Mírgóiteaca-class amphibious assault ship
The Mírgóiteaca class is a class of landing dock helicopter (LHD) amphibious assault ships in service with the Mirhaimian Realm Armada. A development of the previous Móican-class with accommodations made to operate larger landing crafts and more advanced aerial assets, the Mírgóiteaca-class is thus capable of supporting the transportation, and, in conjunction with other supporting vessels, support the deployment of an entire Armada Marine Expeditionary Force (AMEF) via both sea, and air. Ships of the Mírgóiteaca-class are also capable of providing continuous aerial support via its compliments of VTOL fixed-wing aircraft and coordinating land-air warfare operations. If the needs arise, ships of the class can be repurposed as small aircraft carriers with a small complement of fighter aircraft.
All ships of the Mírgóiteaca class were built by the Aeterite Lárman Shipbuilding Company in Blaithnad, with the lead ship and flagship of the Ruthic Armada, the MRAS Mírgóiteaca (LC-523), having been laid down on December 9, 2002. Currently, five vessels of the class are in service with the Mirhaimian Realm Armada, and one with the Sayqidi Imperial Armada as the HSMS Scheherazade.
Design
Each Mírgóiteaca-class ship has a displacement of 40,500 long tons (41,150 t) at full load, is 831 feet (253.2 m) long, has a beam of 104 feet (31.8 m), and a draft of 27 feet (8.1 m). For propulsion, most of the ships are fitted with two steam boilers connected to geared turbines, which deliver 80,000 shaft horsepower (59,700 kW) to the two propeller shafts. This allows the vessel to reach speeds of 32.25 knots (59.73 km/h) (30.25 knots (56.02 km/h) full load), with a range of 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km; 10,900 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).
The Mírgóiteaca class is the first class of ship of the Mirhaimian Realm Armada to use azimuth thrusters. The thrusters are powered by electricity from five 16-cylinder Pótsa 16V32 diesel alternators, and can be oriented at any angle. This propulsion technology gives the ships significant manoeuvering capabilities, as well as freeing up space normally reserved for propeller shafts. The long-term reliability of azimuth thrusters in military use is judged to be superior to conventional thrusters. In addition to this, the space gained by the use of the azimuth thrusters allowed for the construction of accommodation areas where no pipes or machinery are visible. Located in the forward section of the ship, crew cabins aboard ships of the class have greater grew comforts than ships of past classes, contributing greatly to morale while reducing fatigue on long voyages.
Flight deck and deployment abilities
The flight deck of the vessel is approximately 6,400 square metres (69,000 sq ft). The deck has six helicopter landing spots, one of which is capable of supporting a 33-tonne helicopter, or alternatively, a VTOL aircraft. The 1,800-square-metre (19,000 sq ft) hangar deck can hold 16 helicopters, and includes a maintenance area with an overhead crane. To aid launch and recovery, an LRND-1MK Dútse E250 landing radar and an Optical Landing System are used.
The flight and hangar decks are connected by two aircraft lifts, each capable of lifting 13 tonnes. The 225-square-metre (2,420 sq ft) main lift is located near the stern of the ship, on the centreline, and is large enough for helicopters to be moved with their rotors in flight configuration. The 120 square metres (1,300 sq ft) auxiliary lift is located aft of the island superstructure. At combat red alert, the size of the flight and hangar decks would allow the operation of up to thirty helicopters.
Mírgóiteaca-class vessels can accommodate up to 450 marines, although this can be doubled for short-term deployments. The 2,650-square-metre (28,500 sq ft) vehicle hangar can carry a 40-strong tank battalion, or a 13-strong tank company and 46 other vehicles. With only 2-3 rotations of the ship, an entire armored regiment can easily be deployed to the needed areas. The 885-square-metre (9,530 sq ft) well deck can accommodate four landing craft. The ships are capable of operating two roll-on/roll-off catamaran landing craft (L-CAT)
Armanent and Sensors
Mírgóiteaca-class ships can be used as command and control ships, with a 850-square-metre (9,100 sq ft) command centre which can host up to 150 personnel. Information from the ship's sensors is centralised in the SNUTI system (System for Naval Usage of Tactical Information), which operates similarly to the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS). The SNUTI 1 is based around Dútse's tri-dimensional MRR3D-NG Multi Role Radar, which operates on the C band and incorporates IFF capabilities.
For communications, the Mírgóiteaca-class is capable of using the RÉALTAN navigation system via a modular system handled by the EOG-1A and EOG-1B satellites both of which accommodate up to 40% of the Realm Armada's Super High Frequency secured communication.
Mírgóiteaca-class ships are armed with two automatic quadruple-pod launchers capable of holding up to 8 FIM-92 missiles and four 12.7 mm machine guns or 7.62mm MG-95AA, as well two as 20mm guns intended for close-in self-defence against asymmetric threats faced during anti-piracy operations, such as speedboats and suicide boats. There also exists 2 installations for Pótsa A-45Mk1 autocannon.
The vessel, as you can already tell, lacks significantly in terms of weaponry, so consequently, vessels of its class simply cannot be deployed into hostile waters without sufficient escorting ships. This problem can easily be filled in by the sheer amounts of small naval escort vessels in the service of the National Navy as well as other countries in the project. For CIWS operations, ships of the class are equipped with a pair of Defender CWIS Mark 1.
Medical facilities
The class is equipped with a hospital section filling the check marks for a Role 3 type, equivalent to the field hospital of an Army division or army corps, or to the hospital of a 25,000-inhabitant city, complete with dentistry, diagnostics, specialist surgical and medical capabilities, food hygiene and psychological capabilities. An advanced telemedicine system allows complex specialised surgery to be performed, thus allowing the ships to be repurposed into a provisional hospital ship.
The 900 m2 (9,700 sq ft) hospital provides 20 rooms and 69 hospitalisation beds, of which 7 are fit for intensive care. The two surgery blocks come complete with a radiology room providing digital radiography and ultrasonography, and that can be fitted with a mobile CT scanner. 50 medicalised beds are kept in reserve and can be installed in a helicopter hangar to extend the capacity of the hospital in case of emergency.