USS Liberty

Liberty
Faction	NATO
Type	Liberty-class Destroyer
Games

The USS Liberty is a destroyer used by NATO's naval forces in ArmA 3. It was added with the release of the Jets DLC.

Overview

• Roles:
  • Naval fire support
  • Helicopter deployment platform

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The USS Liberty is one of several newly-built ships of its class. This powerful destroyer serves as part of "NATO Strike Group 14". It can carry troops, equipment and a helicopter on board allowing the battlegroup to perform its vital support roles. With a length of 155 meters and beam of 45 meters it can operate close to shore for rapid amphibious assaults. Field Manual

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Design

Starboard side view of the Liberty.

Assigned as an escort for the USS Freedom aircraft carrier, the USS Liberty is a Liberty-class destroyer that serves as the vanguard for the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group 14.

Armed with a 120 mm naval gun and a vertical launch system, the Liberty is a powerful naval artillery asset that can easily strike heavily defended enemy installations from afar with its cruise missiles.

In addition to providing fire support, the Liberty can also deploy and retrieve smaller armed boats via its boat racks stored on both sides of the ship's entry ports. It has a landing pad located towards the stern, which allows ground forces to utilise it as a staging area for helicopters to land or take-off from the Liberty. A hangar is also connected to the landing pad and supports having rotary-wing craft stored inside it.

NOTE: The USS Liberty is a static in-game object that can be positioned at any location on a terrain via the Eden editor but cannot be 'driven' like a true ship.

Capabilities

Positions for defensive and offensive shipboard weapons.

Fire Support

In addition to the twin Praetorian 1C AAA/Mk49 Spartan SAM turrets for self-defence against enemy aircraft, the Liberty has two more types of weapon systems that can be connected to and controlled through a UAV Terminal:

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MK45 Hammer

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The Mk45 Hammer 120mm naval gun provides NATO naval vessels with heavy firepower capability in close and medium ranges. Capable of both direct fire and artillery fire control this powerful gun is essential both in fleet-defence and fire-support roles. This asset is normally deployed on Liberty class destroyers. Field Manual

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MK45 Hammer
Faction	NATO
Type	Naval Gun
Calibre	120 mm
Magazine capacity	Variable
Variants	None
Games

The MK45 Hammer is a 120 mm naval gun that serves as the Liberty's main, non-ballistic missile-based fire support weapon.

The cannon's "camera" has access to three magnification zoom levels, as well as normal day, night, and black/white-hot thermal vision modes.

Mounted at the front of the ship, the Hammer can fulfil both direct fire and naval artillery roles. Its default loadout consists of multiple types of shells:

• 32 rounds of high-explosive (HE) shells
• 2 rounds of infrared-guided (heat seeking) shells
• 2 rounds of laser-guided shells
• 2 rounds of cluster shells that can saturate an area with a hail of explosive fragments
• 6 rounds of scatter shells that can cover an area with anti-personnel (AP) mines
• 6 rounds of deployable white smoke shells that can cover the impact zone instantly in a thick cloud of smoke
• 6 rounds of scatter shells that can cover an area with anti-tank (AT) mines

It should be noted that all of the Hammer's shells are virtually identical to those fired by the land-based M4 Scorcher.

The Hammer has a muzzle velocity of 810 m/s. Without a firing solution selected, it can launch one shell every 8 seconds (~ 7 rounds per minute). It also takes 7 seconds for the Hammer to cycle between munition types.

Munitions

The Hammer can be loaded with a variety of direct fire explosive and dummy payload shells.

Blast radii, guidance type (if applicable) and penetration depth vary depending on the type of shell loaded. Smoke and AT/AP scatter shells do not have explosive payloads as they are fitted with dummy warheads designed to disperse submunitions instead (and are therefore not listed here):

Shell name	Base damage value	Damage type	Initial velocity (m/s)
HE	340	High-Explosive	810
Guided (Primary)	300	High-Explosive	810
Guided (Secondary)	1,200	High-Explosive	N/A
Cluster (Primary)	300	High-Explosive	810
Cluster (Secondary)	35	High-Explosive	N/A
LG (Primary)	300	High-Explosive	810
LG (Secondary)	1,200	High-Explosive	N/A

• High-Explosive (HE): 30 metre blast radius, has a penetration depth of 121.5 millimetres (direct impact only).
• Guided: 4 metre blast radius, infrared-guided; will attempt to home in onto "hot" vehicles within a radius of 800 metres. The submunition separates from the main shell once it is 500 metres above the impact zone. The IR seeker has a 10% chance to lose lock against smoke countermeasures.
• Cluster: Will separate into multiple smaller explosive fragments once the dummy shell is 200 metres above the impact zone. The primary shell will disperse these fragments in a 35 metre radius. The fragments each have an 8 metre blast radius and have a 7% chance of failing to detonate, leaving behind Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) pieces.
• Laser Guided (LG): 4 metre blast radius, laser-guided; can only lock onto laser spots within a radius of 800 metres. The submunition will "launch" from the dummy shell once it is 500 metres above the impact zone and begin seeking a laser spot.
  • A live camera feed can be activated from the shell's perspective once it is separated. If no laser spot can be found, the shell will simply strike the point below where it separated from the primary shell.

Rate and range

It fires all 32 HE rounds in six minutes, averaging at 11.25 seconds per shot. This makes its fire rate significantly slower than the M4 Scorcher and 2S9 Sochor, although its damage and blast radius appear to be comparable.

The Hammer has five range modes available for firing using the built-in artillery computer:

• Close range: 705 to 2,167 metres (ETA 30-24 seconds)
• Medium range: 1,361 to 4,181 metres (ETA 41-31 seconds)
• Far range: 5,445 to 16,725 metres (ETA 81-60 seconds)
• Further range: 12,252 to 37,633 metres (ETA 122-88 seconds)
• Extreme range: 21,781 to 66,903 metres (ETA 163-119 seconds)

Overlaps occur in the following ranges:

• 1,361-2,167 metres (Close and Medium)
• 12,252-16,725 metres (Far and Further)
• 21,781-37,633 metres (Further and Extreme)

Gaps occur in the following ranges:

• 4,181-5,445 metres (Medium to Far)

When using the built-in artillery computer, the Hammer can perform MRSI strikes in nearby bands, or in the large band beyond 21.7 km. Note that it is unable to have more than two volleys landing on the same target at the same time.

Also note that the built-in computer tends towards using low-angle trajectories. The Hammer is capable of firing at up to an 80.5 degree angle. This means that it is technically capable of getting multiple volleys to land on the same target simultaneously, but it would require manual calculation of the appropriate trajectories, or the use of spreadsheets or third-party applications.

Sensors

The MK45 Hammer has access to two passive-type sensors:

Sensor type	Max range (Air/Ground)	Min range (Air/Ground)	Affected by environment?	Target max speed (km/h)	Azimuth coverage (°)	Elevation coverage (°)	Friendly identification range (m)
Infrared	A: 4,000 m G: 3,500 m	A: 500 m G: 500 m	Fog (0.005%)	2,160 km/h	60°	40°	2,000 m
Data Link	A: 32,000 m G: 32,000 m	A: 32,000 m G: 32,000 m	Nothing	1e+10 km/h	360°	360°	0 m

Infrared Sensor

The Hammer's IR Sensor is located in the turret's camera (represented by the orange cone on the SENSORS panel). Although it is technically affected by heavy fog, the range reduction effect is so miniscule (-0.125 metre reduction) that it will be barely noticeable.

Data Link

The Hammer is data link-capable and can receive (not transmit) the locations of spotted contacts from all friendly forces within 32 km range.

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MK41 VLS

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The Mk41 Vertical Launch System provides NATO naval vessels with a precision strike capability in medium to long ranges. Armed with 18 cruise missiles, this asset is normally deployed on Liberty class destroyers. Field Manual

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MK41 VLS
Faction	NATO
Type	Missile Canister Launching System
Magazine capacity	36
Variants	None
Games

The MK41 VLS (full name: Vertical Launch System) is a missile-based artillery system that is fitted onto the Liberty as an alternate counterpart to the MK45 Hammer.

Like the Hammer, the VLS battery is also fitted at the front of the ship but just behind the Hammer itself. The "camera" on the VLS is able to toggle three magnification zoom modes, as well as either normal day, night, or black/white thermal vision modes.

Its primary loadout consists of thirty-six Venator surface-to-surface cruise missiles. Of these, eighteen are outfitted with a high-explosive (HE) payload while the other eighteen contain cluster bomblet payloads instead.

The VLS battery can launch missiles at a rate of one every 10 seconds (averaging 6 missiles per minute). It takes 5 seconds to acquire a lock-on via Data Link.

Once the battery's loaded "magazine" has been depleted - or if the battery operator chooses to switch to different missile payloads manually, it will take up to 120 seconds to rearm all launcher cells.

Payloads

The MK41's Venator cruise missiles rely solely on laser-guidance for both target acquisition and tracking:

Venator

Payload	Base damage value	Damage type	Initial launch velocity (m/s)
HE	6,000	High-Explosive	12
Cluster (Primary)	6,000	High-Explosive	12
Cluster (Secondary)	35	High-Explosive	N/A

• High-Explosive (HE): 30 metre blast radius, has a penetration depth of 121.5 millimetres (direct impact only).
• Cluster: 30 metre blast radius for the primary warhead.
  • The Venator will shower the impact zone with explosive fragments once it is 250 metres above its marked target. These fragments are dispersed in a 50 metre radius within the designated area. The fragments have an 8 metre blast radius and retain a 7% chance of failing to detonate, leaving behind pieces of UXO.

Each Venator cruise missile flies at subsonic speeds (absolute maximum of 700 km/h only) but are perfectly capable of striking any location at distances of up to 32 km away with pinpoint accuracy. Their built-in Laser Sensors do not have any lock-on cone limitations.

Launching a Venator CM.

They can utilise terrain-following for guidance, and will automatically adjust their flight profile when necessary to avoid impacting anything other than their intended target (Venators will always attempt to maintain an altitude of 100 metres above terrain level). They are also untargetable by conventional weapons and cannot be shot down by surface-to-air missile batteries or handheld SAM launchers.

The battery operator can also toggle a live feed from the Venator's nose camera for observation purposes. With the exception of the laser marker being eliminated or disrupted, it is not possible to counter an incoming Venator CM with either vehicle or aircraft countermeasures.

It should be noted that Venator CMs are only able to hit positions laser marked by vehicles/aircraft with integrated data link capability (i.e. the AR-2 Darter). Handheld laser designators will not be capable of marking targets for the VLS as they cannot transmit the laser marker's target back to the VLS battery to lock onto.

Sensors

The MK41 VLS only has access to one type of sensor:

Sensor type	Max range (Air/Ground)	Min range (Air/Ground)	Affected by environment?	Target max speed (km/h)	Azimuth coverage (°)	Elevation coverage (°)	Friendly identification range (m)
Data Link	A: 32,000 m G: 32,000 m	A: 32,000 m G: 32,000 m	Nothing	1e+10 km/h	360°	360°	0 m

Data Link

The VLS is data link-capable and can receive (not transmit) the locations of spotted contacts from all friendly forces within 32 km range.

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Vehicle-in-Vehicle Transport

Boat Rack

The Boat Rack is a component of the Liberty with integrated Vehicle-in-Vehicle transport capability which allows it to store and deploy boats.

It can support the following watercraft:

• Assault Boats (all variants)
• Motorboats (all variants)
• Speedboats (both variants)
• Swimmer Delivery Vehicles
• Water Scooters

Camouflage

The Boat Rack can be customised with a variety of paint schemes:

• Blue: Standard blue-coloured paint scheme with light grey components.
• Olive Green: Olive drab green paint scheme with light grey components.
• Grey: Dark grey paint scheme with light grey components.
• Sports Orange: Bright orange-coloured, diagonally lined square pattern with a white underlayer. Other components are painted in light grey.

Trivia

• Its design appears to be loosely inspired by the British "Type 45" (aka "Daring"-class) guided missile destroyer, with some structural influences and elements taken from both the American "Arleigh Burke" and "Zumwalt"-class destroyers.
• The Liberty is unique for its high amount of customisation features available in the editor.
  • Aside from the default name of Liberty, Liberty-class destroyers can be manually renamed to any of the following preset hull titles: Virtuous, Constitution, Valor, Glory, Democracy and Micdonals.
  • The jack can be replaced with that of a different nation (it is always set by default to utilise a flag of the United States).
  • Its default hull designation can be modified to a custom array, supporting three digits ranging from zero up to nine.
• During development, the MK41 VLS simply reused the M5 Sandstorm's rocket pod and could only fire unguided rockets. This was later changed to the Venator cruise missiles several days prior to Encore's official release.
• In spite of their presence, the terminals inside the bridge cannot actually be used to issue commands to either the Hammer or VLS systems. Both weapons are considered to be static and unmanned turrets, which can only be controlled remotely with a UAV Terminal.
• The Liberty is the first named, non-carrier vessel in the entire series.
  • While static destroyer ships were featured in past titles (ArmA 2 specifically), they were generically named as "Destroyers" and lacked functionality, modelled interiors, or even basic collision for most of the ship's hull.
  • It is also the first static ship in the entire series that features usable naval fire support weapons. Both the Khe Sanh (ArmA 2) and the Freedom (ArmA 3) only featured static systems that are designed for self-defence against aircraft only.
• Unlike the USS Freedom, the Liberty features fully accessible and modelled interiors.
• The USS Liberty was initially not included in the Jets DLC, but was later added as part of the Encore free platform update bundled with Game Update 1.84.
• According to the missile's texture, the MK41 VLS's cruise missiles are designated as "BGM-209 Venator".
  • What appears to be a logo for the Armaverse's counterpart of the Raytheon Missiles & Defense company is also depicted on the texture ("Excimar").

Gallery

Starboard side view of the Liberty. Note the small port entry used for deploying and retrieving smaller vessels.

External links

• Wikipedia: Type 45 destroyer
• Wikipedia: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
• Wikipedia: Zumwalt-class destroyer

See also

• USS Freedom (Aircraft Carrier lead ship)

Naval vessels
Aircraft carriers	USS Freedom
Amphibious assault ships	USS Khe Sanh
Amphibious transport docks	USS Takmyr*
Destroyers	USS Liberty
Submarines	HMS Proteus
* denotes semi-official content from the Armaverse-oriented Expeditionary Forces Creator DLC. It is not an official asset that canonically exists in the Armaverse.