Streamlined RNZN fleet for 2035

[Ro-Po Max]

A good start actually

[whomisdis]

So I've been doing some drawing and some thinking.

Recently (ish) the Australian government released the Defense Strategic Review: https://www.defence.gov.au/about/review ... tant-fleet

There are a few key takeaways that can be gained from reading this in regards to this topic:
- Confirmation of a tier 2 combatant. This is likely to meet NZ needs as well.
- Production of the tier 2 combatant in Aus. This could allow NZ to add plus x amount to the production list to replace their vessels.
- 4 ships are stated as reference designs:
1) Meko A200
2) Mogami 30FFM
3) Daegu class FFX Batch II and III
4) Navantia ALFA3000
....... PAUSE
Don't get me wrong, these ships all sound like great options, but there is no mention of the AH140? It says the list is not definitive but to exclude this design seems odd as it looks ideal to meet the tier 2 requirements. Afterall, it's what the Royal Navy chose for their requirement of a cheaper frigate.

So with this in mind, I've redesigned the RNZN force structure around AH140s being built in the UK instead of Aus. I don't think NZ would sway from AH140, I mentioned in the OP as to my reasoning. Because of this, I have also completely redrawn everything above the waterline on the AH140s. I made three AH140 drawings, 1 for NZ, 1 for the UK (baseline type 31), and 1 for AUS (assuming they build their own). I put up the VLS arrangements in a @LEUT_East style to help visualize the differences.

1: AH140 - NZ
So, I decided the current fleet composition could be simplified further than what I have proposed in the OP. The patrol craft, frigates, and sealift capabilities could all be undertaken by an AH140 optimized for sealift. This leaves Aotearoa for auxiliary, and Manawanui for Dive/Hydrographic work (I have a special vessel in mind to replace this). Therefore, I can see NZ acquiring 5 AH140s to cover the rest of the capabilities:



Key aspects of the AH140 - NZ:
- It has a full-width mission bay, to allow for greater sea lift capability and modularity when paired with Cube (SHdefense).
- No 40mm like on the UK Type 31, instead the A mount is replaced with a 24-cell camm-er vls, and B mount is replaced with Phalanx CWIS.
- A shorter vls for standard camm is placed on top of the amidships mission bay, to increase missile capacity without penetrating the mission bay itself.
- A pair of 35mm autocannons flank the Phalanx CWIS, to cover the gap in capability that would have been covered by the 40mm in the UK Type 31.
- The same electronic systems as the UK Type 31 to reduce modification costs.

2: UK Type 31
Nothing to special here, just my attempt at making the Type 31 to be seen in Royal Navy service.



3: AH140 - AUS
These are more custom AH140s. This is drawn under the presumption that the Aussies do decide to build AH140 for their tier 2 requirement.



Key aspects of the AH140 - AUS:
- Use of a full six-sided CEAFAR phased radar array system across two masts.
- No 40mm like on the UK Type 31, instead the A mount is replaced with a 16-cell Mk41 vls, and B mount is replaced with Phalanx CWIS, bringing a total of 48
Mk41 vls cells, with 8 NSM canister launchers.
- A pair of 35mm autocannons flank the Phalanx CWIS, to cover the gap in capability that would have been covered by the 40mm in the UK Type 31.

Feel free to comment on what you think!
Cheers

[LEUT_East]

As I have mentioned before, I really like the placement of your CEAFAR arrays. I would never had thought of placing them that way.

[whomisdis]

Kia Ora all!

So I've done a little more scheming and a little more drawing while I have been waiting around for the next Defence Capability Plan to come through to see what's next for the RNZN. One of the schemes is an alternate timeline (which I'll post elsewhere), and the other is a development of what this OP has produced, which I shall talk about.

So my OP suggested four classes of vessels:
- Frigate
- Sealift
- Multirole Patrol
- Auxiliary

Auxiliary is fine as is, cant really develop that and I'll stick to utilising Aotearoa. However, I figured Frigate and Sealift classes could be covered by the same vessel. Arrowhead can provide this capability and so can a number of developmental designs, so it would make sense for the RNZN to reduce their class count further and combine these two capabilities into a single platform. Essentially I found an excuse to redraw the Arrowhead again!



However, the Arrowhead 140 is not the only design that can perform this capability. I took to liking the Damen Crossover series of ships, and decided to have a go at making a Kiwi edition to compete with the Arrowhead at the tender process:



Now to be honest, if a real-life replication of this tender process did come about, I would see the Arrowhead winning for reasons stated in the OP. But it was still fun to see how it would turn out, could we expect to see the Dutch LpX program produce a similar looking vessel?

Now for the multirole patrol vessel. I like the original idea, I think it holds up well. The use of modularity/containerised systems is solid and the Danish, Dutch, British, (rest of the world...) are going in this direction so it makes sense. But I wanted to try a more, reasonable, vessel with a pretty well defined backing to it. Enter the Kongsberg Vanguard:



I chose this vessel for multirole patrol due to:
- Use of modularity/containerised systems
- Designed for heavy seas (ross sea & southern ocean) will require this.
- Seems to have solid backing in Norway, so has to potential to be a partner navy.
- Looks cool

Now would the Danish MPV80 have been a better choice? Probably. But I intend to draw that one still, I just felt more motivated by the Vanguard. I also suspect the MPV80 may make an appearance in the DCP.

So what does the fleet look like now?
- 1 x Aotearoa (same as before)
- 3 x Arrowhead 140/Damen Crossover (these will replace Te Kaha, Te Mana, and Canterbury)
- 6 x Kongsberg Vanguard (these will replace Otago, Wellington, Manawanui, Taupo, Hawea, Pukaki, and Rotoiti)

Cheers!

[LEUT_East]

Loving these vessels and your ship descriptions are so thorough and detailed.

[whomisdis]

Loving these vessels and your ship descriptions are so thorough and detailed.

Thank you heaps mate really appreciate it!