ZMN Stingray

Stingray Class (click to enlarge).

Overview

The Stingray-class (ZMN SSN-1020) ocean dominance submarines are the first ZMN subs to be designed for engagement of any target presently available up to and including orbital assets. They are slated to replace ageing ZMN Sea Reaver SSBN ballistic missile and littoral warfare submarines, some of which have already been decommissioned.

The Stingray class is the first ZMN sub to carry TIW Rhapsody and SCAPA Poleaxe H IV (heavy) extended range cruise torpedo as conventional armament. While the Sea Reavers mini sub bays had been altered to accommodate these weapons they were never satisfactory and always lacked carrying capacity for more than two Rhapsody weapons internally in the bay or a single Poleaxe mounted externally in the SCAPA DSRV carrying scaffold. On the other hand the ZMN Ray Class SSN hunter killer subs were wholly unsuited to carry cruise torpedoes with internal ship spaces being quite limited and the Ray’s layout unsuited to piggy backing DSRVs. Though the Ray class’s high cruising speed of 58 knots in good conditions led to the ZMN Jester being used in sea trials for the failed Poleaxe towing pod (acoustics generated by the tow pods interference with the ray’s wake were wholly unacceptable given the rays operating environment).

The Stingrays were intended as the replacement to the 4.8 billion rung ageing Sea Reaver subs while also being able to keep up with the swift moving Ray class hunter killer packs, The Sea Reaver whose production run had been halted after the proliferation of super cavitating torpedoes, while many Sea Reavers had been under the ZMN New Horizons modernisation program been equipped with lateral engagement hatches for counters to the super cavitating threat this was still deemed insufficient.

Stingray Class Details (click to enlarge).

Description

The Stingray class would alter all this with launch tubes and munitions storage space more than sufficient to carry a satisfactory number of cruise torpedoes and eight integral modular easily upgraded lateral defence points designed to counter the super cavitating threat. Stingray’s large size, thick armour and 12 separate internal major pressure hulls would also make her far more capable of taking damage than her predecessors.

The Stingray class incorporate several innovations. Instead of periscopes or limited photonic masts, the subs have over a dozen extendable multipurpose masts and buoys outside the pressure hull. Each contains several advanced optronic systems based around a 9” or 32” extendible light gathering array, high powered LADAR and LIDAR systems, a selection of radar systems and an integrated Electronic Support Measures (ESM) array. Signals from the masts' sensors are transmitted through fibre optic data lines through signal processors to the Stingray’s two control centres and the surface navigation bridge. Stingray has two separate classes of vertical launch tube, twenty HN-33 SL 3300mm (space launch) tubes which carries a mix of SLBMs, ABM/ASAT’s , drone packages and Cruise missiles, and 240 Samson DNR8 250mm Multi purpose vertical tubes which carry a variety of conventional smaller missiles including a variety of SAM’s and hypervelocity short and medium range ship killers.

Stingray has two forward faceing super cavitating enabled rotary “gatling” rapid fire triple barrelled 1000mm launch tubes and two rear faceing double shot super cavitating enabled 1000mm tubes in conventional style mounts with a ROF of 12 torpedoes in the first 35 seconds of engagement and one torpedo salvo every 18 seconds following this till the full stock of 25 in the quick loading system is used and following that one torpedoes every 78 seconds from the main magazine.

Stingray has two forward facing cruise torpedo launch bays.

Beside stingrays conning tower two surface engagement modules are located. These each contain two forward facing rapid fire hypervelocity missile launchers designed to launch conventional or nuclear armed long range RAM jet propelled SAM’s, and one 35mm tri barrelled point defence mount They also contain two surface launch bays carrying inflatable’s and two modified Gull one man naval attack helicopters.

Stingray has 24 submersible multipurpose launch bays equipped with electromagnetic launch catapults tasked to launching submersible drone combat vehicles and recon drones.

Stingray has a quite literally leviathan ovoid sonar array, a wide aperture array (WAA), an extensive set of blue green LADAR mounts which can be pump out up to 1.3 megawatts of output and seven towed-array mounts.

Stingray has two lateral Ray HK submersible re supply links which allow the Ray class to in theory operate submerged for a duration of 8 years.

Stingrays electronics are based around the General Data Technologies generation eight modular hardened redundant miltiary optic network.

Stingrays conning tower mounts a 15 megawatt SCAPA “Sweeper” surface defence “hard” ultra violet laser.

Stingray is powered by four High pressure integral fast breeder reactors coupled to 12 turbines, two “silent” purpuslors located in the aft lateral system mount modules and the Nuclear Linear Thermal Water Expansion Drive. The system is claimed to generate a total of 2110 megawatts.

General characteristics

• Builders: Sorrenson, Caperlli, Amiere,Prestwick and Anderson Heavy Industries Combine May Yards naval division and Samson incorporated.
  
• Length: 550 metres
  
• Beam: 54.36 metres (main body) 68 Metres (lower fins)
  
• Displacement: 350,800 tons surfaced, 1,520,000 tons fully submersed.
  
• Payload: 90,000 tons of ordinance or cargo
  
• Propulsion: two direct linked propulsors, one nuclear thermal water expansion jet, three electric driven lateral manoeuvring arrays.
  
• Power plant: Four SCAPA 3050 megawatt High pressure integral fast breeder reactors
  
• Max. diving depth: 2600 metres
  
• Speed: 45 knots dived, 20 knots "silent", 25 knots "Tactical Speed"
  
• Planned cost: $21.65 billion rungs each
  
• Actual cost: $29.3 billion rungs each (as of 2015)
  
• Crew: 2,340 officers and enlisted
  

Vessels In Service

ZMN Stingray (2026, Heavily retrofitted and refurbished in 2034 and equiped with a new train outputting 430 megawatts)
ZMN Mantaray (2027 equiped with forward bow plane and larger conning tower planes for operation under icecap)
ZMN Eagleray (2028, Test bed for energy State adaptive computer systems)
ZMN Butterfly (2031, test bed for Samson GN8VS sonic pulse point defence capable of stopping super cavitating attacks)
ZMN Sawfish (2033, massive enhancement to forward sonar array, partially adapative fin surfaces, equiped for under icecap)
ZMN Rajidae (2035, test bed for Lancelot 220 megawatt mobile multipurpose strategic defence pulse laser)

OOC

In tribute to the cult childrens TV classic Stingray made by Syvlia and Gerry Anderson of Thunderbirds fame.