HOME | DD

Description

“This is it. The be all and end all. The final word.” - Rear Admiral Kathleen Macdonald USN, 2107

In the years preceding the turn of the 22nd century the United States found itself stretched thin, both militarily and economically. While it had survived the rise of China in the early 2000s with only 1 major conflict that left it relatively unscathed, the following rise of India, Southern Africa and South America found the long standing super power’s international interests encroached upon from all directions. Additionally, extraterrestrial conflicts on Mars and various other locals of interest in the solar system had recently taken precedence over more Earth-bound concerns. It was India's seizing of Guam in 2088 that woke the nation to the truth that its once uncontestable military was no longer, the be all and end all. And so, in 2090, the country set about the task of reasserting its dominance. And it all began with project Dreadnought.
Project Dreadnought, or as it was referred to by select DARPA researchers “Manhattan Project II: Electric Boogaloo”, was intended to create a single weapons system that could assert US Military supremacy over an entire hemisphere. It was decided early on that the system would be naval based, to allow rapid relocation and resupply. Eventually, the specifications for a nuclear powered battleship were drafted and the project was on track to produce its first production unit by 2102. There was much debate at the time whether the ship should be a carrier but advances in hypersonic aircraft and SSTO technology had all but rendered carriers obsolete, as aircraft launched from land bases could reach targets anywhere in the world in less than 30 minutes, without putting a multi-billion dollar ship and thousands of crew at risk. Why then a battleship? Simple. Visibility. The simple presence of the proposed ship in any ocean would demand an adversary's total attention. And, unlike a land based system, its stealth and ability to relocate would enhance its survivability. The project suffered multiple delays and cost overruns but finally, on July 5th 2107, the first ship of the class USS Adjudicator UBBN-01 was christened.
The name of the ship was a subject of much debate. While traditionally US battleships were named for one of its 51 states, since Puerto Rico officially joined the union in 2034, Navy brass felt the need to separate its new warship from those that came before it. And so “Adjudicator” was chosen, to symbolize the ship’s role as America’s judge, jury and executioner. The UBBN prefix denoted the ship as an autonomous (U) battleship (BB) powered by a nuclear reactor (N), or more accurately a Tokamak fusion reactor.

    The Adjudicator measures an impressive 1,496 feet in length. Making it the single largest warship ever built, longer than even the USS New Hampshire. This impressive size was necessary to fit the firepower required to allow the ship to dominate an entire hemisphere. The pride and joy of the ship are its 8 EMR-777 Multi-bore railguns. These guns retain the same intercontinental capability first championed by the USS Massachusetts but add the ability to alter the bore of the barrel, allowing the ship to fire projectiles of different masses to suit the mission at hand. The rounds themselves are modular, meaning the ship doesn’t have to carry multiple calibers but can instead alter the caliber of rounds as needed. The ship also carries 6 EMR-404 guns, which are in essence scaled down versions of the triple 7. These guns have less range but are able to use the same modular ammunition as their bigger cousins, meaning the ship only needs a single stockpile for all of its primary weapons.
    Guns are not the only thing the ship is packing, however. 1,536 Mk60 VLS cells give the Adjudicator the single largest missile capacity of any ship afloat. Most of these cells are fitted with double stacked SSM-260F Sea Peregrine surface to air missiles, intended primarily for use in intercepting large saturation attacks. Additionally, the cells may carry the UMM-1 series of missiles, RUM-200 ASROC and the new RGM-90 Halberd hypersonic anti-ship missile. The total complement of missiles is an astounding 2,880, including the SSM-260Fs which come in double stacked cells. Part of what allows this volume of missiles is the ship’s high level of automation, meaning very little space is needed for crew. Indeed the ship is actually entirely capable of fully autonomous action, though generally operates with a crew of around 60-70 with between 10-16 officers and around 50-60 software and mechanical engineers.
    Beyond its kinetic armament this Adjudicator is also equipped with 7 LW-54 ADLS (Area Denial Laser System). These short range lasers trade the longer reach of most contemporary systems for increased power and shorter time-to-kill. With a range of approximately 20 nm a single ADLS can detect, track and intercept up to 6 hypersonic weapons before they even breach 10 nm, assuming said weapons are within direct line of sight. They are also adept at intercepting drones and any aircraft unlucky enough to find themselves in range. Backing up these lasers are 4 30mm Guardian CIWS. While these systems have more in common with the 20mm Phalanx of the last century, they provide an invaluable redundancy to the ship’s defensive curtain. As Rear Admiral Macdonald put it “Lasers are great and all, but sometimes there’s no replacement for good old gunpowder and lead.”
    While the Adjudicator’s firepower is most impressive, indeed surpassing that of some other nations' entire navies, its greatest weapon is its electronic warfare suite. Beyond simple jamming and countermeasures, the Adjudicator is capable of feeding false information about its position, speed and heading across the entire spectrum, making difficult if nigh impossible to acquire accurate tracking information of the ship outside of the visible realm. The ship is even capable of intercepting the control frequencies for drones and AI enabled missiles, allowing it to disable, or even take control of such systems. Even if an enemy is able to get enough accurate information to launch a missile strike it’s likely that they will find those same missiles turned against them. Of course all this assumes an enemy who is unaware of or unable to counter advanced EW capabilities. In practice against a peer adversary, such as India or China, the ship would employ every one of its defensive systems in a layered shield.
    The Adjudicator would complete sea trials in March of 2108 and would be joined two years later by her sister ships Arbiter UBBN-02 and Conciliator UBBN-03. Together, these three ships would become the locus of American military power on Earth.

    Full Specs:
    Power plant: 1x R-1011 Tokamak Reactor generating 2.3 gigawatts.
    Propulsion: 3x laminar flow waterjets, Drive Total: 577,000 shaft horsepower
    Speed: 37 kts
    Displacement: 104,270 long tons
    Range: Unlimited (@24kts)
    Draft 59 feet
    Beam: 176 feet
    Length: 1,496 feet
    Crew: 60-70

    Sensors:
                   AN/SPY-32 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) (All-band, AESA)
                   AN/SPY-26 Volume Search Radar (VSR) (S-band, scanned array)
                   AN/SPS-90A 2D surface search radar
                   AN/SPY-44 Air/Surface Search Radar (Multi-Band)
                 SRS-9D Short-range tracking Radar/Lidar (Multi-Band)
                   AN/BQQ-19 Sonar Array
    Armament:
                 8x EMR-777 Multi-bore Railguns (intercontinental, Mach 20+)
               6x EMR-404 Multi-bore Railguns (250+nms, Mach 9+)
               7x LW-54 ALDS (20nm)
               4x 30mm Guardian CIWS (1.5nm)
                 1,536x Mk-60 VLS Cells with total complement of 2,880 missiles including:
                     UMM-1K Ares (Intercontinental, Mach 16)
                     UMM-1S Ares (4,500nm, Mach 12+)
                     UMM-1SL Ares (4,000nm, Mach 10)
                     SSM-260F Sea Peregrine (190nm, Mach 6)
                     RUM-200 A-ASROC (43nm, Mach 1.8)
                   RGM-90 Halberd (1,200nm, Mach 7.5)
                 LRASM Block 9 (1,800nm Mach 0.95)

I went through quite few iterations of this model but I should be done editing it now. The most challanging part was removing right angles to maintain a stealth profile. I did the best I could but there may still be a few in there.



Link to 3D model: skfb.ly/oSBJD

Description

“This is it. The be all and end all. The final word.” - Rear Admiral Kathleen Macdonald USN, 2107

In the years preceding the turn of the 22nd century the United States found itself stretched thin, both militarily and economically. While it had survived the rise of China in the early 2000s with only 1 major conflict that left it relatively unscathed, the following rise of India, Southern Africa and South America found the long standing super power’s international interests encroached upon from all directions. Additionally, extraterrestrial conflicts on Mars and various other locals of interest in the solar system had recently taken precedence over more Earth-bound concerns. It was India's seizing of Guam in 2088 that woke the nation to the truth that its once uncontestable military was no longer, the be all and end all. And so, in 2090, the country set about the task of reasserting its dominance. And it all began with project Dreadnought.
Project Dreadnought, or as it was referred to by select DARPA researchers “Manhattan Project II: Electric Boogaloo”, was intended to create a single weapons system that could assert US Military supremacy over an entire hemisphere. It was decided early on that the system would be naval based, to allow rapid relocation and resupply. Eventually, the specifications for a nuclear powered battleship were drafted and the project was on track to produce its first production unit by 2102. There was much debate at the time whether the ship should be a carrier but advances in hypersonic aircraft and SSTO technology had all but rendered carriers obsolete, as aircraft launched from land bases could reach targets anywhere in the world in less than 30 minutes, without putting a multi-billion dollar ship and thousands of crew at risk. Why then a battleship? Simple. Visibility. The simple presence of the proposed ship in any ocean would demand an adversary's total attention. And, unlike a land based system, its stealth and ability to relocate would enhance its survivability. The project suffered multiple delays and cost overruns but finally, on July 5th 2107, the first ship of the class USS Adjudicator UBBN-01 was christened.
The name of the ship was a subject of much debate. While traditionally US battleships were named for one of its 51 states, since Puerto Rico officially joined the union in 2034, Navy brass felt the need to separate its new warship from those that came before it. And so “Adjudicator” was chosen, to symbolize the ship’s role as America’s judge, jury and executioner. The UBBN prefix denoted the ship as an autonomous (U) battleship (BB) powered by a nuclear reactor (N), or more accurately a Tokamak fusion reactor.

    The Adjudicator measures an impressive 1,496 feet in length. Making it the single largest warship ever built, longer than even the USS New Hampshire. This impressive size was necessary to fit the firepower required to allow the ship to dominate an entire hemisphere. The pride and joy of the ship are its 8 EMR-777 Multi-bore railguns. These guns retain the same intercontinental capability first championed by the USS Massachusetts but add the ability to alter the bore of the barrel, allowing the ship to fire projectiles of different masses to suit the mission at hand. The rounds themselves are modular, meaning the ship doesn’t have to carry multiple calibers but can instead alter the caliber of rounds as needed. The ship also carries 6 EMR-404 guns, which are in essence scaled down versions of the triple 7. These guns have less range but are able to use the same modular ammunition as their bigger cousins, meaning the ship only needs a single stockpile for all of its primary weapons.
    Guns are not the only thing the ship is packing, however. 1,536 Mk60 VLS cells give the Adjudicator the single largest missile capacity of any ship afloat. Most of these cells are fitted with double stacked SSM-260F Sea Peregrine surface to air missiles, intended primarily for use in intercepting large saturation attacks. Additionally, the cells may carry the UMM-1 series of missiles, RUM-200 ASROC and the new RGM-90 Halberd hypersonic anti-ship missile. The total complement of missiles is an astounding 2,880, including the SSM-260Fs which come in double stacked cells. Part of what allows this volume of missiles is the ship’s high level of automation, meaning very little space is needed for crew. Indeed the ship is actually entirely capable of fully autonomous action, though generally operates with a crew of around 60-70 with between 10-16 officers and around 50-60 software and mechanical engineers.
    Beyond its kinetic armament this Adjudicator is also equipped with 7 LW-54 ADLS (Area Denial Laser System). These short range lasers trade the longer reach of most contemporary systems for increased power and shorter time-to-kill. With a range of approximately 20 nm a single ADLS can detect, track and intercept up to 6 hypersonic weapons before they even breach 10 nm, assuming said weapons are within direct line of sight. They are also adept at intercepting drones and any aircraft unlucky enough to find themselves in range. Backing up these lasers are 4 30mm Guardian CIWS. While these systems have more in common with the 20mm Phalanx of the last century, they provide an invaluable redundancy to the ship’s defensive curtain. As Rear Admiral Macdonald put it “Lasers are great and all, but sometimes there’s no replacement for good old gunpowder and lead.”
    While the Adjudicator’s firepower is most impressive, indeed surpassing that of some other nations' entire navies, its greatest weapon is its electronic warfare suite. Beyond simple jamming and countermeasures, the Adjudicator is capable of feeding false information about its position, speed and heading across the entire spectrum, making difficult if nigh impossible to acquire accurate tracking information of the ship outside of the visible realm. The ship is even capable of intercepting the control frequencies for drones and AI enabled missiles, allowing it to disable, or even take control of such systems. Even if an enemy is able to get enough accurate information to launch a missile strike it’s likely that they will find those same missiles turned against them. Of course all this assumes an enemy who is unaware of or unable to counter advanced EW capabilities. In practice against a peer adversary, such as India or China, the ship would employ every one of its defensive systems in a layered shield.
    The Adjudicator would complete sea trials in March of 2108 and would be joined two years later by her sister ships Arbiter UBBN-02 and Conciliator UBBN-03. Together, these three ships would become the locus of American military power on Earth.

    Full Specs:
    Power plant: 1x R-1011 Tokamak Reactor generating 2.3 gigawatts.
    Propulsion: 3x laminar flow waterjets, Drive Total: 577,000 shaft horsepower
    Speed: 37 kts
    Displacement: 104,270 long tons
    Range: Unlimited (@24kts)
    Draft 59 feet
    Beam: 176 feet
    Length: 1,496 feet
    Crew: 60-70

    Sensors:
                   AN/SPY-32 Multi-Function Radar (MFR) (All-band, AESA)
                   AN/SPY-26 Volume Search Radar (VSR) (S-band, scanned array)
                   AN/SPS-90A 2D surface search radar
                   AN/SPY-44 Air/Surface Search Radar (Multi-Band)
                 SRS-9D Short-range tracking Radar/Lidar (Multi-Band)
                   AN/BQQ-19 Sonar Array
    Armament:
                 8x EMR-777 Multi-bore Railguns (intercontinental, Mach 20+)
               6x EMR-404 Multi-bore Railguns (250+nms, Mach 9+)
               7x LW-54 ALDS (20nm)
               4x 30mm Guardian CIWS (1.5nm)
                 1,536x Mk-60 VLS Cells with total complement of 2,880 missiles including:
                     UMM-1K Ares (Intercontinental, Mach 16)
                     UMM-1S Ares (4,500nm, Mach 12+)
                     UMM-1SL Ares (4,000nm, Mach 10)
                     SSM-260F Sea Peregrine (190nm, Mach 6)
                     RUM-200 A-ASROC (43nm, Mach 1.8)
                   RGM-90 Halberd (1,200nm, Mach 7.5)
                 LRASM Block 9 (1,800nm Mach 0.95)

I went through quite few iterations of this model but I should be done editing it now. The most challanging part was removing right angles to maintain a stealth profile. I did the best I could but there may still be a few in there.



Link to 3D model: skfb.ly/oSBJD