New Sovietskiy Arkhangelsk class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier:


After the reformation of the Soviet Union, the rebuilding of the Soviet Navy took the rest of the world by surprise. Soviet construction programs included destroyers, cruisers, corvettes, submarines, amphibious vessels, and support ships. It also included the construction of new carriers. One of the few vessels built before the pre Soviet restoration, the carrier Kuznetsov, was extensively rebuilt and became a very important vessel in the expanding Soviet fleet.


A total of six large carriers of the Arkhangelsk class followed the rebuilding of the older carrier. Construction was relatively slow with only one shipyard capable of building the new carriers. The same yard was also involved in the building of the Borodino class amphibious command ships. The first of the Arkhangelsk class was laid down in 2042 and took eleven years to go between the laying of the keel and the commissioning. The later vessels of the carrier class took less time and required around seven years each to complete.


 The six carrier of the Arkhangelsk class were the largest vessels in the Soviet fleet until just before the coming of the Rifts and there were no plans to take these carriers out of service. They formed the center of powerful Soviet battle fleets and were considered the pride of the Soviet Navy. Over the years, there were several recorded incidents where Soviet carrier battle groups faced off similar American carrier groups. While the incidents got very tense several times, none resulted in shooting.


Just before the coming of the Great Cataclysm, two additional surface carriers had been laid down and two additional carriers had been planned. These would have been build to a modified version of the Arkhangelsk class. In addition to being slightly larger, these new aircraft carriers would have been able to handle a larger number of aircraft. Neither of the new carriers under construction were completed and it is believed that their hulls were destroyed with the magic storms spawned by the coming of the Rifts.  


At the time of the Great Cataclysm, one of the Arkhangelsk class was in the yard. In addition, three Arkhangelsk class carriers were at sea. For the rest, the Soviet Navy had built strike hardened bunkers for their carriers similar to those that the United States built, and it is believed that the carriers were sheltered in the bunkers. Still, it is unknown if any of the New Soviet carriers survived the destruction. If one or more did however, their composite construction made them virtually immune to the environment and might very well have survived until the present day. No one is known to have visited the bunker’s locations but they are a likely place for there to be surviving Soviet carriers.


In overall appearance, the Arkhangelsk class carriers are similar to the carrier Kuznetsov. Still, there are a number of important differences. One of the most noticeable is that the newer carriers did not have a ski jump but instead uses catapults. While the United States and Great Britain switched to electro-magnetic catapults for their carriers, the Soviet navy mounted steam catapults due to having problems with the development of electro-magnetic catapults. The catapults on the new carriers under construction or planned before the coming of the Great Cataclysm would have carried electro-magnetic catapults. The Arkhangelsk class carrier under refit was to have received electro-magnetic models in order to conduct at sea evaluations of the system. Otherwise, it was planned to upgrade the remaining Arkhangelsk class carriers but the coming of the Great Cataclysm prevented this.


Another major change with the Arkhangelsk class carriers was in the shape of the superstructure. Compared to the Kuznetsov, the island is more square and smaller on the Arkhangelsk class carriers. Still, the superstructure is far larger than the island on the American Ranger class carriers. Part of the reason why the superstructure is larger than the American carrier is due to the space required by the radar systems. The Soviet Navy preferred a higher level of redundancy on their carriers than the United States navy.


One of the reasons behind the smaller superstructure on the Arkhangelsk class is there is no need for a stack to exhaust engine gasses. Unlike the Kuznetsov, the Arkhangelsk class was planned with nuclear power in mind before being laid down. The first vessel of the class was laid down with conventional nuclear reactors but later vessels were constructed using fusion reactors. When it was time to recore the original reactors on Arkhangelsk, the conventional nuclear reactors were replaced with fusion reactors. While the originally planned convention reactors would have lasted longer between needing to be refueled, it was far easier and safer to refuel the fusion reactors.


Similarly to the Kuznetsov, the new carrier class was designed with four shafts although it is slightly slower at a top speed of thirty-four knots. As with the Kuznetsov, there were issues with escorts. With their original gas turbine engines, neither the Novik class destroyers or the Svietlana class cruisers were able to keep up with the carriers. Once converted over to fusion turbines, the Novik class destroyers were generally able to just barely keep up with the carriers they were escorting while the Svietlana class cruisers remained slightly slower than the carriers.


Laid down using advanced high strength composites and alloys, the Arkhangelsk class carriers were far stronger than the older Kuznetsov. The older carrier had been not initially laid down with the more advanced modern materials and had only been later converted. In addition to being incredibly tough, these advanced materials also greatly reduced the amount of maintenance required for the Arkhangelsk class carriers.


For electronics, the Arkhangelsk class carriers did use many of the same systems that the Kuznetsov was refitted with. This include a four panel active phased array radar system known as “Pod Hunter” in Western circles. In addition, these carriers mounted the rotating single panel active phased array radar system known as “Morning Star” as backup. While shorter ranged, the “Morning Star” radar system was designed to be capable of taking over both missile control and flight operations if required. On difference between the Arkhangelsk class carriers and the Kuznetsov was that the newer carriers mounted a more advanced hull sonar than the converted carrier. Still, the Arkhangelsk class carriers were not designed for independent anti-submarine warfare.


As built, the weaponry of the Arkhangelsk class carriers was greatly reduced from what was first proposed. Interestingly, the weapon suite eventually fitted to these new carriers ended up being very similar to that of the Kuznetsov. Even though lighter armed than originally planned, the New Soviet carriers were far heavier armed than the contemporary United States Ranger class carriers.


One change from the Kuznetsov was that the new carriers would only have twelve anti-ship cruise missiles compared to twenty-four for the converted carrier. Like the Kuznetsov, they are flush decked under the forward flight deck. During the development of these carriers, there was a lot of criticism with respect to having cruise missile batteries at all and it is believed that reducing the number of cruise missiles was a comprise. It is believed that the carriers that were under construction at the time of the Great Cataclysm had completely deleted the cruise missile batteries.


Otherwise, the Arkhangelsk class carriers were armed primarily for self defense. Included in this is almost two hundred medium range missiles in twenty-four rotary vertical launch systems. While the design is based on the SA-N-9 Gauntlet launchers carried on the Kuznetsov, they are slightly more compact. For inner defense, the Arkhangelsk class originally carried eight CADS-N-1 mounts but these were later replaced by eight CAD-N-6 Mounts which used a pulse laser in place of the 30 mm cannons but have a similar capability. The pulse laser has a shorter range but the unlimited payload is considered to compensate for the reduced range. As some measure of self defense against torpedoes, the Arkhangelsk class carriers were designed with two “Killer Dart” interceptor short range torpedo launching systems.


Of course the true weaponry of a carrier is the embarked aircraft. Compared to the Kuznetsov, the Arkhangelsk class carriers can embark a far greater number of aircraft. Just before the coming of the Great Cataclysm, standard air wing was two squadrons of Yak-244 Firedancer VSTOL Fighters, three squadrons of Sukhoi Su-47D Foxfire Multi-Role Fighters, and a dozen support tilt rotors. Both anti-submarine warfare and radar tilt rotors were embarked. Along with the seventy-two aircraft normally carried, the carrier has extensive repair facilities for aircraft.


With regard to troops, around two hundred and fifty troops could be embarked. As designed, these carriers did not have facilities for full conversion cyborgs but were later modified to carry them as part of the troop compliment. Still, there were areas of the ship which were unable to accommodate heavy cyborgs. The heavy cyborgs were often equipped with jet packs and are used in a similar role to the way most nations use flying power armors.


Because the Arkhangelsk class carriers were build with additional automation as laid down, the crew compliment of the new carriers was less than the Kuznetsov. However, due to the larger air wing, the air crew is also larger. Crew quarters were considered comfortable but the ship did not have the incredibly palatial officer’s quarters such as the old Soviet Kirov and Slava classes carried. As might be expected, the Arkhangelsk class carriers were designed to operate as flagships. These flag facilities were upgraded several times during the ship’s career to keep them current.


Author Note: With respect to time line, these designs may or may not reflect our modern time line. The time line of these writeups diverged from our time line starting around 1999. Consider the universe that these designs are created for to be an alternate universe not bound by ours.


Model Type: Arkhangelsk class Nuclear Aircraft Carrier.

Vehicle Type: Ocean, Multi Purpose Aircraft Carrier.

Crew: ship’s complement 1,310, air crew 840, and flagship staff 40 (when acting as a flagship).

Troops: 200 normal soldiers (including partial conversions and light cyborgs), 50 heavy cyborg soldiers (with jet packs.)


Vehicle Compliment:

 

36

Sukhoi Su-47D Foxfire Multi-Role Fighters.

 

24

Yak-244 Firedancer VSTOL Fighters.

 

8

Yak-228B“Minstrel” ASW / Utility Tilt-Rotor Aircraft.

 

4

Yak-228C “Minstrel” Radar Tilt-Rotor Aircraft.

M.D.C. by Location:

 

CADS-N-6 Combination Anti-Missile Defense Systems (8, hull /flight deck):

225 each.

 

SS-N-40 Cruise Missile Vertical Launchers (12, forward flight deck):

150 each.

 

Octuple Rotary Medium Range Vertical Launch Systems (24, hull /flight deck):

125 each.

 

Killer Dart “Interceptor” Torpedo Launchers (2):

80 each.

 

[1] Chaff / Decoy Launchers (8, hull / superstructure):

10 each.

 

[2] “Pod Hunter” Soviet AEGIS Phased Array Radar Panels (4, superstructure):

200 each.

 

[2] “Morning Star” Active Phased Array Radar (1, superstructure):

250.

 

[3] Catapults (3):

80 each.

 

[3] Arrester Cables (4):

40 each.

 

[4] Exterior Elevators (3):

300 each.

 

Hanger doors (3):

300 each.

 

[5] Flight Deck:

3,000.

 

[6] Bridge / Command Tower:

2,500.

 

Outer Hull (per 40 foot / 12.2 meter area):

80.

 

[7] Main Body:

10,500.

Notes:

[1] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a “called shot,” but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.

[2] Destroying “Pod Hunter” AEGIS active phased array panels will disable primary long range search and fire control systems. However, the “Morning Star” rotating active phased array radar acts as medium range radar but does not have the ability to track as many targets. In addition, standard robot sensors for the time period, not needing large antennas to be effective, were installed in well-protected points in the hull as secondary systems. As well, “Pod Hunter” phased array radar panels can partially compensate for each other.

[3] If the catapults are destroyed, non VTOL or STOL aircraft cannot be launched. If arrester cables are destroyed, non VTOL or STOL aircraft cannot land until arrester cables are replaced.

[4] If both elevators are destroyed, no aircraft can be moved from the hangers to the flight deck, meaning that they cannot be launched unless already on the flight deck.

[5] If the flight decks are destroyed, only VTOL aircraft can be launched or land. VTOL aircraft are at -15% to piloting.

[6] If the bridge/ control tower is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but with a -15% to piloting rolls. Communication and sensor equipment are not concentrated on the bridge to reduce the effectiveness of bridge hits.

[7] Destroying the main body causes the ship to lose structural integrity, causing the ship to sink. There are enough life preservers and inflatable life boats to accommodate everyone on the ship.


Speed:

Surface: 39.2 mph (34 knots/ 63.0 kph).

Range: Effectively unlimited due to fusion engines (needs to refuel every 20 years and requires maintenance as well). Ship carries six months of supplies on board.


Statistical Data:

Draft:    36.4 feet (11.1 meters) including sonar dome.

Length:  952.1 feet (290.2 meters) waterline and 1,076.8 feet (328.2 meters) overall.

Width:   132.9 feet (40.5 meters) waterline and 248.8 feet (75.8 meters) flight deck.

Displacement: 64,500 tons standard and 89,800 tons fully loaded.

Cargo: Can carry 5,000 tons (4,535 metric tons) of nonessential equipment and supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ship’s officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ship’s spaces are taken up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons, and engines.

Power System: Four nuclear fusion reactors, average life span is 20 years. Usually only goes 10 years between refueling.

Black Market Cost: Not for sale but costs around 1.8 billion credits to construct. If found and sold on the black market would probably cost 4 to 8 billion credits. Cost does not include embarked craft and power armors.


WEAPON SYSTEMS:

  1. Eight (8) Kashstan CADS-N-6 CIWS Systems: Combination Anti-Missile Defense Systems which combines both a rapid fire laser and a short range missile launchers. While mounted in one system, both defense systems have separate tracking systems. Short range missiles are designed to be able to track and target multiple missiles simultaneously. Laser system fires four blast bursts and is capable of destroying missiles and inflicting serious damage on aircraft. Laser is similar to the S-500 Cyclone Pulse Laser Rifle with extended range. System can be targeted against surface targets and ground targets.

    Maximum Effective Range: Laser Cannons: 4,000 feet (1,220 meters). Short Range Missiles: As per short range missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Mega Damage: Laser Cannons: 1D6x10 for four blast burst. Short Range Missiles: As per short range missile type - Usually fragmentation warheads (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Laser Cannons: Six (6) attacks per melee. (+2 to strike aircraft; +3 to strike missiles.) Short Range Missiles: can fire short range missiles one at a time or in volley of two (2), three (3), or four (4) short range missiles per launcher. Can fire up to two (2) times per melee round in place of gun fire.

    Payload: Laser Cannons: Effectively unlimited. Short Range Missiles: Thirty-two (32) short range missiles per mount.

  2. Twelve (12) SS-N-40 Cruise Missile Vertical Launchers: The launchers are located flush with the forward part of the carrier’s flight deck. The cruise missiles can be fired be fired at either ground or surface targets but cannot be targeted on air targets. The launchers can launch at multiple targets simultaneously.

    Maximum Effective Range: Varies with cruise missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Mega Damage: Varies with cruise missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Can fire cruise missiles one at a time, or volleys of two (2), four (4), or six (6) cruise missiles per melee round.

    Payload: One (1) cruise missile per launcher for twelve (12) cruise missiles total.

  3. Twenty-Four (24) Medium Range Octuple Rotary Vertical Launch Systems: These launchers are modified versions of previous vertical launch missile systems. Each launcher has eight medium range missiles in a rotary launcher. Normal role for the missiles is to act as medium defense of the vessel. They can launch on either ground, surface, or air targets. The launchers can launch at multiple targets simultaneously.

    Maximum Effective Range: Varies with medium range missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Mega-Damage: Varies with medium range missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Each launcher can fire a single medium range missile at a time. Combined, the launchers can fire medium range missiles one at a time or in volleys of any amount of medium range missiles up to twenty-four (24) medium range missiles total in any combinations and can be fired at multiple targets at the same time. Can be fired up to twice (2) per melee round.

    Payload: Has eight (8) medium range missiles per launcher for one hundred and ninety-six (196) medium range missiles total.

  4. Two (2) Killer Dart “Interceptor” Short Range Torpedo Launchers: These so called “Killer Darts” are a Russian interceptor torpedo, designed primarily for intercepting and hitting incoming torpedoes, with a secondary function against small submersibles and submersible power armors. They mount in a similar position to the ASW Rail launchers carried on late Twentieth Century Soviet vessels. In contrast, American and European designers prefer to fire interceptor torpedoes from their standard torpedo tubes. Launcher is primarily designed to intercept incoming torpedoes but can be used against other vessels, against large submarines, and even against underwater troops. Other torpedoes can be used but are very rarely used.

    Maximum Effective Range: 2,000 feet (609.6 meters) using interceptor torpedoes, other torpedoes use standard rules (See revised Rifts torpedoes for details.)

    Mega-Damage: By light torpedo warhead type (See revised Rifts torpedoes for details.)

    Rate of Fire: Each launcher can fire salvos of up to eight (8) light interceptor torpedoes per melee round.

    Payload: Sixty-four (64) interceptor torpedoes each launcher for one hundred and twenty-eight (128) interceptor torpedoes total.

  5. Eight (8) Chaff / Decoy Launchers: Located on the sides of the hull of the ship, they are designed to confuse incoming missiles. All eight launchers must be operated or effects will be reduced. Rifts Earth decoys systems are assumed to not be effective against Phase World / Three Galaxies missiles due to technological difference. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (Add +20% to rolls for smart missiles) and reduce effects of launchers by 10% per launcher not used (Add +10% to rolls per launcher not used.) Only useful against missiles, not useful against torpedoes underwater.

    Range: Around Ship.

    Mega Damage: None.

    Effects:

    01-35

    Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud - Missiles are all destroyed.

     

    36-60

    Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (May lock onto another target.)

     

    61-00

    No effect, enemy missile or missile volley is still on target.

    Payload: Twenty-four (24) each for a total of one hundred and ninety-two (192) canisters.

Special Systems:

The ship has all systems standard on a robot vehicle plus the following special features:


[ Altarain TM, Bandito Arms TM, Brodkil TM, Chipwell Armaments TM, Coalition States TM, Cyber-Knight TM, Federation of Magic TM, Free Quebec TM, Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Horune TM, Iron Heart Armaments TM, Kankoran TM, Kittani TM, Kydian TM, Larsen’s Brigade TM, M.D.C. TM, Mechanoids TM, Mega-Damage TM, Megaversal Legion TM, Millennium Tree TM, Mutants in Orbit TM, Naruni Enterprises TM, Naut’Yll, New Navy TM, New Sovietskiy TM, NGR TM, Nog Heng TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, Psyscape TM, Rifter TM, SAMAS TM, S.D.C. TM, Shemarrian TM, Splugorth TM, Stormspire TM, Sunaj TM, Tolkeen TM, Triax TM, Wellington Industries TM, Wilk’s Laser Technologies TM, Xiticix TM, and Zaayr TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

[ Beyond the Supernatural®, Heroes Unlimited®, Nightbane®, Ninjas & Superspies®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Rifts® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]


Initial Concepts by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).


Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2002 & 2017, Kitsune. All rights reserved.


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