Shipbucket

A good start actually

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More here:viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8292

So I've been doing some drawing and some thinking.

Recently (ish) the Australian government released the Defense Strategic Review: https://www.defence.gov.au/about/review ... tant-fleet

There are a few key takeaways that can be gained from reading this in regards to this topic:
- Confirmation of a tier 2 combatant. This is likely to meet NZ needs as well.
- Production of the tier 2 combatant in Aus. This could allow NZ to add plus x amount to the production list to replace their vessels.
- 4 ships are stated as reference designs:
1) Meko A200
2) Mogami 30FFM
3) Daegu class FFX Batch II and III
4) Navantia ALFA3000
....... PAUSE
Don't get me wrong, these ships all sound like great options, but there is no mention of the AH140? It says the list is not definitive but to exclude this design seems odd as it looks ideal to meet the tier 2 requirements. Afterall, it's what the Royal Navy chose for their requirement of a cheaper frigate.

So with this in mind, I've redesigned the RNZN force structure around AH140s being built in the UK instead of Aus. I don't think NZ would sway from AH140, I mentioned in the OP as to my reasoning. Because of this, I have also completely redrawn everything above the waterline on the AH140s. I made three AH140 drawings, 1 for NZ, 1 for the UK (baseline type 31), and 1 for AUS (assuming they build their own). I put up the VLS arrangements in a @LEUT_East style to help visualize the differences.

1: AH140 - NZ
So, I decided the current fleet composition could be simplified further than what I have proposed in the OP. The patrol craft, frigates, and sealift capabilities could all be undertaken by an AH140 optimized for sealift. This leaves Aotearoa for auxiliary, and Manawanui for Dive/Hydrographic work (I have a special vessel in mind to replace this). Therefore, I can see NZ acquiring 5 AH140s to cover the rest of the capabilities:



Key aspects of the AH140 - NZ:
- It has a full-width mission bay, to allow for greater sea lift capability and modularity when paired with Cube (SHdefense).
- No 40mm like on the UK Type 31, instead the A mount is replaced with a 24-cell camm-er vls, and B mount is replaced with Phalanx CWIS.
- A shorter vls for standard camm is placed on top of the amidships mission bay, to increase missile capacity without penetrating the mission bay itself.
- A pair of 35mm autocannons flank the Phalanx CWIS, to cover the gap in capability that would have been covered by the 40mm in the UK Type 31.
- The same electronic systems as the UK Type 31 to reduce modification costs.

2: UK Type 31
Nothing to special here, just my attempt at making the Type 31 to be seen in Royal Navy service.



3: AH140 - AUS
These are more custom AH140s. This is drawn under the presumption that the Aussies do decide to build AH140 for their tier 2 requirement.



Key aspects of the AH140 - AUS:
- Use of a full six-sided CEAFAR phased radar array system across two masts.
- No 40mm like on the UK Type 31, instead the A mount is replaced with a 16-cell Mk41 vls, and B mount is replaced with Phalanx CWIS, bringing a total of 48
Mk41 vls cells, with 8 NSM canister launchers.
- A pair of 35mm autocannons flank the Phalanx CWIS, to cover the gap in capability that would have been covered by the 40mm in the UK Type 31.

Feel free to comment on what you think!
Cheers

As I have mentioned before, I really like the placement of your CEAFAR arrays. I would never had thought of placing them that way.

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There is no "I" in TEAM but there is a ME


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Current Worklist:
Redrawing my entire AU after a long absence from Shipbucket