Thor class Nuclear-Powered Battleship (BBN)
Introduction:The Thor class BBN is the ultimate incarnation of the modern battleship; big guns, huge missile capacity, and armour thick enough to shrug off all but the most massive attacks. A single Thor has enough firepower to sink a fleet or effectively render a fleet invulnerable to attack. Construction of a single Thor takes 108 months and costs 56.3 Billion Universal Standard Dollars.
Basic Design:The Thor class is designed to be the hammer of the fleet, smashing anything that stands in its way. Its dimensions are 550 meters long, 74.16 meters waterline beam (although the internal protections against torpedoes, missiles, and shells reduce internal usable beam to 71.41 meters), a normal draft of 15.9 meters, and displaces a maximum of 539,737 tons. The hull, superstructure, and bulkheads are constructed of tri-modal aluminum, a composite material which has the lightness of armour grade aluminum but the toughness of armour grade steel. The aforementioned internal protection system consists of a 11.5” thick belt that utilizes a honeycomb design which allows for greater strength in resisting side torpedo impacts and has the added benefit of miniature crush zones, behind this is the primary crush zone which consists of void space and a honeycomb sub-frame for added structural integrity, after which sits a 39” thick belt of composite armour (which uses tri-modal aluminum armour as its main component but also features other materials to deal with munitions designed to defeat solid metal armour), and finally the honeycomb frame featuring a displaced keel for added protection against torpedoes which the entire armour system is mounted on. Internally, as mentioned above, all horizontal and vertical bulkheads are constructed of tri-modal aluminum and structural bulkheads are reinforced in the traditional manner.
The Thor class is designed to berth 2,113 under normal operating conditions and can operate with a skeleton crew of 1,414. Furthermore, the ship can house a single company of Marines and has emergency overflow berths for 710 personnel.
Aviation:A 5,500 square meter helicopter deck is placed just aft of a hangar capable of housing twelve large naval helicopters internally, which is itself integrated into the superstructure. To aid with landings in rough sea states, a “Bear Trap” style device is installed. Also, gear for launching and recovering UAVs is installed as standard and space is given for twelve such vehicles in addition to VTOL storage.
Magazine space for depth charges and light torpedoes is shared with the ship's own internal magazines for protection against fires and explosions caused by missile hits to the hangar. Aviation gas is housed internally and pumped up into the hangar bay for refueling operations. For protection against fires within the hangar proper, a halon gas system separate from the ship's main fire suppression system is installed.
Artillery:Six 550mm/64 ETC guns are housed in three gun turrets, one turret just forward of the superstructure and one on the quarterdeck. Each turret is capable of firing at 9 rounds per minute and the guns are rated for elevations of -2 and +45 degrees independent of each other. Maximum range for a standard (basebleed) shell weighing 7,019 pounds is 111.8 kilometers, with ranges for boosted ammunition varying depending on the type of propulsion and other factors. Magazine capacity is 297 rounds per gun.
Twelve 165mm/64 ETC guns are housed in three-gun superfiring turrets flanking the forward and aft sections of the superstructure. Each turret is capable of firing at 150 rounds per minute and the guns rated for elevations of -5 and +60 degrees independent of each other. Maximum range for a standard (basebleed) shell weighing 150 pounds is 58.8 kilometers, with ranges for boosted ammunition varying depending on the type of propulsion and other factors. Magazine capacity is 450 rounds per gun.
Thirteen Mk52 Combination Anti-Missile Defense stations are mounted in pairs forward and aft of the secondary gun mounts, flanking the rear superstructure, on the fantail, and one is mounted far forward on the bow. Each station mounts four 40mm ETC Gatling guns with a maximum rate of fire of 3,600 rounds per minute and 12 anti-missile missiles. This system can engage incoming missiles at a ranges of up to 10 kilometers.
Twelve 25mm ETC naval autocannons; eight in raised twin gun turrets flanking the superstructure forward and aft, and four in single gun mounts superfiring over the forward pairs of Mk52 CAMD. They have a maximum rate of fire of 400 rounds per minute and a range of 7.5 kilometers.
Missiles:Twenty-four 144-missile (12x12) Mk84 Strategic-Length VLS are mounted forward of the A turret and represent the primary combat firepower of the Thor. Measuring 1.4m wide by 14.4m deep, they are capable of fitting a one very large land attack, anti-ship, or anti-aircraft missile or multi-packing smaller missiles. Each block is surround by a 39” thick belt of tri-modal aluminum to prevent penetration through the side of the block or, in a worst case scenario, to force chain reaction explosions upwards.
Lasers:One 3.2Mw Carbon Dioxide laser is mounted forward of the citadel. The laser assemblies themselves are installed vertically behind the citadel and are aimed by a mirror ball assembly. Under ideal conditions the laser has a range of 100km and is meant to provide fleet-level defense against ballistic missiles, large supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles, and even large artillery shells.
Four 500kw Carbon Dioxide CIWS lasers are mounted vertically within the citadel at the extreme corners and are topped by ball mirror assemblies. It is a reliable and fast tracking system that is capable of destroying large anti-ship missiles and small artillery shells.
Underwater Weaponry:For use against mines and torpedoes, especially in poor sonar conditions, eight 50mm railguns firing supercavitating slugs are mounted. The railguns are mounted as pairs flanking the mid superstructure and just aft of the A turret. The railguns have a maximum range of 150m and have a maximum rate of fire of 60 rounds per minute.
Four 1,000mm torpedo tubes are mounted in pairs above the waterline and at the forward extreme of the bow on either side. Magazine capacity is 30 super heavyweight torpedoes and 120 lightweight torpedoes (this magazine capacity is taken up by “interceptor” torpedoes in the Rigsforbund Søværnet).
Countermeasures:The ship mounts ten Mk10 mortar decoy launchers capable of launching a number of anti-missile and anti-torpedo spoofing rounds. Further, it is possible to launch shore bombardment rounds from the 12” tubes, although no such munitions are yet deployed with the Rigsforbund Søværnet.
For electronic countermeasures, the ship uses the Mk650 “Doberman” Combined Electronic Warfare Suite. Not only is the system capable of the complete array of radar spoofing, but it can jam mid-course correction and other telemetry links plus use the ship's radars as directed energy weapons in certain circumstances.
Finally, the Mk15 towed decoy is installed for use against torpedoes. Fourteen total decoys are carried aboard ship and seven can be deployed at a time to mimic the Thor's propulsion.
Sensors:The primary means of threat detection is the FUOR-24D I-band LPI radar system. Two sets of four panels are mounted on the forward mack in order to provide three dimensional tracking and targeting of up to 1,728 simultaneous air and surface targets at a range of up to 780 kilometers (where the horizon allows).
As a backup to the FUOR-24D, the FUOR-18D K-band NPI radar is installed on the aft mack with four omnidirectional panels. It provides all-weather targeting and tracking out to 362 kilometers and allows for the simultaneous tracking and engagement of 576 contacts.
The FRIR-70 E-band phased array radar is also installed on the forward mack and allows for tracking and targeting of edge-of-space and orbital threats to the fleet.
Over-the-horizon tracking and targeting is provided primarily by two surface effect radar sets. The FSR-3D is comprised of four super-directional radars (flanking the forward and aft macks) which provide tracking and targeting of airborne and surface targets out to 370 kilometers. The second surface effect radar is the FSR-4D; because it is only a single array it is limited to 140 kilometers and its targeting abilities are limited; it is essentially a backup to the primary set.
Line-of-site tracking and targeting is provided by two Mk5 LIDAR arrays. Short range fire direction is provided by three FUOR-40 LPI radars.
Subsurface tracking is provided by a bow-mounted UG-48 sonar array and UG-60 towed-line array. Also mounted are two UG-600 flank arrays, which allow for the triangulation of passive signals in conjunction with with UG-48 bow array. Supplementing the sonar arrays is the UGL-4 blue-green LADAR array, which has a range and resolution comparable to the UG-48. Tied directly to the ship's underwater defenses is the UGL-6 close-in LADAR array, which is a short range and high precision array meant to track and target point threats such as torpedoes and mines.
Command and Control:As the Thor is the heart of any fleet, the 'Yggdrasil' Strategic Command and Control Suite. Taking the concept of standard theatre C4i suites a step further, it allows for the collection and processing of data from all available sources worldwide; this ability is invaluable as it allows a fleet commander to be fully informed before committing to combat and the real time update features keep a fleet commander apprised of any additional threats during combat. Perhaps what is most astonishing is that the 'Yggdrasil' SCCS can actually take over another ship's command and control functions should they be unable to do so, which gives a fleet an invaluable advantage in redundancy.
Derived from the Freethinkers' NG04/05 Naval Gunnery Suite, the Mk85 NGS continues the tradition of superlative gunfire control that allows standard artillery to achieve accuracies that were only previously possible with guided munitions.
Accommodations and Facilities:The Thor is a massive ship with a relatively small crew, so it stands to reason that the facilities for morale and recreation would not be out of place in a 5 star hotel. All messes and wardrooms are equipped with the largest and most advanced HDTVs on the market, as well as the latest and greatest in other home theater peripherals. Further, there are several fully equipped gyms, three indoor gunnery ranges, two cinemas, and the ability to install other recreational facilities in unused areas.
All enlisted (Navy and Marine) and junior NCOs are housed in four man berths, senior NCOs and cadets in two man berths, and officers have berths to themselves of various size depending on their rank. Every berth enjoys an HDTV, video player, 60ghz gigabyte wireless LAN connection with full military encryption, and secure storage for laptops in lightly armoured compartments.
Propulsion:Power is provided by two 500Mw Ascension Nuclear supercritical water reactors.
Propulsion is provided by two steam turbines supplying 495Mw to six omnidirectional heavy waterjets. Cruise speed is 28 knots, normal top speed is 32 knots, and the ship is capable of producing flat-out sprints of 39 knots for short distances. Four bow thrusters are also installed for maneuvering in congested areas.
Refueling takes place every 15-20 years, although the Rigsforbund insists that for safety and control reasons that customers bring their ships to an Union port for refueling.