Tide-class Fast Fleet Tanker

The Tide-class Fast Fleet Tankers are a class of tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom that will be tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world. The vessels were ordered on February 22nd 2012 in an order worth £452 million. The ships were designed by BMT Defence Services in Bath, England but the first four will be constructed in South Korea and have a projected in-service date of 2016. They are expected to help supplement the four Wave-class fleet oilers.

Specifications

 * Type: Fast Fleet Tanke
 * Service Period: 2016
 * Characteristics
 * Length: 659 feet 1 inch (200.89 meters)
 * Beam: 93 feet 10 inches (28.6 meters)
 * Draft: 32 feet 10 inches (10.01 meters)
 * Displacement: 36,000 tons
 * Crew: 119
 * Propulsion: Diesel engines, 2 x shafts
 * Range: 18,200 nautical miles (33,706.4 km)
 * Speed: 26.8 Knots (49.64 km/hr)
 * Sensor Suite: Kelvin Hughes Integrated Bridge System with 3 x SharpEye radar
 * Armament:
 * 2 x 20mm/70-caliber Mk.15 Blk.1B Phalanx CIWS
 * 1 x Otobreda 76mm/62-caliber naval gun
 * Aircraft Carried: 2 x AW101 Merlin maritime helicopters with full aviation facilities

Unit Run

 * RFA Tidespring (A396)
 * RFA Tiderace (A397)
 * RFA Tidesurge (A398)
 * RFA Tideforce (A399)
 * RFA Tideflow (A400)
 * RFA Tiderange (A401)
 * RFA Tidepool (A402)
 * RFA Tidereach (A403)