG propulsion scheme, utilising a pair of ordinary commercial diesel engines in most circumstances, as opposed to the Archer's steam turbines. In fact, so simple were they to manufacture that small commercial shipyards were often contracted to construct them. Produced in substantial numbers, these were used to police Arthurista's exclusive economic zone and escort convoys of merchant ships, freeing up larger and more capable vessels for the high sea task forces of the Commonwealth Navy.
Like its predecessor, the Type-24 was primarily intended for operation in the North Thalassan Ocean. As such, it is adapted to operate in a hostile environment in which storm tides and sea ice are constant problems. The forecastle is shaped such that the fore armaments and bridge remain dry, even in very turbulent seas, and can accumulate sea ice on deck weighing tens of metric tons without affecting its stability.
The Mod 2 upgrade of the 1990's introduced certain improvements, such as an enhanced air and sea search radar, the substitution of Sea Wolf with RAM, and an enhanced sonar suite. Many remain in service with the Commonwealth Navy.