Tender for new Aircraft Carrier (MT / OPEN)

[Port Ember]

Republic of Port Ember
Department of Defence

BACKGROUND

The Republic of Port Ember was recently involved in a conventional war and have colonised its opponent, and have thus set in motion many possible near future conflict with disagreeing nations. Furthermore the Republic has recently entered the Global War on Terror. This factors are forcing the Port Ember Security Forces (PESF) to hyper modernise, and quickly. Therefore due to time constraints, Parliament has agreed to allow foreign industry to tender for supplying all types of required arsenal.

Parliament has approved the aquisition of new foreign aircraft carriers for the Port Ember Security Forces Navy.

Any and all capable shipyards are hereby invited to submit their proposal to this office.

REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements are seen as high priority for the new possible aircraft carriers:

- Nuclear Powered
- Carry a minimum of 60 x aircraft.
- Time between launching of aircaft must be minimum.
- State of the art electronic systems.
- State of the art command and control systems (will act as the flagship of the attached flotilla)
- Carrier to be bought with full complement of multi role aircaft (air superiority / close ground support)
- 4 x Total aircraft carriers to be bought.
- Time constraints is a serious issue. After payment, will require the products within minimum time.

Please submit your proposals to this office at your earliest convenience, included with the total cost of the products.

Kind Regards

Honourable Jan Breytenbach
Minister of Defence
Republic of Port Ember

[Trixtoria]

FROM: Federal Defense Force, Procurement Office
TO: The Honourable Jan Breytenbach, Minister of Defence, Republic of Port Ember
SUBJECT: Aircraft Carriers
MESSAGE:
Greetings,
We have seen your posted tender for new aircraft carriers. At this time, we are building new ships for our own fleet, with the assistance of Silverport Dockyards. Using shipyards they have built in our nation, we have launched eight Trixtor-class light carriers. These small and durable ships allow for a small fighter wing, and can serve as refueling/rearming ships for other carrier aircraft during extended operations. They also make excellent ships for convoy escort and ASW operations, and can easily be converted to operate helicopters or as aircraft transports.

But that isn't what you are looking for. You need a large fleet carrier. We are about to commission the first ship of our new Challenger-class fleet carriers. They will be between 80-90 thousand tons at full load, with a max compliment of 70-80 aircraft. Nuclear power, of course, with an angled deck and four EMALS catapults. Also Advanced Arresting gear instead of older hydraulic systems. The class will be fitted with our own version of the Aegis combat system, LCARS-1, which will allow integration with sensors and systems in the entire battle group. Satellite linkup is also supported, thought we don't have our own satellite system at this time. This will allow each ship to operate as a flagship/command ship for it's battle group.

Currently, we have the first ship ready for commissioning, with the second and third hulls nearly completed. You would be welcome to attend the commissioning ceremony*, where we can meet with Silverport executives about extending the production run of the class. Assuming that they can have four drydocks made available, four additional hulls should be able to be completed within 5 NS years. That is only a guestimate, mind you. You would have to negotiate with Silverport on pricing, but with you and ourselves purchasing ships, and with all the R&D already done and paid for, we can spread the cost over a larger production run of the class.
I look forward to speaking with you.

Best regards,
Commodore Michael Chamberlin,
Procurement Office, Federal Defense Force
The Empire of Trixtoria

*getting ready to start an RP with Silverport about the commissioning ceremony, and if you want you'd be welcome to attend.

[The Selkie]

TO: Honourable Jan Breytenbach, Minister of Defence, Republic of Port Ember.

Return Adress: Misstress Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, Oifig House, Board of Directors, Silverport.

Wednesday, 23rd of January, 2019.

Dear Minister,
to introduce myself, I am Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, CEO and representative of Silverport Dockyards Limited, a shipwright in the Free Lands of the Selkie and a shipwright very interested in your request for proposals for a new class of aircraft carriers. We have in our catalogue several designs, which might be of interest to you in that regard.

- First of all, SDY's all time favourite fixed-wing aircraft carrier, the Beag-class Aircraft Carrier. This nuclear powered vessel is equipped with state of the art electronic and command and control systems, which are compatible to most combat network systems in the world. It is capable of acting as a flagship for an entire fleet. Also worth noting is, that the Beag-class Aircraft Carriers can be built relatively quickly, by now we estimate a time between keel-laying and launch of around two years, with an additional year until commissioning. Sadly, however, the Beag-class Aircraft Carrier is designed to support an air group of only around fifty aircraft, depending on type, arrangement and several other factors, with the option to carry ten additional aircraft as reserves.
- Another option from our catalogue would be the Imperial-II-class Aircraft Carrier, a rather unique design as it is an aircraft-carrying Catamaran, with the capability to carry up to 85 aircraft. In many respects, it uses the same systems as the Beag-class Aircraft Carrier, but due to the special hull form, construction of these vessels is considerably slowed.

Please keep in mind, that when I talk about aircraft, I talk about both fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft alike, of which we have several on offer.
Depending on the mission, this aircraft complement would change and be altered, for example for a standard sea control complement of a Beag-class Aircraft Carrier, with its fifty aircraft, SDY would recommend six SDY-Greadtóir 19 Cuaifeach Shipborne Helicopters, twelve SDY-Sciathan 22 Fairtheoir Carrier Support Aircraft and thirty-two SDY-Sciathan 18 Stuama Mark II Light Multirole Fighters. For colonial ambitions, you might want to consider taking SDY-Greadtóir 15 Craiceáilte Mark I Attack-VTOLs along.
If you buy the aircraft with us, or rather our subsidiaries, or our partners at Gabha Blacksmiths Limited, we would be willing to talk about a special discount on your entire order. Additionally, SDY would then host your crews on our yard grounds during the vessels' construction in order for them to familiarize themselves with the vessels before their launch and commissioning into the fleet of the Port Ember Security Forces.

I hope for a quick reply and I remain respectfully yours,
Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork
Representing the Board of Directors of Silverport Dockyards Ltd..

[Port Ember]

Officiol Telegram

To: Procurement Office of the Federal Defense Force and Silverport Dockyards Ltd.
From: Republic of Port Ember - Hon Jan Breytenbach
ATT: Commodore Michael Chamberlin and Misstress Nora Cathlong
Encyption: Normal

Kind greetings!

I wish to heartily thank both parties for your responses to our open tender. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated.

Before I address our options, I will need to address some points:

- The Port Ember Navy has an established and combat tested naval doctrine. I am adement to purchuse equipment and vessels which will fit our existing doctrine- and not change our doctrine to fit new equipment and vessels. In this specific example- my carriers has one main goal: precision air strikes against strategic land targets, while dominating the skies. Our invasion strategy is simple, brutal and effective:

1.Our navy (frigates, cruisers, destroyers) dominates the sea.
2. Our air wing launched from the carriers launches a massed air strike to overwhelm air defences and enemt air assets. (Therefore the need for a large quantity of aircraft on carriers).
3. After air dominance has been obtained, Marines starts with mobile warfare - with spot on air support.
5. The army division attacks from a firm base- with spot on air support.

I hope this helps to make it clear what our needs is regarding to our new carriers and aircraft.

- I am not interested in purchusing a variety of air assets. I have Amphibious Assualt ships which carriers helicopters. For my carriers i need a single type of jet aircraft.

Now to the options laid out:

- Although the Beag Class Carrier is indeed an impressive vessel- we cannot settle for the amount of aircraft it carries.

- The Imperial II class is unfortunately not a vessel that interests us.

- Lastly the proposal of Trixtoria- the Challenger Class seems EXTREMELY promising. This is the reason i am sending this telegram to both parties.

With permission and blessings- i want to propose the following actions:
- I would like to attend the Christening Ceremony personally.
- I would like to see the sea trails reports of the Challenger, as it is still brand new and not yet combat tested.
- I would like to host a visit by Trixtoria AND Silverport Dockyards in Port Ember, to dicuss construction of these ships- if we can all agree to a suitable deal. If available drydocks is a challenge- Port Ember has a vast and modern shipbuilding industry...

Lastly the possible aircraft must be discussed in detail which is compatible with the Challenger.

Kind Regards
Honourable Jan Breytenbach
Minister of Defence
Republic of Port Ember

[Crookfur]

Ooc: sadly as nice as it would be for carriers to operate with just a single aircraft type on board its simply not remotely feasible for a number of reasons.

You need helicopters that can be launched to provide standby
SAR coverage whilst any fixed wing launch or recovery operations are going on. In theory these could be operated from another vessel but that's another layer of coordination and complexity you really don't want to deal with and it hamstrings both the carrier's and the supporting vessel's ability to operate efficiently. Since this is a vital job you naturally need enough airframes to provide 24hr cover plus a couple of spares. Plus helos also provide other important capabilities like carrying mail, spares and personnel.

The other type of aircraft you absolutely need is some kind of AEW/AWACS platform, be a helicopter or fixed wing solution. Without this your carrier and its escorts are effectively blind beyond the horizon.

Tankers and some form of electronic attack capability would also be useful, particularly if you are all about launching that big alpha strike, which will require a lot of your fighters to loiter around as it takes quite some time to launch large numbers of fighters.

[Port Ember]

Ooc: sadly as nice as it would be for carriers to operate with just a single aircraft type on board its simply not remotely feasible for a number of reasons.

You need helicopters that can be launched to provide standby
SAR coverage whilst any fixed wing launch or recovery operations are going on. In theory these could be operated from another vessel but that's another layer of coordination and complexity you really don't want to deal with and it hamstrings both the carrier's and the supporting vessel's ability to operate efficiently. Since this is a vital job you naturally need enough airframes to provide 24hr cover plus a couple of spares. Plus helos also provide other important capabilities like carrying mail, spares and personnel.

The other type of aircraft you absolutely need is some kind of AEW/AWACS platform, be a helicopter or fixed wing solution. Without this your carrier and its escorts are effectively blind beyond the horizon.

Tankers and some form of electronic attack capability would also be useful, particularly if you are all about launching that big alpha strike, which will require a lot of your fighters to loiter around as it takes quite some time to launch large numbers of fighters.

OOC

Quite new to NS to be honest- and this here is why I love this game so much. Learning new stuff everyday.

Thanks for the input. Truly appreciated

[Trixtoria]

Officiol Telegram

To: Procurement Office of the Federal Defense Force and Silverport Dockyards Ltd.
From: Republic of Port Ember - Hon Jan Breytenbach
ATT: Commodore Michael Chamberlin and Misstress Nora Cathlong
Encyption: Normal

Kind greetings!

I wish to heartily thank both parties for your responses to our open tender. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated.

Before I address our options, I will need to address some points:

- The Port Ember Navy has an established and combat tested naval doctrine. I am adement to purchuse equipment and vessels which will fit our existing doctrine- and not change our doctrine to fit new equipment and vessels. In this specific example- my carriers has one main goal: precision air strikes against strategic land targets, while dominating the skies. Our invasion strategy is simple, brutal and effective:

1.Our navy (frigates, cruisers, destroyers) dominates the sea.
2. Our air wing launched from the carriers launches a massed air strike to overwhelm air defences and enemt air assets. (Therefore the need for a large quantity of aircraft on carriers).
3. After air dominance has been obtained, Marines starts with mobile warfare - with spot on air support.
5. The army division attacks from a firm base- with spot on air support.

I hope this helps to make it clear what our needs is regarding to our new carriers and aircraft.

- I am not interested in purchusing a variety of air assets. I have Amphibious Assualt ships which carriers helicopters. For my carriers i need a single type of jet aircraft.

Now to the options laid out:

- Although the Beag Class Carrier is indeed an impressive vessel- we cannot settle for the amount of aircraft it carries.

- The Imperial II class is unfortunately not a vessel that interests us.

- Lastly the proposal of Trixtoria- the Challenger Class seems EXTREMELY promising. This is the reason i am sending this telegram to both parties.

With permission and blessings- i want to propose the following actions:
- I would like to attend the Christening Ceremony personally.
- I would like to see the sea trails reports of the Challenger, as it is still brand new and not yet combat tested.
- I would like to host a visit by Trixtoria AND Silverport Dockyards in Port Ember, to dicuss construction of these ships- if we can all agree to a suitable deal. If available drydocks is a challenge- Port Ember has a vast and modern shipbuilding industry...

Lastly the possible aircraft must be discussed in detail which is compatible with the Challenger.

Kind Regards
Honourable Jan Breytenbach
Minister of Defence
Republic of Port Ember

FROM: Federal Defense Force, Procurement Office
TO: The Honourable Jan Breytenbach, Minister of Defence, Republic of Port Ember
SUBJECT: Aircraft Carriers
MESSAGE:
Greetings,
I am pleased that the Challenger-class meets with your tentative approval. We have great expectations for these new and modern ships. Allow me to respond to specific points that you made:
-You of course are most welcome to attend the Christening and Commissioning Ceremony as an honored guest of our Imperator. An invitation will be delivered via TeleGram once the arrangements have been completed.
-Sea trial reports can be delivered to you by special courier. Obviously, a few details are still classified, such as specific weapons, top speed, sensor specs, etc. If we do agree to a construction deal, these will be made available to you.
-While I cannot speak for our partners in Silverport Dockyards, I would be honored to visit you for further talks.

You also mentioned aircraft compatibility. With the EMALS catapults and Advanced Arrester Gear, these ships will be capable of operating a wide variety of aircraft types. Their flight decks will also be hardened for VTOL aircraft, both rotor and direct-thrust. As for ourselves, we plan on operating with F/A-18C Hornets as fleet defense fighters. The Challenger-class can operate a maximum of 100-110 Hornets, at the expense of all other aircraft types. However, with a mixed air group, numbers can be anywhere between 65-90 aircraft, depending on types and their sizes. We will also be operating the F-14D Super Tomcat as a fleet interceptor. This was at the insistence of our Imperator. However, a replacement aircraft for the F-14D is under development. Also, EA-18G Growler will be our electronic warfare aircraft, due to it's commonality with the Hornet (being based on the Hornet airframe). The rest of the air group will be E-2D Hawkeye AWACS and SH-60 Seahawk helicopters for rescue/supply. If required, we can provide a supply of F-18 Hornets and their variants.

I hope this answers your questions, and I look forward to meeting with you in person.

Best regards,
Commodore Michael Chamberlin,
Procurement Office, Federal Defense Force
The Empire of Trixtoria

(ooc: you CAN limit aircraft types on a large carrier to just strike fighters, a few helo's for rescue and supply, and small group of awacs/tankers. i'm working on an air group of just that. also, click here for an idea of a typical USA carrier air wing. I've found comparing my nation's forces to real life examples is a good way to plan out what you have. Here's a handy tool I use to figure out budgets, which I compare to real life nations for example on what I can afford.)

[The Selkie]

Officiol Telegram

To: Procurement Office of the Federal Defense Force and Silverport Dockyards Ltd.
From: Republic of Port Ember - Hon Jan Breytenbach
ATT: Commodore Michael Chamberlin and Misstress Nora Cathlong
Encyption: Normal

Kind greetings!

I wish to heartily thank both parties for your responses to our open tender. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated.

Before I address our options, I will need to address some points:

- The Port Ember Navy has an established and combat tested naval doctrine. I am adement to purchuse equipment and vessels which will fit our existing doctrine- and not change our doctrine to fit new equipment and vessels. In this specific example- my carriers has one main goal: precision air strikes against strategic land targets, while dominating the skies. Our invasion strategy is simple, brutal and effective:

1.Our navy (frigates, cruisers, destroyers) dominates the sea.
2. Our air wing launched from the carriers launches a massed air strike to overwhelm air defences and enemt air assets. (Therefore the need for a large quantity of aircraft on carriers).
3. After air dominance has been obtained, Marines starts with mobile warfare - with spot on air support.
5. The army division attacks from a firm base- with spot on air support.

I hope this helps to make it clear what our needs is regarding to our new carriers and aircraft.

- I am not interested in purchusing a variety of air assets. I have Amphibious Assualt ships which carriers helicopters. For my carriers i need a single type of jet aircraft.

Now to the options laid out:

- Although the Beag Class Carrier is indeed an impressive vessel- we cannot settle for the amount of aircraft it carries.

- The Imperial II class is unfortunately not a vessel that interests us.

- Lastly the proposal of Trixtoria- the Challenger Class seems EXTREMELY promising. This is the reason i am sending this telegram to both parties.

With permission and blessings- i want to propose the following actions:
- I would like to attend the Christening Ceremony personally.
- I would like to see the sea trails reports of the Challenger, as it is still brand new and not yet combat tested.
- I would like to host a visit by Trixtoria AND Silverport Dockyards in Port Ember, to dicuss construction of these ships- if we can all agree to a suitable deal. If available drydocks is a challenge- Port Ember has a vast and modern shipbuilding industry...

Lastly the possible aircraft must be discussed in detail which is compatible with the Challenger.

Kind Regards
Honourable Jan Breytenbach
Minister of Defence
Republic of Port Ember

TO: Honourable Jan Breytenbach, Minister of Defence, Republic of Port Ember.

Return Adress: Misstress Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, Oifig House, Board of Directors, Silverport.

Thursday, 24th of January, 2019.

Dear Minister,
such a meeting between us, the Trixtorian FDF and you in order to establish a construction contract can be arranged. I will personally attend the commissioning ceremony and I look forward to meeting you in person.
As for the purchase of a singular type of aircraft for the carriers, one geared towards ground attack missions, I can only and still recommend to you the SDY-Sciathan 22 Fairtheoir Carrier Support Aircraft, which is quite a potent attack aircraft (although not jet-powered, but a turboprop-plane) - if that is still your plan, that is. We can discuss the specifics in person.

I remain respectfully yours,
Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork
Representing the Board of Directors of Silverport Dockyards Ltd...