Shipbucket

Type 2018-Class General Purpose Frigate (Lord II-Class)

While the improvements were made to extend the life of the Type 1988-class frigate, it was generally accepted by the Department of Defence that a new class of ship was going to be needed to replace them in the area-air defence niche within the navy. In 2008 the DoD launched the Area Defence Combatant Program, or ADCP, to find a suitable replacement to be built on a 1:1 replacement basis, with the first ship to be launched by the late 2010's. The program called for a ship with aa multi-role capability, with equal performance in AAW and ASW spheres.

The class, unofficially referred to as the Lord-II-class as also named for the Lords/Kings of Nanhae, were considered a multi-generational advance over their predecessors in terms of capabilities. The biggest advancements were in their radar and combat systems, with Nanhae selecting the Aegis combat management system. The Thales SMART-S were recycled from their predecessors, with updates made being made to them. The biggest addition however was the addition of the Mk2 version Nanhae Fire Control System (NFCS) phased-array fire control system. This locally produced system was meant to act as a single-system replacement for the variety of fire control radars in service, and allow for better combat management experiences. The Type 2016 represented the first production deployment of the system onboard ship.

A 16-cell Mk41 VLS was mounted on the bow, with the capability for the Standard or ESSM missiles. Several other noticeable enhancements include the 72mm gun, and the replacement of the legacy Harpoon ASuW missiles with the MBDA Marte-ER (part of a wider upgrade among the fleet). Lastly the planned integration of the RAM missile system, which will see the mountings taken from the previous Type-1988-class ships as they're retired from service. A pair of remotely operated 12.7mm guns, as well as an embarked Seahawk helicopter, round out the ships equipment.


F-21 Lord Pinghae as entered service in 2018.

The first ship was laid down in 2014, with the last ship entering service in 2022. The ships are:
F-21 Lord Pinghae "Pacified Sea"
F-22 Lord Couyi "Clear Righteousness"
F-23 Lord Chingtae "Pure Greatness"
F-24 Lord Tinque "Heavenly Order"

Nanhae Fire Control System (NCFS)

Development on this system commenced in 2001, originally as an attempt to produce a domestic AESA radar for the naval, army, and air forces. Protracted development problems were coupled with the army and air forces pulling out of the program in 2006. This, along with a shrinking possibility for foreign sales, led to the development program changing to a different focus of creating a single fire control radar that could manage the various missile and gun systems in naval service. Initial prototypes were favourable, and in 2015 the Mk1 version was mounted on a Type 1998 frigate for testing.


F-13 Lord Canping in service with the Mk1 NFCS.

The Mk1 version was a phased-array system mounting, which were placed fore- and aft. In service the radar proved functional and effective, being able to manage the Standard, RAM, and Harpoon missiles and 127mm main gun with ease. (Separate land based testing confirmed its functionality with the ESSM and Marte missiles.) One limitation was noted however in that the capabilities of the phased-array were limited by the rotating mountings, which still reduced how much of the sky could be covered and systems tracked. If mounted in this way, it was not found to have any significant improvements.

This led to the Mk2 variant being produced for the next-generation of general purpose and anti-air frigate classes. This featured four fixed arrays mounted in each direction, providing 360-degree coverage. When paired with the SMART-S, it allowed the ships to make the most effective use of the radar's capability and rapidly improved reaction time compared to mechanical fire controls. Its success with the Type 2018 meant it would also be selected for the future Aegis frigates.



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I decided to change up my modern and future fleet. My previous Aegis frigates were capable, but I thought that given the evolving nature of threats in the Pacific, it would make sense that the navy would move back to a mixed fleet, similar to the fleet of the 90's and 2000's. This would give the fleet a class of capable GP/ASW frigates, to support and protect larger area air defence frigates.

Welcome any thoughts, as ever!

Qiqang-class area air defence ships

Until the retirement of the Type-1975 class frigates in 2008, Nanhae had operated a mixed hi-low fleet capability. Initially, the two Type-75's were the higher partners to the four Type-70's. With the introduction of the Type-88's, these four ships became the high-end class to the Type-75's. But with the latter's retirement in 2008, Nanhae's navy had shifted back to only a class of four major surface combatants, and had to rely on lighter corvettes and missile boats to fill any capability gap. Initially this was considered acceptable given the climate in the western Pacific.

However just ten short years later, that climate had changed. China's ambitious fleet building program and foreign policy was making Nanhae's policy makers jumpy. The far more interventionist bent of Russia, and its overt alliance with China, did nothing to assuage these concerns. While building had already commenced on Nanhae's replacement to the venerable Type-88's, the resulting Type-2018 class had been designed from the perspective of maintaining a smaller fleet and so was being considered insufficient in light of the changing climate.

In 2019, Nanhae began a program to develop an additional class of dedicated anti-air warfare ships to compliment and support the Type-88's and their more general purpose capability. Nanhae's government, having already gotten permission to use a variant of the Aegis combat system for their Type-18's, again approached the Americans to seek entry into the exclusive AN/SPY radar club. The logic was that Nanhae's navy being equipped with the full Aegis system would serve as the southern flank in the ROK/Japan/Nanhae chain stretching from the Yellow Sea to the Taiwan Straight.

With their approval, the design process settled on a design that shared several visual similarities with other Aegis-style ships, but carried over many of the elements of the Type-18 class being built. The class, currently referred to as the Qiqang-class until a number designation is given, would represent the most modern and largest vessel built by Nanhae since WWII.

The biggest distinction was that Nanhae opted to use the AN/SPY-7 radar, also having been selected by Spain, Canada, and Japan for their vessels. These will be married to the NFCS radar series, in the form of four Mk2 fixed arrays, and two additional Mk1 arrays mounted for redundancy.

Their armament again reflect their size and status, carrying a 127mm/64 lightweight gun. 56 Mk41 VLS cells are carried, with 48-cells on the bow, and an 8-cell mounting aft dedicated for quad-packed ESSM missiles. 16 Marte-ER missiles are mounted a midships, along with a pair of twin torpedo launchers. A RIM-116 RAM launcher on the stern above the helicopter hangar provides the close-range self-defence capability for the class.

The first ship, named for Nanhae's first prime minister, was laid down in 2022. The second, named for the first post-war PM is intended to be laid down in 2023. Both ships are to be in service by 2027. An option for up to two additional ships is available under the shipbuilding agreement.


F-17 Zheng Qiqang (Under construction)
F-18 Kiso Hidetaka (Ordered)

Great Turtle-class Replenishment Ship

As Nanhae's navy modernized after the Cold War, the scope of its responsibilities expanded. The fleet was being called upon to work increasingly more outside of Nanhae's EEZ. Operations with allied fleets gave the navy a great deal of experience, but also showed a capability gap. The navy had always been expected to operate near its own shores, so the fleet had given priority to shore-based replenishment. However the need to sustain fleet operations throughout the Pacific, and to support allied fleets, gave rise for a new requirement.

In 1994, the navy put forward a request for a ship that would be a medium-sized ocean-going replenishment ship. The intention was to build a vessel that would be able to provide enough fuel and stores to extend fleet operations. A secondary intention was to be able to provide an ability to sustain allied fleets as part of Nanhae's security contributions. And a tertiary need was to give greater flexibility in responding to natural disasters or crisis.

The end result was the Great Turtle-class, named for a mythical creature from pirate stories of old. These vessels had an overall length of 127m,a width of 18.9m, a draft of 7.5m, and a displacement of approximately 14,000 long tons. In terms of capacity, the ships are designed to carry approximately 10,000 cubed metres of fuel oil, and have 3,000 sq ft for dry cargo. Each ship carried an embarked medium helicopter, but their decks were capable of supporting heavy-lift helicopters such as the Sea Knight or Chinook.

For their defence, each ship was armed with a 20mm Sea Vulcan turret on the bow. When initially launched, each ship carried a sex-tuple Mistral missile launcher, but these were recently upgraded to RIM-116 launchers on each ship. Each ship also carries a pair of 20mm Oerlikons, plus a variety of smaller arms.


A-11 Great Turtle as commissioned in 1998.


A-11 Great Turtle after her modernization in 2018.

The ships have had some troubles since their launch. Their relatively small draft renders them somewhat unstable in rough weather, and have had to have enhanced stabilization and ballast improvements made. Their relatively small stores also reduce their relative effectiveness for fleet operations, when compared to larger vessels in the USN or other allied navies. Lastly her Sea Vulcan cannon on the bow is limited in its effectiveness against vessels due to its placement, and it being a older style system means it lacks almost any effectiveness against modern anti-ship missiles. Discussions are underway regarding a further upgrade that will see these replaced with a Marlin weapon system.

Limitations notwithstanding, they do provide Nanhae's navy with a much enhanced capability for sustained operations. And their design was considered successful enough, with enhancements, to be used for the basis of a follow-on class of amphibious warfare vessels that Nanhae's navy ordered after 2001. To follow.

First crack at an AOR in some years. I'm overall happy with how she turned out, but welcome any feedback as always.