LMS Leonstein

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Revision as of 11:24, 8 April 2007

LMS Leonstein is the future flagship of the Naval Forces of the Thalassocratic Republic of Leonstein. It is currently being in the final stages of construction by NMSC at the Fisch & Kopp Special Purpose Naval Yards in Piel. It is generally assumed to be the most powerful warship in Liberalia when completed, but due to its prohibitive cost (the projected is estimated to have cost close to 2 trillion Leonsteiner Marks) it will remain a one-off design.

Planning History

During the government of Chancellor Kasselbroek Leonstein was becoming an increasingly self-confident and assertive player in regional politics. Part of this new self-confidence was a stronger focus on the military which led to Leonstein having one of the largest defence budgets in the region.

During this time the political leadership was increasingly eager to display this military power outwardly. Even though the Naval Officers did not think such a project was necessary, a feasibility study into a new flagship was launched and lasted a year. During this time costs and benefits were weighed up and designers were called in to give evidence.

In early 2003 the decision was made to construct such a ship, and that it would carry the name LMS Leonstein. A secret contract offer was issued for several companies to construct the behemoth, but only the design by Fisch & Kopp was chosen after several features of the alternatives were incorporated. The order was made official on the 1st of July of that year.

On a company level the firm continued to work out improvements and came up with a construction plan. It was decided that an extension to the Special Purpose Yard facilities in Piel was necessary and the work on this began immediately. In the meantime parts of the ship were being engineered and constructed all around the country by Fischer & Kopp and various subcontractors, as well as defence giant NMSC.

The work on the project was made public about a year later as the first parts of the hull were assebled in Piel. Although the ship was nowhere near completion, there was much public attention devoted to the project for a week or so, after which other news became more interesting again.

Design

The challenges in producing a ship of this size were enormous. The ability to defend against any conceivable threat was considered of the greatest priority, as the ship would make an inviting target for any potential opponent.

In order to secure maximum stability and seaworthiness a trimaran design was chosen, which had the further advantage of large parts of the ship being seperated from one another, meaning that any one cell could take greater damage. The hull is covered by 3.5-5 inches of composite armour similar to that found on main battle tanks and a further 15 inches of hardened steel armour beneith that. It is therefore the most heavily armoured object in Liberalia, estimated to withstand almost anything.

In order to prevent this armour being hit, the main priority of the armament design was defensive in nature. A wide array of 3" autocannons can cover the ship against small vessels coming in from any direction, and a huge computerised network of anti-air cannons, anti-air missiles as well as point-defense Phalanx and RAM complete the picture.

The offensive armament is impressive, though perhaps more suited to attacking targets along coast lines. The 20" "Goliath" cannons are the largest naval guns in Liberalia and are designed to fire shells up to 3.5 tons in weight, though by using sabots smaller calibres can also be used. The standard shell for the Goliath cannon is rocket-assisted and GPS directed and weighs 2.75 tons. By specifying a target's GPS coordinates, the firing officer can then shell a target up to 50km away with an accuracy of approximately 50 metres.

The smaller auxilliary guns are much more standard 8" versions also capable of using rocket-assisted and GPS directed shells but of course with much less power.

To complement the weapons, there is an array of launch ramps for cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles of various types, as well as several torpedo tubes to fight off submarines.

Air cover is provided by a selection of NH90 helicopters to provide reconnaissance, transport capacity and anti-submarine capabilities. This is complemented by several reconnaissance remote-controlled drones.

Combat History

The current deployment doctrine for the Leonstein is still being modified as new things about the ship become finalised. It is however primarily a piece of power demonstration more than anything else, and since it is only a single ship, has not been assigned a major function in the navy's doctrine.

It is planned that the ship will never operate alone, but always within a task force of smaller escort units and aircraft carrier forces which would offer additional air cover. In this setting the Leonstein could greatly increase the firepower of the fleet both against naval and land targets.

Furthermore, there is cargo space on board for up to a thousand marines and their equipment, which may then complement a landing operation if required.

Controversy

Under a controversial "Executive Independence Act" the cabinet at the time of Chancellor Kasselbroek's government had the right to make decisions regarding military matters without having to consult the parliamentary process, and was able to require members of parliament not to divulge information about the project to the public.

When the project was revealed the resulting controversy was quite large. Even though many could not help but feel fascinated by the project, its practical uses were limited, and the price tag enormous. To the opposition the ship was a symbol of a defence budget having gotten out of hand to the point where trillions were sunk into a ship the navy didn't even need. The Greens were also opposed to the ship's nuclear reactors, which are larger than any other such devices installed on a naval platform.

Further shadow was thrown on the ship when an explosion at a munitions factory that supplied the 8" Cannons to Fisch & Kopp killed three workers. It was revealed that bribes had been paid to the security inspectors and thus health and safety measures had been neglected.

Military opposition has been heard too. Retired Navy Admiral Wittinger has voiced concerns that the enormous logistical requirements for the ship to be operated presented a drain on the navy and that the same amount of money could have been spent much more wisely. However, several internal investigations and projections by the admiralty have concluded that the Leonstein could easily be supplied without any compromises made anywhere else. An expansion of the logistics fleet has also been announced.