Just came back to Aurora after quite a long break, and have been very much enjoying the updates that have come since I last played . . . and was a bit surprised and unprepared for the raiders.
I did have some basic defense ships when they first appeared, but they were not quite up to the task, and so I had to scramble a bit to come up with an effective counter. By now I have a generally effective strategy to deal with them, and wanted to post my designs for review and get suggestions for the next generation as I move into a new phase of extra-solar colonization.
For reference, general specifications of the raiders I have faced so far: they use only railguns (with a max observed range of 160k km), have missile decoys, have a max observed speed just under 6k km/s, have a small level of ECM, and come in two sizes for the combat ships, 10k tons and 20k tons, both 90% cloaked so they appear to sensors as 100 tons and 200 tons
When they initially attacked, my armed ships consisted of 2 Scout Cruisers that had been intended as escorts for my survey ships out of system but were never actually deployed, and 6 patrol craft intended for system defense. Neither could really counter the threat, as they were not fast enough to realistically make an intercept, and their active sensors couldn't see the enemy ships until they were on top of them. I focused on the smaller ships, refitting the patrol craft as soon as possible and designing a Corvette that was specialized for interception.
These are the most recent generation of those:
Enterprise III class Patrol Craft 8,719 tons 285 Crew 2,179.7 BP TCS 174 TH 1,441 EM 0
8263 km/s Armour 4-37 Shields 0-0 HTK 64 Sensors 16/8/0/0 DCR 13-14 PPV 52
Maint Life 2.55 Years MSP 857 AFR 187% IFR 2.6% 1YR 184 5YR 2,756 Max Repair 268.8 MSP
Magazine 344 / 0
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP480.31 (3) Power 1440.9 Fuel Use 87.98% Signature 480.31 Explosion 14%
Fuel Capacity 660,000 Litres Range 15.5 billion km (21 days at full power)
15.0cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser (2) Range 300,000km TS: 8,263 km/s Power 6-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
CIWS-200 (1x8) Range 1000 km TS: 20,000 km/s ROF 5
Beam Fire Control R320-TS8000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 8,000 km/s ECCM-2 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor R17 (1) Total Power Output 16.6 Exp 5%
Size 7.00 Missile Launcher (75.00% Reduction) (8) Missile Size: 7 Rate of Fire 65
Missile Fire Control FC9-R20 (1) Range 9.5m km Resolution 20
Kestrel Anti-Ship Missile Mk2 (48) Speed: 63,200 km/s End: 1.4m Range: 5.3m km WH: 30 Size: 7 TH: 210/126/63
Active Search Sensor AS81-R40 (1) GPS 8960 Range 81.7m km Resolution 40
EM Sensor EM1.0-8.0 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
Thermal Sensor TH2-16 (1) Sensitivity 16 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 31.6m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Warship for auto-assignment purposes
Fletcher II class Corvette 6,688 tons 239 Crew 1,858.1 BP TCS 134 TH 1,403 EM 0
10486 km/s Armour 4-31 Shields 0-0 HTK 52 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 11-16 PPV 54
Maint Life 1.27 Years MSP 360 AFR 238% IFR 3.3% 1YR 234 5YR 3,504 Max Repair 243.3 MSP
Magazine 264 / 0
Commander Control Rating 1 BRG
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP467.50 (3) Power 1402.5 Fuel Use 311.46% Signature 467.5 Explosion 22%
Fuel Capacity 430,000 Litres Range 3.7 billion km (4 days at full power)
37.50cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 320,000km TS: 10,486 km/s Power 37-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 25
CIWS-200 (1x8) Range 1000 km TS: 20,000 km/s ROF 5
Beam Fire Control R320-TS10000 (SW) (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10,000 km/s ECCM-2 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Tokamak Fusion Reactor R8 (1) Total Power Output 8 Exp 5%
Size 14 Missile Launcher (50.0% Reduction) (6) Missile Size: 14 Rate of Fire 300
Missile Fire Control FC45-R20 (1) Range 45.8m km Resolution 20 ECCM-2
Asp Anti-Ship Missile Mk3 (18) Speed: 46,257 km/s End: 20.4m Range: 56.7m km WH: 50 Size: 14 TH: 154/92/46
Active Search Sensor AS45-R20 (1) GPS 2240 Range 45.8m km Resolution 20
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Warship for auto-assignment purposes
There are definitely some improvements I could make, but this is a bit of a learning process, so I'd like feedback on what the best improvements might be. They have been pretty effective in their role so far, but one can always get better.
Meanwhile, in preperation for extending my reach outside the solar system, I've designed some larger, higher endurance ships to protect me outside my home system.
Arleigh Burke class Area Defence Cruiser 19,990 tons 679 Crew 6,678.3 BP TCS 400 TH 3,341 EM 2,550
8357 km/s Armour 8-65 Shields 85-510 HTK 135 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 30-15 PPV 121.12
Maint Life 2.90 Years MSP 4,088 AFR 320% IFR 4.4% 1YR 716 5YR 10,736 Max Repair 556.875 MSP
Captain Control Rating 4 BRG AUX ENG CIC
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP1113.75 (3) Power 3341.2 Fuel Use 46.63% Signature 1113.75 Explosion 13%
Fuel Capacity 1,570,000 Litres Range 30.3 billion km (41 days at full power)
Epsilon S85 / R510 Shields (1) Recharge Time 510 seconds (0.2 per second)
37.50cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 320,000km TS: 8,357 km/s Power 37-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 25
25.0cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser (8) Range 320,000km TS: 8,357 km/s Power 16-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 10
Single 15.0cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser Turret (4x1) Range 300,000km TS: 15000 km/s Power 6-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
Single 10cm C2 Far Ultraviolet Laser Turret (8x1) Range 150,000km TS: 15000 km/s Power 3-2 RM 50,000 km ROF 10
CIWS-200 (2x8) Range 1000 km TS: 20,000 km/s ROF 5
Beam Fire Control R280-TS15000 (2) Max Range: 280,000 km TS: 15,000 km/s ECCM-2 96 93 89 86 82 79 75 71 68 64
Beam Fire Control R320-TS8000 (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 8,000 km/s ECCM-2 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor R120 (1) Total Power Output 120.3 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor AS8-R1 (1) GPS 28 Range 8.4m km MCR 760k km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor AS57-R40 (1) GPS 4480 Range 57.8m km Resolution 40
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Warship for auto-assignment purposes
Alger class Escort Carrier 19,865 tons 313 Crew 3,432.7 BP TCS 397 TH 2,775 EM 0
6984 km/s Armour 3-65 Shields 0-0 HTK 97 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 10-5 PPV 0
Maint Life 5.79 Years MSP 11,080 AFR 316% IFR 4.4% 1YR 562 5YR 8,429 Max Repair 462.5 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 4,000 tons Magazine 1,080 / 0
Captain Control Rating 4 BRG AUX ENG PFC
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Flight Crew Berths 80 Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP925.00 (3) Power 2775 Fuel Use 20.80% Signature 925 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres Range 87.1 billion km (144 days at full power)
CIWS-200 (2x8) Range 1000 km TS: 20,000 km/s ROF 5
Stinger Anti-Ship Missile (540) Speed: 53,200 km/s End: 0.4m Range: 1.2m km WH: 10 Size: 2 TH: 177/106/53
Active Search Sensor AS8-R1 (1) GPS 28 Range 8.4m km MCR 760k km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor AS72-R20 (1) GPS 5600 Range 72.5m km Resolution 20
Strike Group
2x Iowa Fast Attack Craft Speed: 12000 km/s Size: 20
10x Tennessee Fighter-bomber Speed: 13524 km/s Size: 3.99
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Carrier for auto-assignment purposes
Iowa class Fast Attack Craft 1,000 tons 10 Crew 519.8 BP TCS 20 TH 240 EM 0
12000 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 HTK 9 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 0-0 PPV 12
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 199% IFR 2.8% 1YR 272 5YR 4,080 Max Repair 243.3 MSP
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP120.00 (2) Power 240 Fuel Use 1558.85% Signature 120 Explosion 30%
Fuel Capacity 35,800 Litres Range 0.41 billion km (9 hours at full power)
37.50cm C8 Far Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 320,000km TS: 12,000 km/s Power 37-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 25
Beam Fire Control R320-TS12000 (SW) (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 12,000 km/s ECCM-2 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor R8-PB40 (1) Total Power Output 8 Exp 20%
Active Search Sensor AS7-R20 (1) GPS 56 Range 7.2m km Resolution 20
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a FAC for auto-assignment purposes
Tennessee class Fighter-bomber 200 tons 1 Crew 47.3 BP TCS 4 TH 54 EM 0
13524 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 HTK 1 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 0-0 PPV 2.4
Maint Life 5.06 Years MSP 25 AFR 40% IFR 0.6% 1YR 2 5YR 24 Max Repair 27 MSP
Magazine 16 / 0
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 3 days Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP54.00 (1) Power 54 Fuel Use 1694.04% Signature 54 Explosion 27%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 0.53 billion km (10 hours at full power)
Size 2.0 Box Launcher (8) Missile Size: 2 Hangar Reload 70 minutes MF Reload 11 hours
Missile Fire Control FC9-R20 (2) Range 9.5m km Resolution 20
Stinger Anti-Ship Missile (8) Speed: 53,200 km/s End: 0.4m Range: 1.2m km WH: 10 Size: 2 TH: 177/106/53
Active Search Sensor AS7-R20 (1) GPS 56 Range 7.2m km Resolution 20
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Fighter for auto-assignment purposes