Here we go—this has been a tough (and pretty stressful) one to draw, with all the design dead ends I've encountered that ate up most of time making this for over a month and throwing in some pretty much last-ditch compromises along the way. So, at least during the challenge timeframe, no top views (I only had an outline mainly for evaluating the layout of the ship), a fully shaded underwater hull or later refits, unfortunately.
Based off the Italian light carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, and taking heavy inspiration from Golly's Novgorod AU carriers.
—
The
Varda-class aircraft carrier is a class of two such vessels built and operated by the Illedaric Navy since 1980, then part of Terragrandia's equivalent of the Warsaw Pact, the Socialist Defense Union (itself being led by Galdioslavia and under the auspices of the Soviet Union). The type, being the intended replacement of the 230-meter, 22,000-ton
Komodor Rubes-class aircraft carriers, is the first of its kind in the country built from the outset to operate V/STOL combat aircraft, with a view to the AIK-14 (NATO reporting name "Flicker") fighter/attack jet (based off the Hawker Siddeley HS.1179), jointly developed by Illedar and fellow SDU ally Kelmast (an elven-inspired country).
The
Varda-class carriers are tasked with the principal combat roles of fleet air defense, maritime and land attack, and anti-submarine warfare, with a very flexible carrier air group complement; the ships themselves are equipped with substantial ASW electronics and armaments. An AEW variant of the Mil Mi-8 "Hip" is provided (2–4 aboard as standard), as the ship cannot operate fixed-wing aircraft more adept for the role. The vessels' electronics are a mix of Soviet, Galdioslav and Kelmish designs. A third unnamed vessel was planned, but apparently not pursued to free up funds for other naval projects; the plan was brought up in the late 1990s, but never materialized as well.
After the end of communist rule in the spring of 1991 (around the time the "warp hole" between Earth and Terragrandia was disconnected for at least 10 years—I'm still trying to figure out the proper "cross-world" mechanics of the AU), followed by more than a year of transition to a capitalist economy and the reinstatement of the monarchy that had been in exile during the Cold War communist period, Illedar became part of the Collective Security Initiative Force, the principal neutralist defense pact organization in Terragrandia, in 1993.
Avaltharka (literally, the "City of Struggle," being the center of Marxist revolutions in the country in the 1940s), was renamed with the city's original name,
Dolond. During the decade the class underwent some relatively minor modifications, such as new sensors, deck markings made to CSIF standards, and removal of the torpedo tubes (unsurprisingly deemed superfluous for an aircraft carrier); Illedar still independently produced AIK-14s and select components in quantity, allowing the sustainment of operations of the jump jet in the interim.
At the turn of millenium, the Royal Illedaric Navy laid out its plans in giving the class their much-needed mid-life upgrade, which were finally carried out in 2002–05. Notable features in the extensive refits of
Varda and
Dolond were: support for—among other new air assets later on—the F.43 Skyblade supersonic V/STOL fighter (based off the BAe P.1214, the intended replacement of the fighter versions of the AIK-14 in RIN service, which were retired in 2006; later versions of the AIK-14's attack variant soldiered on until 2012) made in CSIF member nation Velkonia a continent away; replacement of legacy sensors (with the addition of a phased-array search radar); a modified ski-ramp; and new armaments. In the early 2010s (after successful trials on
Dolond) the carriers were given support for a STOL medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV for surveillance and reconnaisance duties, recovered with a catch net on the deck.
The class is currently being gradually replaced by the smaller 180-meter, 12,000-ton
Vinond-class light carriers starting in 2010 (with 4 in service as of 2019), as well as the single 230-meter, 20,000-ton aircraft carrier
Karsha, which is scheduled to enter service in the early 2020s.
Varda was decommissioned on October 2018, while
Dolond is expected to serve until 2020, although it could be extended until 2021–22 in the event of delays with the
Karsha program.
Vessels:
Varda (first tactical number 211, permanently redesignated R-101 in 1994) – laid down 1975/10, launched 1978/03, commissioned 1980/05, decommissioned 2018/10
Avaltharka (renamed
Dolond in 1991; first tactical number 427, permanently redesignated R-102 in 1994) – laid down 1977/08, launched 1980/07, commissioned 1982/09, active 2019
Specifications (as built):
Length: 218 m overall
Beam: 33.5 m overall
Draft: 9.45 m standard
Displacement: ca. 18,000 tons standard
Propulsion: 2-shaft combined steam and gas, 2× 50,000 hp steam turbines and 2× 30,000 hp gas turbines
Top speed: 28 kts
Range:
· 9,000 nmi at 15 kts
Endurance: 30 days
Complement: ca. 1,000 crewmembers, excluding carrier air wing personnel
Armament:
· 1×2 ZiF-122 launcher for 9M33 Osa-M (SA-N-4 Gecko) short-range SAM
· 8× 30 mm/63 AK-630 close-in weapon systems
· 2×2 DTA-533 533 mm torpedo tubes
· 2× RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers
Key sensors:
· 1× MR-600 ("Top Sail") air search radar
· 1× MR-700 ("Top Steer") air search radar
· 3× MR-212 Vaygach ("Palm Frond") surface search/navigation radar
· 1× 4R33 "Pop Group" fire control radar for 9M33 Osa-M (SA-N-4 Gecko) short-range SAM
· 4× MR-123 Vympel ("Bass Tilt") fire control radar for AK-630 CIWS
· 4×
name TBD ECM modules
· 4×
name TBD ESM modules
· 8×
name TBD ESM modules
· 2×
name TBD IFF sets
· 1×
name TBD satcom set
· 1× Privod-SV ("Top Knot") aircraft navigation system
· 1× SGA-22 bow-mounted and towed-array sonar suite
· 1× SGA-24A hull-mounted sonar
Aircraft (default configuration as built):
· 12× AIK-14R V/STOL fighter aircraft
· 8× AIK-14A V/STOL strike aircraft
· 8× Ka-25PL ASW helicopters
· 4× Ka-25PS SAR helicopters
· 4× Mi-8KRO AEW helicopters
cheers – wb21