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Military


Galicia - Design

In support of amphibious operations, the landing craft can transport and disembark on a coast a marine battalion (about 610 persons), supporting them for up to ten days, along with their armored vehicles and tanks. The ship can operate fully independently for up 30 days in logistics support of the marine troops. Besides this principal function, the ship can also operate as a helicopter platform for anti-submarine warfare missions and as a platform for VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) fixed-wing aircraft. Logistics support can be also provided in MCM (mine countermeasures) operations.

The secondary mission of providing support in non-amphibious operations involves crisis management, as well as assistance and support in evacuation of citizens from hostile areas. This also includes evacuation of refugees and evacuation and treatment of wounded personnel.

When at sea, the stern of the ship can be lowered four meters (13 feet), in order to facilitate easier embarkation and debarkation in less-than-ideal weather conditions. The lowering is done by filling the ballast tanks with water, allowing water to fill the internal docking area, which in turn allows the landing vehicles to be loaded and unloaded on the transport craft. As for its aircraft support capability, the ship can simultaneously operate two helicopters off its deck, thanks to the facilities in terms of the antennas onboard.

In order to maximize its operational safety, the ship has been designed with a great deal of emphasis on crisis management and compensation for its innate vulnerability. This being a major component in a ship's survivability in a combat situation, the ship has been designed so that it continues operation even if it has been hit. It is noted that the gastight NBC 'citadel' onboard has the capacity of maintaining an overpressure for at least 24 hours, in order to prevent NBC contamination.

Overall, the ship can be reconfigured relatively easily for different missions, allowing support and transport of different types of vehicles and/or equipment. This flexibility in its configuration is one of the key factors in how the ship is an integral part of the Spanish Marine Corps' varying missions. This mission flexibility is, incidentally, very similar to that provided by the Dutch sister ship, the Rotterdam class, and is part of NATO's larger picture of coordinating amphibious and landing operations and capabilities of its individual member countries.

The ship is built entirely from Grade-A steel; the use of higher tensile steel was limited as much as possible. Hull structure and the sides and decks are longitudinally reinforced. The superstructure features a flush deck with one island and ten decks (five decks inside the hull, a weather deck and four decks in the superstructure for accommodation), the combat system and the hangar. The hull is of double-bottom design.

In the center area, the ship features a wide dock for housing the landing craft as required. The main and lower vehicle decks have large areas for stowing craft and vehicles. Both decks have direct access to the aft elevator which also serves the hangar and the flight deck. A main cargo area is located on Deck 5 and a second store on Deck 2 to provide sufficient area for the marine gear. The ammunition carried onboard is stored amidships in two holds, with direct access to the forward elevator. Also in the middle of the ship, the Galicias have their freshwater tanks. The ballast tanks (for submerged condition when launching and embarking landing craft) are on the sides, while the fuel tanks are aft at the center line and inside the double bottom, for lateral protection. The helicopter deck has been designed large enough to accommodate two large rotary wing landing pads and a hangar for four large or six medium-sized helos. Two RAS (refueling at side) receiving stations are included in the superstructure, one on the foredeck and one on the flight deck.

Externally, the ship has been designed using the latest technologies with emphasis on reduced radiated noise, radar cross section (RCS) and magnetic field radiation. As for the latter, for instance, a degaussing system is included in the design. However, no particular measures are reported to have been taken to reduce the ship's infrared (IR) signature. Great pains have been taken in the design process to counter the ship's vulnerability and to enhance its survivability in combat. To that end, the command center has been placed inside the superstructure, protected on both sides by other compartments. Three separate power zones and seven vertical ventilation zones have been designed in the ship's structure, with each zone featuring their own ventilation, air conditioning and NBC filtration system.

Fire prevention includes the subdivision of the ship in seven subsections, all of which are separated by fireproof doors and fire resistant materials on bulkheads. The fire pumps are distributed over the seven zones. In addition to them, five additional fire fighting systems exist onboard, including conventional fire extinguishers, gas and foam systems and a sprinkler arrangement. The design also accommodates the possibility of penetrating external threats such as nuclear, biological and chemical agents. A gastight NBC citadel is included in the interior structure of the ship, providing a temporary quarantine in case of an NBC attack for at least 24 hours.

The ship has facilities to transport a fully equipped Marine battalion, with four landing craft under the deck. The top of the deck provides landing spots for two helicopters and offers hangar space for up to six AB-212 type or four SH-3s helos. The garage area can house up to 33 tanks or 170 armored personnel carriers, or alternatively an unspecified number of movable Patriot anti-aircraft rocket systems. The ship is fitted with a full medical facilities, including two operating theaters, ten intensive care units, treatment areas, and a sick bay for 100 wounded.

This Spanish landing transport dock is a close relative to the Dutch Rotterdam class, having started as a joint design with project definition completed in December 1993. From that point on, the Galicia evolved to a slightly different direction, having militarized the original mercantile design to a higher degree than the Dutch version. Significant commonalities exist, including the choice of the communications suite, which has been collaboratively procured from Rohde & Schwarz. The internal communications subsystem comes from the Spanish-Portuguese consortium of FABA and EID. FABA is part of the Bazan Group.

Differences exist in propulsion, weaponry and the integrated platform management systems, as well as in numbers of select lift capabilities, due to the design differences based on national preferences. Some of those differences are also attributed to the different national acquisition procedures, rather than technical necessities evolving from different needs.

One of the key differences is the propulsion on the Dutch version being diesel-electric, whereas the Spanish solution preferred an all-diesel power train. The different machinery dictated some changes in the interior layout of the ship. Also, the garage deck arrangement differs between the two classes, as does the position for the stores areas. Minor differences are also said to exist in the accommodation facilities of each ship, tailored to respective countries' national preferences. In weaponry, each navy uses their domestic CIWS (Goalkeeper in the Dutch ship, Meroka in the Spanish). The accommodation for each ship reflects national preferences in onboard practice. The working areas are very different, due to the national preferences in procurement practices (different equipment and machinery). The integrated platform management systems also differ, the Dutch using one by Rietschoten & Houwens, while the Spanish ships are equipped by Bazan Cartagena.

The second Galicia class unit is somewhat different in its systems fitment from the first-of-class, due to this ship's slightly altered mission intent, as an amphibious warfare C² unit. The L52 Castilla, the second ship of the Galicia class, has some major differences from the L51 Galicia. The second-in-class is fitted as an amphibious warfare command and control (C²) ship. For that reason, it has command support systems and communications facilities for a Spanish Marine Corps (TEAR) staff of 65. Consequently, the number of combat troops that can be lifted is 404, down from Galicia's 543.

The sensor capabilities of the second ship are superior to those of the first, including a three dimensional air surveillance radar. The radar type chosen in 1999 is a DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) TRS-3D/16-ES. This is a surveillance and target acquisition radar that produces a clear situation display even in poor weather and against hostile electronic countermeasures activity. The radar has electronic scanning that compensates for the ship's movements in the sea without the need for a large antenna structure for the compensation function. Being of modular structure, the radar is easy to install and adapt to various weapon systems.



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