Royal Vestrician Navy
Second Rank Frigates
Uchigatana-class Anti-Submarine Frigates
The Type 26 frigate, also known as Uchigatana-class frigate in Royal Vestricia, is a class of frigates being built for the newly-reformed Royal Vestrician Federation's Royal Vestrician Navy. Its primary role is to conduct advanced anti-submarine warfare missions while supporting air defense and general purpose operations. The type is the first naval platform participated and shared by Royal Vestricia with Great Britain after the Type 45 PAAMS program.
In June 2017, the Vestrician Government alongside the Vestrician Admiralty,announced that it had selected a modified version of the Type 26 platform as the planned replacement for its Stadtfeld-class frigate. This will see the Royal Vestrician Navy initially intend on procuring up to ten, divided into two different batches, Uchigatana-class frigates, which will be constructed by BAE Systems - Maritime Ships at their shipyard in Rosenworth Academic City-state.
Development
BAE Systems (Type 26/Global Combat Ship)
BAE Systems offered an export variant of its Type 26. The Type 26 and the smaller, cheaper Type 31 will replace the Royal Navy's Type 22 and Type 23 frigate fleets.
The Type 26 in UK service will be equipped with an advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, a 24-cell strike length Mk 41 VLS for long-range strike weapons such as the Tomahawk, a 48-cell vertical launch silo (VLS) for Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles, a 5-inch gun, and is capable of landing a Chinook helicopter on its flight deck.
On 19 June 2017, the Vestrician Government announced that the Type 26 had been selected to fulfill the newly-reformed Royal Vestrician Navy's New Generation Frigate requirement. It was supported by the Vestrician Admiralty on 30 August 2017. The Government also announced that the ships were to be built in Vestricia with Vestrician-specific modifications and would be named the “Uchigatana-class” in Vestrician service.
2022 Review
In September 2022, Prime Minister Shiena Mari Shaing Ricarte announced major changes in the surface fleet of the Royal Vestrician Navy with the Uchigatana class order of ten ships will divided into two batches with different weapon suites to cater the needs of the navy to its return to global stage from imperialist and aggressively defensive stance of the Cold War to a monarchical and democratic stance in the contemporary era, as she said during the keel laying of HVMS Kikkou Sadamune and HVMS Heshikiri Hasebe in 2019:
“This new ships will symbolize a newly reformed navy returning from its former glory as a strongest powerhouse in Asia alongside Imperial Japan from the 20th Century of Imperialist pride and honor and paving ourselves as one of its main contenders in preserving the peace we protect in the past 70 years as we transition from series of humiliation, fear, agony, and rebellion with a mountain of our aggressive intentions to maintain its sole interest to it's Imperial ambition to preserve its territory and ideologies from outsiders. We prove that we won the war, we preserve the democracy that we uphold and support alongside Her Imperial Majesty Emeritus, and continue to strive to be the best and for the best in the Indo-Pacific Region. We will continue to defend our national interests at the behest of our abilities and prevail as the symbol of peace and tranquility in Asia and at best, in the world.”
The ten planned vessels would continue to replace the outgoing Statdfeld-class which had been retired three years ago and another class of 11 new air defense frigates would be selected to supplement most of the second rank frigates that are in service in both carrier strike group, escort squadrons and the Home Fleet.
Technical Specifications
Type: Anti-submarine Frigates
Length: 149.99 meters
Beam: 21.10 meters
Displacement: 7,000 tonnes standard/8,250 tonnes full load
Speed: 27.50 knots
Range: 7,250 nautical miles at 15 knots
Propulsion System
• Combined Diesel Turbines-Electric or Diesel Marine Propulsion System
~ 2x Rolls-Royce MT-30 gas turbines
~ 4× MTU Type 20V 4000 M53B high-speed diesel generators
~ 2× electric motors
~ 2x shafts/ controllable pitch propellers
Aviation Facilities
• Large Helideck and hangar for one Search and Rescue Helicopters
Armaments
Batch I
• 1x Leonardo 127mm/64 Lightweight Naval Gun
• 40-cells Sylver A-80 Vertical Launching System for a mix of:
~ MBDA CAMM Short range Anti-Air
~ MBDA CAMM-ER Medium range Anti-Air Missile
~ Type 70 SSM-4B Hypersonic Anti-ship cruise Missile
~ Type 09 Vertical Launch Anti-submarine Missile
• 2x Mark 32 Triple Torpedo Tubes for Type 90 Long Range Rapid Approaching Torpedoes
• 2x V/PJ-02 30mm Close-in Weapon System with SPQ-9V Air Search Radar and FLIR
• 2x RVG/01 30mm Remote Weapon Stations
Batch I
• 1x Leonardo 127mm/64 Lightweight Naval Gun
• 96-cells Sylver A-80 Vertical Launching System for a mix of:
~ MBDA CAMM Short range Anti-Air
~ MBDA CAMM-ER Medium range Anti-Air Missile
~ MBDA Aster 30 Block II Long range Anti-Air Missile
~ Type 70 SSM-4B Hypersonic Anti-ship cruise Missile
~ Type 09 Vertical Launch Anti-submarine Missile
• 2x Mark 32 Triple Torpedo Tubes for Type 90 Long Range Rapid Approaching Torpedoes
• 2x V/PJ-02 30mm Close-in Weapon System with SPQ-9V Air Search Radar and FLIR
• 2x RVG/01 30mm Remote Weapon Stations