The Najin-class frigate is a class of frigates of the Korean People's Navy, and constitute some of that navy's largest combatants.
History[]
The Najin Class is an altogether unremarkable series of light frigates commissioned by the Korean People's Navy, beginning in the early 1970's. Although superficially similar to the earlier Soviet Kola Class, the Najin was a wholly original creation, designed and built in North Korea. Originally armed with trainable torpedo launchers in addition to its guns, at some point in the 1980's the torpedoes were replaced with P-15 / P-20 (NATO reporting name SS-N-2 Styx) anti-ship missiles salvaged from Osa class missile boats.
Since their commissioning, the four Najin class vessels have comprised the largest surface combatants in the North Korean fleet. Obsolete upon commissioning, the class constitutes a floating anachronism by the 2000's. Nonetheless, two units continue to serve with the North Korean navy, and have recently received upgraded weaponry.
Overview[]
The Najin is the lowest cost command vessel in the REDFOR arsenal and has extremely modest capabilities compared with other similarly-sized ships. The heavy gun armament of the class allows for reasonably cost-effective shore bombardment and, if nothing else, the ship can be used to hold naval sectors a relatively low cost.
The weaponry of the Najin consists of two single 100mm guns mounted fore and aft, two twin 57mm guns positioned similarly, and two forward-facing anti-ship missiles positioned amidships. Additionally, there are six twin 25mm gun mounts along the length of the vessel, three on each side; these weapons may engage land and air targets, but are automatic and are not listed on the vessel's armory screen. Finally, two AK-230 CIWS guns are mounted amidships, with 180 degree firing arcs pointed aft.
The missile armament of the class is extremely weak, to the point of being almost vestigial. The two P-15 missiles possess both a short range and middling accuracy. Although they deal twice the damage of smaller missiles such as Exocet, the small number of missiles carried equates to a low probability of penetrating enemy CIWS defenses. While attacks against vessels that lack CIWS, such as the Dong-hae class may be effective, the Najin is unlikely to triumph in missile duels with larger vessels, especially considering the Najin's lack of ECM protection.
The Najin also carries a large, but inefficient gun armament. The 100mm guns carried by the vessel possess a shorter range than those of the either the BLUFOR La Fayette class or the REDFOR Jianghu-III, as well as very low accuracy. However, the Najin still possesses a considerable range advantage against 76mm armed vessels such as the Oliver Hazard Perry or the Hatsuyuki, and may hold an advantage in gunnery duels after both sides have expended their missiles. The principal drawback for the Najin is the relatively low rate of fire of its manually-served guns, which limits the amount of damage that it can deal and places it at a disadvantage against faster-firing vessels such as the La Fayette.
The main guns are complemented by smaller 57mm and 25mm weapons. Neither are particularly potent individually, but the Najin can overwhelm an enemy with an extensive volume of fire at close range. As such, if the Najin cannot out-range an opponent, the best course of action is to try to close the distance to less than 2000m, so that the smaller weapons can be brought into action. The smaller guns can also be used against aircraft, although the 57mm weapons are too slow firing and inaccurate to constitute a substantial defense. In any event, neither system has the range to engage BLUFOR ASW aircraft.
As the CIWS armament points aft, this leads to the somewhat counter-intuitive result that the Najin should face away from potential missile threats. While the vessel's considerable gun armament means that this poses little difficulty in regards to firing arcs, it does complicate any attempts to close in to use missles or lighter guns, as the vessel will be steaming into enemy missile fire without protection. When properly positioned, the CIWS defenses are modestly efficient, but are generally insufficient to deal with repeated assaults or saturation attacks.
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Naval Gun | SSM | Twin Autocannon |
| Name | 100mm Gun | P-15 Termit | Dual Type 66 |
| Caliber | 100mm [AoE] | Radar [HEAT], [F&F], [RAD], [SHIP] | 57mm [AoE] |
| Ammo | x 400 | x 2 | x 1600 |
| Range | Ground = 4375 m Helicopters = 2100 m  Airplanes = 700 m
|
Ground = 5250 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m
|
Ground = 2450 m Helicopters = 2450 m Airplanes = 2450 m
|
| Accuracy | 15% | 50% | 15% |
| Stabilizer | 15% | 50% | 5% |
| AP Power | N/A | 160 | N/A |
| HE Power | 6 | 8 | 1 |
| Suppression | 58 | N/A | 2 |
| Rate of fire | 24 r/min | 10 s r/min | 300 r/min |
Gallery[]
See Also[]
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