Hikaze Class Destroyer

The Hikaze ("Wind of Light" - Fuyurikan: 光風) class is a type of Guided Missile Destroyer developed in Zalkent to be fielded in the Royal Zalkentian Navy for multi-mission profiles.

Hikaze Class Prj. 2184 "Hikaze" Large Multi-Mission Guided Missile Destroyer
Ship
RZS Hikaze DDG-01 testing its Anti-Air Systems c. 2199
Role		Multi-Mission Guided Missile Destroyer
National Origin		Zalkent
Production History
Designed
2184 - 2190
Produced
2197 - N/A
Designer		Narinō Combined Industries
Unit Cost		232,713 - Unarmed(√)
Number Built		4
Service History
In Service
2199 - N/A
Used By		Zalkent
Vessel Characteristics
Displacement		1,190 tons
Length		119.3 m
Beam		19.7 m
Height		25.6 m
Propulsion		3 NCI Electric Naval Propulsion Units 2 NCI GT-77 Gas Turbine
Max Speed		29 kn (14.6 m/s)
Operational Range		N/A km
Complement		178
Sensors and Processing Systems		TEB ARC Type 78N ID-FCRS Type 81 Sonar System
Armament		48 VLS Cells 1 5"/127mm Mod 4 Naval Gun 3 Oerlikon Millennium Cannons 2 250MW Type 99 Directed Energy Weapons
Aircraft Carried		1 Rotary Wing Aircraft

Development

With the establishment of the Royal Zalkentian Navy in 2182, the Naval Ordinance Bureau commissioned NCI to develop a Multirole Guided Missile Escort. Designated internally as "Project 2184 Missile Cruiser", but due to fears within certain factions of the General Assembly that there would be retribution for fielding an advanced capital ship, and considering the paranoia from the Burr War and Civil War, the project was later renamed to "Project 2184 Large Multi-Mission Guided Missile Destroyer" as a result. The development was faced with numerous technical issues due to this being the first ship indigenously developed in Zalkent since the Burr War. Multiple parties outside the government have argued that the ship should be classified as a Guided Missile Cruiser, but the government remained firm on the decision to prevent the ship class from being labelled as a Guided Missile Cruiser.

The systems that make up the ship were subcontracted out to multiple technology and weapons firms across Zalkent, with the Type 78 Integrated Detection and Fire Control Radar System (ID-FCRS) and the Type 81 Sonar System being chosen for the vessels. The propulsion systems were manufactured in house by NHI. As for the weapons systems, they were chosen by the Naval Ordinance Bureau itself, as they fit the requirements for the profile of the class. The ship also integrated the Tenrai Electronics Bureau (TEB) produced Advanced Resource Computer for Crew Reduction, abbreviated as ARC or ARCCR. ARC utilizes multiple computer systems to monitor the status of the entire ship, providing detailed diagnostics to the crew at all times, which was a necessity due to the size of the Royal Zalkentian Navy.

Design

Rear view of RZS Hikaze showing the rear Type 78N ID-FCRS Array.

VLS bay on RZS Narikaze.

The design of the Hikaze was based on observations of foreign naval fleets and the necessity for an escort type ship within the newly formed Royal Zalkentian Navy. The Hikaze Class was the first time that the Type 78 ID-FCRS saw naval deployment, which was previously only used on land based Anti-Air emplacements. This proved the capabilities of the system for future ship classes, but the early arrays had issues with corrosion from the ocean waters. This led to the refitting of the lead ship with the Type 78N ID-FCRS arrays, which were reinforced to deal with the corrosive properties of salt water. The array failures were the reasoning behind the delayed commissioning of RZS Hikaze. There were also issues present with the supplied ARC System configurations, but these were minor problems that were updated during the integration of the Type 78N variant of the ID-FCRS.

There were also issues that plagued the class with regards to its propulsion and power systems, which was a change present from the original contract. The original production called for two propulsion units that were powered by an NCI GT-77 Gas Turbine. The ship in that current configuration was simulated to only be able to reach about 20kn, which necessitated a redesign of the system. The issue with the power system was that one GT-77 Gas Turbine could not feasibly power the Type 78N ID-FCRS and the Type 81 Sonar, so this also required a redesign. The new system had introduced a third propulsion unit which enabled the ship to reach a maximum speed of 29-30kn, whilst a second GT-77 was introduced to offset the power costs.

The VLS system was also riddled with issues regarding missile clearance, which required a slight modification to Hikaze and Narikaze following the information gained from Hikaze during her commissioning. The problems with the original system caused missiles to have problems launching, with one instance almost causing a detonation in the VLS bay. The missile only had a simulated warhead which prevented the potential loss of the entire ship. These problems placed a strain on the program, and affected the Naval Ordinance Bureau's opinion of the ship class as a whole, as the first two ships of the class had to be partially redesigned to include a new VLS bay.

Between the technical troubles and massive cost spike of the program itself, the Naval Ordinance Bureau made the decision to reduce the order size from eight ships originally down to five ships, with the fifth hull on the verge of being cancelled entirely. However, these issues were only really present in the original Flight I variants, with the first two ships of the class being refitted to Flight IA status alleviating most of the issues previously present. RZS Harukaze and RZS Mizukaze are both part of the Flight II program, which has removed many of the teething issues that the class originally experienced. The information gained about the Hikaze Class Flight II series from the ongoing commissioning of Harukaze has brought some faith back in the class. During the commissioning of the first Flight II destroyer, and construction of the second, Flight IA destroyers Hikaze and Narikaze were later modified to the Flight IB specification, which introduced an updated Fire Control System and the 5"/127mm Mod 4 Naval Gun found on the Flight II series.

Service History

RZS Hikaze alongside interim 1st Fleet Flagship RZS Allondria.

The first ship of the class, RZS Hikaze DDG-01 was commissioned on June 12th, 2199 and the second ship, RZS Narikaze DDG-02 being commissioned on December 19th, 2199 as part of the New Navy Program (NNP). RZS Harukaze DDG-03 is expected to commission in January or February of 2200, with RZS Mizukaze DDG-04 being expected to finish construction around the time that Harukaze is finished with commissioning. The fifth ship of the class, designated hull number DDG-05, is currently unnamed and planned to be laid down sometime in 2200, with construction finishing in 2201 or 2202. However, DDG-05 is on the verge of cancellation due to budgetary concerns. These five ships are expected to primarily serve the role of Air-Defense Escort for the flagship RZS Masahiro Ashigaru in the Zalkentian 1st Fleet, but they have Anti-Ship and Shore Bombardment capabilities built in as part of their Multi-Mission profile. These destroyers are going to be a core part of the 1st Fleet, and have become fan favorites among their crews for being highly automated and easy to control, whilst having capable defenses for both the ships themselves and the other vessels in the fleet.

Currently, RZS Hikaze and RZS Narikaze have served as escorts for the interim 1st Fleet Flagship, Battleship RZS Allondria, during her voyage to the Confederacy of Atreus in order to bring the 1st Fleet Admiral to the RZS Masahiro Ashigaru, which is currently under construction. This voyage also served as a successful training sortie for the crew of the Allondria, and assisted in the training of the crew for the Battleship RZS Blythehria.

Ships

Name	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate	Operator	Variant
RZS Hikaze	March 17th, 2197	November 21st, 2198	June 12th, 2199	Active	Royal Zalkentian Navy	Flight IB
RZS Narikaze	April 11th, 2198	July 1st, 2199	December 19th, 2199	Active	Royal Zalkentian Navy	Flight IB
RZS Harukaze	September 29th, 2198	November 15th, 2199	N/A	Commissioning	Royal Zalkentian Navy	Flight II
RZS Mizukaze	June 9th, 2199	N/A	N/A	Pending Completion	Royal Zalkentian Navy	Flight II
Unnamed Hull DDG-05	N/A	N/A	N/A	Planned	Royal Zalkentian Navy	N/A
Unnamed Hull DDG-06	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cancelled	Royal Zalkentian Navy	N/A
Unnamed Hull DDG-07	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cancelled	Royal Zalkentian Navy	N/A
Unnamed Hull DDG-08	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cancelled	Royal Zalkentian Navy	N/A