New Sovietskiy Redkiy Surface Effect Ship Frigate:
Surface Effect Ships have rigid sidewalls for stability and support, with lift fans generating air which is trapped between the sidewalls and the flexible seals or "skirts" forward and aft. This design permits high speed operation (80+ Knots) due to there being less hull area in the water to create drag. This differs from the design of air cushion vehicles which contains the lift air entirely with a flexible skirt. The United States experimented with the idea in the late Twentieth century and at one time a frigate sized Surface Effect Ship was proposed. It was not progressed with in the United States Navy and remained an interesting experiment. Instead they went with more conventional and trimeran hull designs for the most part. A small number of other Surface Effect Ship designs were built mostly by Norway although Russia did produce a pair of surface effect type missile corvettes. Even though generally considered successful, they were eventually decommissioned and scrapped.
It was not until the later part of the Twenty-First Century that the concept was further developed in the Soviet Navy. When the Soviet Navy was reborn after Communists took control of the government in 2027, they concentrated on destroyers and patrol vessels and did not construct any further frigates. A few old frigates were refitted with new armor but they were soon scrapped as new frigates and destroyers entered service. It was not until the later part of the Twenty First Century that interest in frigates were rekindled although a small number of frigates were build. The Soviet navy wanted a really fast design which could carry embarked aircraft and carry considerable weaponry. Interest in a large surface effect vessel design was rekindled. Roles envisioned were the same as for the smaller surface effect corvette with anti-submarine warfare and high speed missile strikes against surface targets. One major difference was the embarked aircraft to increase anti-submarine capabilities and to help spot targets for missile strikes. Missile strikes are planned against other naval vessels as well as shore bases. For engineering reasons, it was decided that a ship larger than a frigate would be impractical.
It was not until 2088 that the first vessel was laid down. It was decided that the corvette sized version of the vessel would be tested before the Navy would commit to a frigate sized surface effect ship. Only one was laid down the first years but following it, two were laid down each year. The first vessel was commissioned in 2092. The class was one of the newest classes when events overtook the world in the form of the Rifts. A total of fourteen vessels had been completed with six more under construction. While most of the vessels were destroyed, one survived in the hands of warlords and another defected to Germany when the apocalypse descended on humanity. It is also some may have survived in other locations around the oceans of the former Soviet Union.
Like the smaller corvette design, the hull of these vessels are far wider in relation to the vessels length compared to more traditional frigate designs. In some ways, the vessel looks like simply an enlarged version of the Perekat class surface effect corvette. The whole frigate is constructed from high strength composites including the vessel's skirts / flexible seals. Still, the skirts can be a weak point and the frigate's speed is greatly reduced when not riding on its air cushion. Unlike most older soviet designs, stealth was a design factor when designing the Redkiy class frigate. Radar cross signature is reduced considerably but was inferior to that of American frigates of the same time. Power is provided by ten fusion turbines identical to those carried on the Perekat class surface effect corvette. Six of the fusion turbines provide thrust using four water jets which are semi-submerged. Four of the fusion turbines provide lift for the Surface Effect Ship. Still, the top speed of the frigate is slightly slower than the corvette sized surface effect ship with a top speed of 78 knots. This fell sort of designed top speed but no attempt was made to correct this. The top speed was seen as fast enough for any missions it was designed to perform. One problem is that the hull it out of the water in most cases so the vessel does not carry a hull sonar and instead carries a towed array sonar. Even so, the towed sonar is far less effective when the frigate is traveling at high speeds and will usually slow down and settle off the air cushion when it is using the towed array sonar. The same lightweight single array phased array system carried on the Perekat class surface effect corvette was carried on the frigate. While not as capable as larger phased array system carried on larger vessels, it is still quite capable.
Weaponry is similar to the smaller corvette but more ordnance is carried. A 100-mm electro-thermal cannon was adopted for the main gun weaponry of the vessel. It was mounted near the bow and was designed have an increased range compared to a conventional cannon while retaining a high rate of fire. The weapon mount uses a series of special capacitors to provide the power bursts required for the electro-thermal cannon to first bursts of rounds. Instead of carrying separate launchers for different types of missiles, the vessel carried missile launchers which could launch a variety of different missiles. Most scholars consider the launchers to simply be copies of the American Mk 41 missile launcher. The launchers are of the extended variety and can carry one cruise missile, two long range missiles, or four medium range missiles each missile cell. On each side, the ship carries sixteen missile cells. Usual missile payload is eight cruise missiles, twenty-four long range missiles and forty-eight medium range missiles. Behind the launchers, the ship has twin torpedo tubes on either side for use against submarines and surface vessels. More reloads are carried than the smaller corvette. As an additional anti-submarine and torpedo weapon, the Redkiy mounts a "killer dart" interceptor torpedo system. The launcher is mounted behind the 1100-mm electro-thermal cannon. On the front and back of the superstructure are CADS-N-6 point defense mounts with a combination pulse laser and short range missile launchers. The laser is similar to heavy energy rifles used by the Soviet Military and fires four shot bursts and missile launchers carry thirty-two short range missiles each.
Crew of the vessel is designed to be fairly small but is still larger than that of the corvette type surface effect ship. Crew is normally around 108 but a larger wartime compliment of 132 can be embarked. Crew quarters are comfortable but have no large luxuries. The ship can be effectively run by a crew of around sixty. The ship has a hanger for two embarked VTOL aircraft. As stated earlier, these are usually used for anti-submarine operations and over the horizon targeting. In addition to the crew, the ship can carry sixteen troops for both shipboard defense and boarding parties. While human sized cyborgs can be embarked without problems, the ship can only carry heavy cyborgs on the outside. Ut to eight can be carried in this manner.
Model Type: Redkiy Surface Effect Ship Frigate
Vehicle Type: Ocean, Surface Effect Ship Frigate
Crew: 108; 12 officers, 96 petty officers and enlisted crew
members (Has a high degree of automation and can be run effectively by
60 crew members)
Troops: 8 VTOL Aircraft Crew Members, 16 troops for shipboard
defense / boarding (Including Partial Conversions and Light Cyborgs / Not
often carried). Can carry up to eight Heavy Cyborgs on the outside of the
vessel
Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:
| 2 | Helicopters or other VTOL Aircraft (Usually for ASW) |
M.D.C. by Location:
| Single 100-mm Electro-Thermal Gun System (1, forward): | 120 | |
| CADS-N-6 Combination Anti-Missile Defense Systems (2): | 225 each | |
| Strategic Length 16-Cell Vertical Launch Systems (2, sides): | 300 each | |
| Killer Dart "Interceptor" Torpedo Launcher (1, forward): | 80 | |
| Twin 21 inch (533 mm) Torpedo Launchers (2, sides): | 100 each | |
| [1] "Flail Eye" Active Phased Array Radar (1, Superstructure): | 150 | |
| Chaff Launchers (2, sides of superstructure): | 10 each | |
| Bridge / Superstructure: | 550 | |
| Hanger (Aft): | 400 | |
| [2] Propulsion Water-Jets (6, Rear): | 120 each | |
| [2] Skirts (2, Forward and aft): | 160 each | |
| [3] Main Body: | 1,800 |
Notes:
[1] Destroying the "Flail Eye" Active Phased Array Radar system will
eliminate the ship's long range air search ability but weapon systems have
backup fire control systems.
[2] Destruction of a Water-Jets will reduce top speed by one sixth
by each water-jet destroyed. Destruction of a Skirt will reduce top speed
to 20 knots (23.0 mph / 37.1 kph)
[3] Destroying the main body destroys propulsion and power systems,
disabling the ship. The ship is fitted with an advanced polymer armors
that allow the ship to withstand up to -400 MDC before losing structural
integrity and sinking. There are enough life preservers and inflatable
life boats to accommodate everyone on the ship.
Speed:
On Water, Hull Borne: 23.0 mph (20 knots/ 37.1 kph)
On Water, On Air Cushion: 89.8 mph (78 knots/ 144.6 kph)
Range: Unlimited due to fusion engines (needs to refuel every
10 years and requires maintenance as well). Ship carries four weeks of
supplies on board.
Statistical Data:
Draft: Hull Borne: 30.2 feet (9.2 meters), On Air
Cushion: 13.5 feet (4.1 meters)
Width: 100.4 feet (30.6 meters)
Length: 282.8 feet (86.2 meters)
Displacement: 2,820 tons standard displacement, 3,045 tons displacement
with full load, and 3,210 tons maximum displacement.
Cargo: Can carry 100 tons (90.7 metric tons) of extraneous cargo.
Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms.
Ships officers have some more space for personal items. Most of the ship's
spaces are taken up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons, and engines.
Power System: 10 Mini Nuclear Fusion Reactors, average life
span is 10 years.
Black Market Price: 500-800 million credits on the black market
for an intact model.
Weapon Systems:
Special Systems:
The ship has all systems standard on a robot vehicle plus the following
special features:
[New Navy, New Sovietskiy, and TRIAX are trademarks
owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
Image drawn and copyrighted by Mischa (E-Mail Mischa).
Initial Concepts by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2002, 2010, & 2011, Kitsune. All rights reserved.
