Amity class
 ARC Amity participating in Nordörn 2022
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| Class Overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: |
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| Operators: |
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| In commission: | 2013-present |
| Ships building: | 4+ |
| Ships completed: | 15+ |
| Ships active: | 15+ |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Offshore patrol vessel |
| Displacement: | 2,256 tonnes |
| Length: | 90 m (295.4 ft) |
| Beam: | 14 m (45.9 ft) |
| Draft: | 3.8 m (12.5 ft) |
| Ice class: | Class 1 |
| Installed power: |
2 × 550KW GSEB K55 diesel generators 1 × 500KW Solaris 108B002 gas generator |
| Propulsion: |
2 × Sistemos Armada 12kGTG gas turbines producing 12,000 hp (8,900 kW) each 2 x 500 kw Bow thrusters |
| Speed: | 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range: | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Endurance: | 21 days |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
2 x RHIB 2 x remote-controlled submersibles |
| Troops: | 12 marines |
| Complement: | 6 officers and 44 crew, space for 20 passengers |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
EDEM 3D air-and-surface radar MARRC fire control radar Luz Libertad CROWS tactical electronics suite AD/SDS towed sonar array |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
CN/CWS electronic warfare and countermeasures suite CN/ALDS active launch decoy system |
| Armament: |
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| Aviation facilities: |
Upper deck landing area for Cyryian Örn V-200 VTOL UAVs Seaplane tending facilities |
The Amity class is a series of warships designed and built by the Conference for Amity and Cooperation. The ships are the product of the Cooperative Warship Development Program, and operate as semi-militarized coast guard, patrol, and enforcement vessels. Only CAC nations are permitted to purchase and operate Amity class ships due to proprietary systems included in the design. Manufacturing is the responsibility of the Arsenale Corric shipyards in Antora, the Gilda Varien shipyards in the Varentine League, and the Kela'mué Ice Yards in the Kelamí League. These shipbuilders assemble component parts of the vessel, which are combined in the naval yards of the nation which purchased them.
The Cooperative Warship Development Program was the CAC's longest-running military hardware initiative. It was conceived in 1998 as a research & development agreement to create a low-cost, adaptable, and modern vessel for defense and patrol. Special attention was paid to the operational independence of the design, as well as the ability to be used as an icebreaker in the cold Rotantic Ocean. Each CAC nation contributed areas of expertise: Corric gunnery, tactical, and propulsion systems, Cryrian Örn V-200 reconnaissance drones and aircraft facilities, Mexregionan radar systems, countermeasures, and raw materials, Kela'mué electronics and climate controls. The Program was an independent organization from the CAC governments and militaries, using privately-owned facilities and resources. They cooperated with the various private shipbuilding companies in CAC territory to facilitate testing. Trials for prospective designs took place mostly in the Pacific and Rotantic oceans. After fifteen years of design, manufacturing, and testing, the Program was declared a success in 2013. In honor of completing the first defense collaboration in CAC history, the designers chose to christen the final design the Amity class offshore patrol vessel.
Amity class ships are large for patrol craft, owning to being designed as multirole, long-range warships capable of adapting to evolving defense requirements. At 90 meters long and grossing over 2,200 tonnes, the class rivals some frigates in size. Their twin gas-turbine/diesel hybrid engines can sustain a cruising speed of 15 knots for 6,000 nautical miles, with a top speed of 28 knots. The Amity class can be used as a territorial and trade patrol vessel with its 21-day endurance rating or as a pursuit or response vessel thanks to their high speed. They are armed with a 76 mm cannon and two 30 mm autocannons and are fitted for but not with missile launchers, depth charges, and torpedos.
The Amity class has a wide complement of utility capabilities: they carry two RHIB boats as well as a single larger launch for expeditionary, search & rescue, and transport operations. The ships are equipped with two crane arms for operating remote-control submersibles and dive bells and have decompression chambers on-board. These cranes can be modified to tend seaplanes, providing limited aircraft functionality. Additional features include power-saving programs, bow maneuvering thrusters, and dynamic GPS systems. Space has been provided on the hulls to add on UAV launching capabilities, more advanced sensors, and CIWS.
The most important ability the class possesses is icebreaking. Patrol of the seas around Älemsi Negdel and Mexregiona is made difficult by winter ice sheets, so a military vessel capable of operating in these conditions has been a point of major interest for many years. The Amity hull was designed according to the h-v-curve to allow broken ice to submerge under and around the vessel without compromising seakeeping or stability. The bow is stiff and wide below the waterline, while the sides are reinforced with frame bracing and armor plating. To avoid limiting the seakeeping or speed of the class, the designers created a modular bow intended specifically for icebreaking. This armored bow, much wider and smoother than a traditional warships', can be attached in drydock with half a day's work. This has allowed the Amity class to operate in normal water conditions in summer and ice in the winter, greatly improving cost-effectiveness and staying power.
The Amity class is currently in service with the Royal Antoran Armada, operating six ships as replacements for older Garra class patrol vessels. The vessel also serves as the primary patrol craft of the Älemsi navy. The Kingdom of Cryria elected to bring four Amitys into service in 2020 amidst questions regarding the RCRNs ability to conduct EEZ enforcement activities without the deployment of its more militarized assets. Despite this official reasoning, some political analysts have viewed the purchase decision as one made for largely geopolitical reasons and a desire to show support for the CAC by supporting the joint program. The Government decision clashed with published military proposals to produce more domestically built Ivar Hellqvist or Nymf-class offshore patrol vessels, purportedly on the basis that the suggested vessels were too overmilitarized for regular enforcement purposes, and that there were already shipyards tooled to produce the Amity class while production lines for the older ships were either occupied or concluded. In Mexregiona, both the Navy and Coast Guard will make use of the Amity class, with the latter pledging to replace its entire fleet of 4 icebreakers by 2035. As of 2022, the Mexregionan Navy had accepted delivery of one Amity class vessel with one remaining on order, while the Coast Guard has taken delivery of one out of its four ordered. The Kelamí Coastal Patrol Force operates three Amity class as fully-militarized vessels to supplement their Rotantic patrol and support ships.