ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship

### Propulsion

1x nuclear reactor, 75 MW, two azimuth thrusters, controllable pitch propellers, bow thruster

### Complement

735 sailors , capable of transporting 2,753 soldiers

### Sensors and Processing Systems

2x Air/Surface Search Radars, 1x Navigation Radar, 1x Tactical Air Navigation System, 2x Fire Control Radars, Type 900 Datalink, Artio Battlescape Network (Mark III C)

### Decoys

Multi-Ammunition Softkill System, 2x launchers for Chaffs, Torpedo Decoy Launcher

### Armament

2x 30mm CIWS, 2x 40mm AA-guns, 4 balconies

### Aviation Facilities

Helicopter flight deck with two landing spots and hangar for up to 8 medium-sized helicopters, capable of operating VTOLs

## Notes

### Notes

Well Deck 89.4 by 25.6 metres, davits for additional boats

The **ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship** is is a vessel developed and suited for amphibious operations and their support, as well as Rapid Force Deployment of a brigade-sized force based on a request for a prototype by the navy of the Armed Republic of Paleocacher.

## Design

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is a classical mono-hull design.

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is built with stealth-measures in mind, but not a dedicated stealth-vessel. With inclined flanks to bounce off radar waves bouncing off the hull into the air above and with anchorhouses and stairwells placed inside, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship appears like a far smaller vessel. The thermal and acoustic signatures are, due to the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship's nature as a nuclear powered vessel, unmasked.

### Propulsion

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is powered by a Ga-17 Mark II Nuclear Reactor, the same as are used on the Beag-class Aircraft Carrier, providing 75 megawatts of energy, which is used to power all systems aboard the ship, be it the coffeemaker or the engines. The Ga-17 Mark II is a reliable and proven design, which work like nuclear reactors on land do: Heating water to produce steam, which power steam turbines to produce electrical power. The feed water, which is turned to steam, is pumped aboard, demineralised, and used.

90% enriched Uranium Fuel Cells need to be loaded as power cells. We also recommend employing experienced nuclear reactor technicians.

The vessel itself is driven by two azimuth thrusters with controllable pitch propellers, providing more manoeuvrability and power efficiency while being rather easy to maintain. A bow thruster provides additional manoeuvrability, especially while docking.

### Electronic Warfare and Decoys

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped with a variety of systems for Electronic Warfare and with decoys to protect itself against the enemy without use of the own weapons suite.
Core of these capabilities are the suites for Electronic Countermeasures and Electronic Support Measures, ECM and ESM respectively. ECM provides the ability to deceive and trick enemy means of detection, like radar and sonar, active measures confusing the enemy's sensors, while passive systems for example jam the guidance systems of enemy missiles.

ESM, meanwhile, detect, intercept, identify, locate, record and analyze sources of radiated electromagnetic energy, for example radar, for primarily threat recognition and in secondary functions for example intelligence information. Provided with this data, both the ECM and the MASS (see below) can work more effectively against enemy missiles, as well as the commander making the necessary decisions.

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is also equipped with a Multi-Ammunition Softkill System. The MASS is connected to the sensor systems, mainly radar, and uses the data to launch radar decoys operating on all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, confusing advanced, sensor-guided missiles. It can either be operated by a person or operate autonomously.

For less advanced missiles, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped with two launchers for chaffs, which confuse less advanced radar-guided missiles and the radars aboard the enemy vessels.

For defence against torpedoes, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped with a Torpedo Decoy Launcher, working effectively against the acoustic-homing variety by sending out a loud decoy to distract the guidance systems.

### Sensors and Processing Systems

ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped with a multitude of sensor systems, chiefly amongst them two capable and proven Nuacht N-12 Mark II Air/Surface Search Radars. These radars, used on most of SDY's military vessels in one form or the other, are capable of tracking a target 400 kilometres away and of tracking 400 targets at the same time, be they on the surface, in the air or anywhere inbetween.

Their most important use is to detect any incoming threat and to use the collected data to act against it with the own weapons systems, or, by coordinating via a battlescape network, have other vessels act against it.

While the N-12 provides information about where the target is, the Nuacht N-38 Fire Control Radar provides data about where the own shells are, in particular those of the Ceantar C-44 Mark II 40mm AA-guns (see below), in order to adjust the own firing solutions.

For finding the own way, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship carried a Nuacht N-4 Navigation Radar.

Of greatest importance to the most important task of the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship, the landing and coordinating amphibious troops, is the Tactical Air Navigation System fitted onto the vessel. The TACAN, a Nuacht N-103 Mark III, is a system used to provide aircraft equipped for operating with such a system with information about the own bearing and distance, relative to a surface station, in this case the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship. This provides aircraft with precise information as to where they are and where they are needed.

Although both Nuacht Limited and other companies are working on a space-based replacement system akin to GPS, the importance of the non-space-based system is not to be underestimated, mainly because ASAT-Missiles are projected to become an important thing.

### Armament

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped with a variety of weapon system, all of them more defensively oriented. Despite being armed for self-defence, the vessel needs to be escorted by other vessels as most of the defensive systems are short-ranged, with the Ceantar C-44 Mark II AA-guns scratching the lower limit of medium range.

The C-44 is less of a pure AA-gun and more of a multi-purpose gun, capable of attacking both surface and airborne targets, including missiles (although it is not effective as an auxiliary CIWS). Fire control is handled by the two N-38 Fire Control Radars, data transmitted by the Type 900 Datalink. The C-44 can either be manually controlled, both remotely and from the gun itself, as well as operate automatically.

On the other hand, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship has two Ceantar C-84 30mm CIWS at their disposal, one on each broadside, equipped with their own little fire control radars, capable of operating semi-autonomously, six-barrelled gatling guns reliably throwing 30mm shells at every target coming too close for the own comfort.

Additionally, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship has four designated balconies, positions on the superstructure capable of being used as positions for heavy weapons teams or additional weapons or remote weapons stations.

### Troop Complement and Well Deck

The ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship is equipped to take aboard a force of 2,753 marines, plus their equipment and initial landing supplies, as well as the provisions to bring ashore a sizeable force using the capabilities of the Well Deck. Said Well Deck is measured 89.4 by 25.6 metres, located at the stern of the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship, capable of carrying up to six Landing Craft the size of the Pattern 502. These can be loaded by moving equipment of the vehicle and supply decks into the appropriate elevators and moving them to the Well Deck. The Well Deck can be flooded.

Additionally, the ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship can carry up to four additional landing craft the size of the Pattern 502 on davits in the superstructure.

## History

Ever since its establishment, the SDF always had the problem of only partially being able to move troops and equipment to and from the Northern Islands and the Archipelago to and from the Mainland. While freighters were fine for most uses of the SDF, the disastrous results of the Halfblakistani Expedition made the SDF aware, that they needed a way to transport troops safely and with sufficient speed.

While SDY began to draw up plans, the SDF decided to acquire three units of the Sealgaire-class Helicopter Carrier, which answered their request for proposal better then the so-called Pattern 120.

Pattern 120 was a gargantuan amphibious assault ship, planned to take an entire regiment and enough supplies to supply a small country's army for fighting operations – and was shelved.

A few years later, the navy of the Armed Republic of Paleocacher requested an amphibious assault ship for rapid force deployment, capable of carrying a brigade and landing a battalion-sized force ashore – while the original concept of the Navy of Paleocacher was unworkable, the forelady of Yard 15 made a counter-proposal within the ranges and capabilities of the old Pattern 120 without remembering it.

With a few modifications, for example fitting a nuclear reactor, and updates especially to the sensor suite, the development was continued and renamed, by specifications of the order, ChiCajun-II-class Amphibious Assault Ship.