Iowa Class 1990s VLS Upgrade (NTU)
Under the FY1993 Warship Improvement Plan, it was proposed to refit at least one BB-61 class battleship, likely would have been New Jersey as she was in the best state materially, with new Mk41 VLS systems in place of the Mk143 Armored Box Launchers. Ultimately, the plan went nowhere as the battleships were all deactivated by 1999 without any upgrades beyond their original Reagan-era refits, but what if it was never cancelled? What if all four Iowas recieved the rebuild? Well this mod answers that question. Included is a new Iowa variant that comes in three varieties through the in-game loadout system. Loadouts include the "Strike" fit which represents an Iowa that recieved only the Mk41 with Tomahawk TLAM and TASM, for a total 244 Tomahawks, without any sensor upgrades. The "AAW" or Anti-Air Warfare fit presents a concept of the Iowas recieving the SPS-48E radar found on the Kidd Class destroyers and several other ships in place of the SPS-49 radar. This fit also adds SPG-51s integrated into the secondary battery directors, in place of their old radar systems, allowing the Iowa to direct a significant number of Standard missiles at any angle, with all 244 cells filled with Standards. Finally, the "Multi-Mission" fit presenting the same sensor changes, but a multirole loadout of 122 cells of Standard and 122 cells of Tomahawk TASM and TLAM, allowing these ships to operate unescorted.
