West Virginia Class Missile Battleship (NTU)
Seeing the growing Soviet capital ship fleet, including the Marshal Zhukov-class missile battleships and the ever-growing carrier force, the United States Navy petitioned Congress in 1979 for funding to develop a new large surface warship design, designated BB-72, capable of responding to and overwhelming the Soviet threat. With funding granted in 1980, development began, using the Montana-class battleship as a basis, removing the four triple 16-inch gun turrets, and replacing them with 72 total tubes for the newly designed Zeus anti-ship missile. Designs would be finalized in 1982 for a 270 meter long, AEGIS-equipped, missile battleship, capable of 33 knots and boasting an additional 244 MK41 VLS cells, alongside a hangar for three to four anti-submarine helicopters. Three ships would be ordered in 1982, with the first keel laid in 1983, with the ships to be named West Virginia, Idaho, and Oklahoma. West Virginia would be completed in early 1987 and officially commissioned into service in November of that year, with Idaho following in 1989, and Oklahoma in 1991. These ships would serve for the next four decades with the US Navy, serving valiantly in every mission they were given, and excelling at them.
Right then, this was pretty fun to make, pretty goofy design. West Virginia boasts an impressive armament of 72 Zeus missiles, 16 of which are the new RIM-111 variant, capable of swatting enemy planes at ranges of 300 nautical miles from the ship, very nutty indeed. These ships have very strong sonars and a respectable wing of anti-submarine helicopters, making them true multi-role ships, capable of AAW, surface warfare, naval gunfire support with their 8-inch MK71 guns, and anti-submarine warfare. Overall, they are very capable, and very potent foes if any of you are brave enough to be on the receiving end of this thing’s ire. With the latest patch adding custom textures, they have hull numbers and accurate names, and I have already updated Montana and Enterprise with them as well. With that, I’ll leave it here, enjoy!
