NationStates Jolt Archive

In a delayed response to the unveiling of the Doujin and the arrival of the Leviathon class battleship also designed by Doujin the Admiralty finally has ordered an upgrade of our defense forces to meet the new situation. Although the Admiralty refuses to answer any questions relating to what part of the navy they will be upgrading sources within the Admiralty have indicated that the project will focus on the development of a new submarine that will replace the old Piranha-class as the first line of defense for the federation.

Source: Wettic News Corporation.

With the arrival of the Doujin and the aging of our Piranha-class the Admiralty has decided that we need a new type of submarine to defend our nation. We cannot comment on what will be incorporated in the design yet but we will come with more news shortly. We can confirm that it will be equiped with a new type of torpedo that is currently being developed by Velom Naval Solutions.

Admiral Yathi
Wettic Admiralty.

At long last the Admiralty is proud to announce that next year the first submarine of a new breed will be unveiled now that testing has been completed. Finally our undersea arm will step into the 21st century and follow the rest of our armed forces into a position of military dominance.

Shark-class attack submarine
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/ssn-virginia-56.jpg

This project was started after the reports of the new Doujin-class battleship came in. Although the Admiralty desired an up-to-date submarine for some time it was only capable of convincing the President and the Chambers of the need after this ship entered the world. From the beginning it was clear it would be a bigger, leaner and far more advanced sub then the Piranha class submarine. Many new technologies would be incorporated into the design but this came at a price. It took 18 years before a prototype was up and running but the final tests are at last under way and we expect to begin production in a year. Now one to some of the technologies incorporated into it.

Fuel cells
Like her predecessor this class doesn't use a nuclear power source but unlike the Piranha she is not a diesel sub. Instead we have chosen fuel cells which gives this submarine an even greater range without refuelling then the old Piranha. We used Energia Hydrogen-Oxygen power fuel cells for them but unfortunately the exact range of the sub is classified.

Shark-skin hull
The hull is in part responsible for this fuel efficiency and also for its greater top speed despite the fact that it is a larger ship. After long and careful study we were capable of designing a hull that caused far less friction and was far quieter then that of any other hull known to us. This result is achieved by producing small waves around the ship as it moves through the water. This effectively gives the submarine a ‘waterhull’ which actually reduces friction and sound production by 30%.

The Spiffer torpedo
A new weapon was also designed for the Shark and the result was the Spiffer. It uses supercavitation to reach its target and destroy it. It has a delayed fuse which means it will explode inside what is left of a ship or submarine after it impacted.

Specifications:
Length 26 ft 11 in (8,200 mm)
Diameter 1 ft 9 in ( 533 mm)
Weight 5,953 lb (2,700 kg)
PERFORMANCE:
Speed
Maximum 230 mph (360 kmh; 100 m/sec; 200 kts)

Exit from tube 50 kts (93 kmh)
Range 7,655 yd (7,000 m)
WARHEAD:
Explosive
Weight 463 lb (210 kg)
Type TNT
Fuze contact/proximity

Specifiations
Displacement 7,800 tons submerged
Length 115m
Beam 10m
Speed 30 knots submerged
Depth 300m +
Tubes 4 21" Torpedo Tubes at the front and 2 facing backward
Armaments 20 Spiffer torpedoes and 40 Mk 48 ADCAP torpedoes
Special Warfare Dry Deck Shelter
Advanced SEAL Delivery System
Sonars Spherical active/passive arrays
Light Weight Wide Aperture Arrays
Towed array
High-frequency chin and sail arrays
Countermeasures 1 internal launcher (reloadable 2-barrel)
14 external launchers
Crew 95 officers and men
Price: 1.15 billion.

OOC: Questions and comments?

OOC: Supercavitating torpedos aren't that good, should design a new 'normal' torpedo, or something :P

Oh, I must admit I have thought about adding some regular torpedoes to its armament. But could you elaborate on why they aren't that good?

OOC: Against the Doujin's thick battleplating specifically, its basically because of the design necessities of supercavitation torpedoes.

Because of the sheer stress placed on the nose and the way the nose is designed, it means you have to place the actual explosive charge down the length of the weapon, which means if the torpedo explodes on contact then the actual explosion itself will take place in water away from the ships hull, vastly reducing the destructive effect of the torpedo.

Now, against conventional warships, this isnt a problem. Why? Because most conventional warships carry such thin armour that the sheer kinetic force of the torpedo carries it through before the delayed fuse detonated it in the heart of the vessel, causing considerable damage.

Why wont it work against the Doujin? Well, the Doujin, like any battleship, carries a considerable armour and torpedo belt, made of modern composites and designed to resist penetration by much larger kinetic forces than those exerted by the impact of a super-cavitation torpedo, especially against vulnerable areas. So what basically happens is that the torpedoes explode in the water without causing much damage. It should be pointed out that this is true even for Iowa and Yamato battleships, though more damage would be caused because of the inferiority of their armour.

In terms of general warfare, there are several more fatal flaws. The sheer sound wave generated by the torpedoes lights up even the quietests submarines on passive for miles around. The Doujin, (or more likely, one of her battlegroup) will pick up the submarine with ease and pretty much fill the water with a considerable number of very nasty weapons.

Another disadvantage is the very limited, unguided range. Your sub does not want to get that close to the Doujin in the first place, as it would put you past two or three rings of the Doujin's escorting ships and submarines, blocking any effective escape.

Plus the surface wake generated by the torpedo is detectable, and, if the ship has active defenses, (which the Doujin has after several people pointed out the threat of a nuclear SC torpedo), will see the destruction of the straight path torpedo.

There are a few others..but I think these give a good case :D

OOC: Oh, and one more thing, nice sub :)

OOC:


... fill the water with a considerable number of very nasty weapons.

For some reason, I just love that.

Anyway, I wasn't reffering to the Doujin - more to the point the sound generated by supercavitating torpedos and the fact that they are unguided.

OOC: Price is way too low......

OOC: Price is way too low......

OOC: Good point, didnt notice that....

Judging by the advanced nature of this submarine, and comparing it to real life designs, I would put a $1-2 billion price-tag on it.

That is just the production price. I am building quite a few of them so that keeps the price down. Furthermore the electronics are off the shelve when possible and that cuts back on costs too. But what do you think would be a fair price?

And you made your point Freethinkers, I will add regular torpedoes to their armament but I will keep the Spiffer torpedo because I am certain it has its uses.

Well, even if you do take economies of scale and 'off the shelf' electronics into account, the cost is still going to be pretty high, especially for the advanced systems you plan to put in.

I would still say $1-1.5 billion as a realistic cost.

And yes, SC torpedoes do have their uses, especially against the laughably escorted carrier groups some people put to sea in this game.

I agree that I might have underpriced it and have changed the price on it. And are you referring to my carrier groups now?

Is there, by any chance, a possibility of a bargain...

Not at the moment. It will take 10 NS years at least to produce enough subs just for me but I would like to know what kind of a bargain you had in mind?

Doujin if you put a delay fuse on the torpedo it will easily solve the problem of having an explosion away from the hull.

The kinetic force of a 200knot torpedo alone would cause massive damage to the torpedo belt, maybe not enough to go through but the warhead will most definatly penetrate the hull.

The size of the ships is huge and thus having no or poor guidance is not a problem as becuase of the size they can't turn quickly and have a huge area to hit.

And the sound of the torpedo itself will shield the sub for some time.