Charles Class
| Charles D Lugoas Class | |
 | |
| Charles Class Air-independent propulsion Submarines | |
| Class Overview | |
| Operators | Kuthernburg |
| Class before | Aletia Class |
| Class after | Gladys Class |
| Subclasses | None. |
| No. of ships Built | 6 |
| In commission range | 6 |
| Total ships building | 8 |
| Total ships planned | 8 |
| Total ships cancelled | 0 |
| Total ships active | 6 |
| Total ships laid up | 0 |
| Total ships lost | 0 |
| Total ships retired | 0 |
| Total ships scrapped | 0 |
| Total ships preserved | 0 |
| Design Details | |
| Type | Attack Submarine |
| Manufacturer | kAE |
| Hull No(s). | KS880-888 |
| Unit Cost | 311 Million SHD |
| General Characteristics | |
| Complement | 5 officers, 22 men |
| Length: Overall | 56 metres (183 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 6.80 metres (22 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 6.40 metres (21 ft 0 in) |
| Displacement (Surfaced) | 1,524 tonnes (1,500 long tons) |
| Displacement (Submerged) | 1,830 tonnes (1,800 long tons) |
| Propulsion | 1 MTU 16V 396 marine diesel engine
9 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells, 30–40 kW each (KS882) 2 HDW/Siemens PEM fuel cells each with 120 kW (KS884, KS885, KS888) 1 Siemens Permasyn electric motor 1700 kW, driving a single seven-bladed skewback propeller |
| Speed (Surfaced) | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Speed (Submerged) | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) |
| Sensors & Processing Systems | CSU 90 (DBQS-40FTC), Sonar: ISUS90-20, Radar: Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band nav. |
| Armament | |
| Missiles | kAE Grey Shark missiles |
| Torpedoes | 6 x 533 millimetres (21 in) torpedo tubes (in 2 forward pointing groups of 3) with 18 Torpedos, 24 external naval mines (optional) |
| General Information | |
The Kuthern Charles D Lugoas Class is a non-nuclear submarine developed by kAE for the Royal Kuthern Navy. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using kAE proton exchange membrane (PEM) compressed hydrogen fuel cells. The submarines can operate at high speed on diesel power or switch to the AIP system for silent slow cruising, staying submerged for up to three weeks with little exhaust heat. The system is also said to be vibration-free, extremely quiet, and virtually undetectable.
Charles D Lugoas Class is the first fuel cell propulsion system equipped submarine series.
Design
Partly owing to the "X" arrangement of the stern planes, the Charles D Lugoas Class is capable of operating in as little as 17 meters of water, allowing it to come much closer to shore than most contemporary submarines. This gives it an advantage in covert operations, as SCUBA-equipped commandos operating from the boat can surface close to the beach and execute their mission more quickly and with less effort.
A notable design feature is the prismatic hull cross-section and smoothly faired transitions from the hull to the sail, improving the boat's stealth characteristics. The ship and internal fixtures are constructed of non-magnetic materials, significantly reducing the chances of it being detected by magnetometers or setting off magnetic naval mines.
Air-independent propulsion
Although hydrogen–oxygen propulsion had been considered for submarines as early as the Great War, the concept was not very successful until recently due to fire and explosion concerns. The Charles D Lugoas Class this has been countered by storing the fuel and oxidizer in tanks outside the crew space, between the pressure hull and outer light hull. The gases are piped through the pressure hull to the fuel cells as needed to generate electricity, but at any given time there is only a very small amount of gas present in the crew space.
Weapons
Currently, the Charles D Lugoas Class is capable of launching the fiber optic-guided kAE Greyshark heavyweight torpedoes, the NAS Tubelo torpedoes and short-range missiles from its six torpedo tubes, which use a water ram expulsion system. Future capability may include tube-launched cruise missiles.
The short-range CASS missile, primarily intended for use against air threats as well as small or medium-sized sea- or near land targets, and are fired from Charles D Lugoas torpedo tubes. CASS is fiber-optic guided and has a range of approx. 20 km. Four missiles fit in one torpedo tube, stored in a magazine.