This is an excerpt from a 6.21 conventional campaign log, 21 years in. I finally revisited my fighter wing concept (found elsewhere in the Bureau of Ship Design) and made some changes. I'm not completely convinced that some of the support fighters add anything, but I like the feel of this diverse wing able to operate far from a carrier, defend itself, scout, and carry out other roles.
I'd value your input!
June 8th, 2046
After the experiences in Lacaille chasing down a fleeing enemy, the challenge of facing a much faster opponent in the form of the Swarm, etc, Fleet Command has revisited the idea of small, fast attack fighters as a major component of fleet warfare.
Theoretically, these craft could base at a carrier, carry ordinance swiftly and over long distances undetected by enemy sensors, and launch missiles without putting capital ships in danger of being fired upon by an alien force.
And upgrades in technology could be put into use much more quickly through replacing fighters than replacing large cruisers.
Some Vice-Admirals also privately acknowledge that the move to carrier doctrine so quickly has to do with the specter of fuel restrictions hammered out at the conference later this year. If fighters and carriers can be built now, it might be easier to grandfather them in than to convince civilian leaders liter to accept the admittedly fuel inefficient craft into service.
Ship designers experimented with size 2 and 4 missiles, trying to get a good mix, but generally failed to put together a potent combination until recently.
For a small 250 ton or so fighter, the weight and cost of a long range missile fire control is the real bottleneck. But strategists were able to design an intriguing size 1 anti-ship missile called the Sparrow
Sparrow Speed: 30,000 km/s End: 32.1m Range: 57.7m km WH: 3 Size: 1 TH: 180/108/54
It's not especially fast or long range, and simulations show that the warhead size is suboptimal in that it has no real penetration, with initial hits tending to spread their damage across a small region of armor instead of damaging internal systems. It also has neither the speed nor the range to strike in concert with the Avalanche or other standard fleet missile - an attribute designers hoped the new fighter missile would have.
But even a very small fighter could launch 18 such missiles from box launchers - which is a devastating barrage. And the 57.7m km range means that the fighter doesn't have to have too advanced of a fire control system. The sheer number of Sparrow missiles could make enemy anti-missile missile efforts nearly useless and could overwhelm beam point defense.
The "Y-Wing" Fighter-Bomber is designed around a payload of Sparrow missiles. At 11,111 km/s, it's not the fastest design considered, but is well-rounded, faster than any known alien ship, and able to engage an enemy at over 3 times the distance from the main fleet of the long-range Avalanche missiles used by Manticore Heavy Missile Cruisers.
Y-wing class Fighter-Bomber 225 tons 3 Crew 52.8 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.7
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 1 5YR 14 Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 4.6 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 18
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 5,000 Litres Range 1.0 billion km (25 hours at full power)
Size 1 Box Launcher (18) Missile Size 1 Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes MF Reload 1.2 hours
Missile Fire Control FC57-R150 (1) Range 57.6m km Resolution 150
Sparrow (18) Speed: 30,000 km/s End: 32.1m Range: 57.7m km WH: 3 Size: 1
TH: 180/108/54
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 maintenance purposes
But Y-Wing Fighter-Bombers are also fairly vulnerable. They have thin armor, no sensors, and no anti-missile capability.
Evolving doctrine around fighters calls for a "wing" of some 80 ships to conduct a strike against an enemy formation. This would include 64 Y-Wing Fighter-Bombers for offensive punch, while the remaining 16 (20%) of the ships provide auxiliary functions.
All support ships are built on the same chassis as the Y-Wing Fighter-Bomber and have the same mass and speed.
The Y-wing AWACs class Fighter-Scout is the eyes of a fighter wing. Fighter formations often observe emissions controls and have all active sensors turned off, but the AWACs gives a powerful option of looking for enemy capital ships within a range of 120m km. Sometimes AWACs scouts travel near fighter formations, radiating out by 10m km or more to give sensor coverage without giving away the exact location of the fighter wing. With enhanced fuel reserves and a long intended deployment time, they can also be used for long range scouting missions, perhaps paired with a Y-Wing Extension tanker (below).
Y-wing AWACs class Fighter-Scout 225 tons 7 Crew 109 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 12 5YR 176 Max Repair 70 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months Spare Berths 0
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 25,000 Litres Range 5.1 billion km (5 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR120-R150 (1) GPS 10500 Range 120.0m km Resolution 150
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Y-wing Guardian class Sensor Fighter is similar to the AWACs, but instead sports a resolution 1 sensor able to detect enemy missiles at close range. Like in the case of the AWACs, the sensor is often left off, but can be turned on in the face of a likely missile threat.
Y-wing Guardian class Sensor Fighter 225 tons 4 Crew 116 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 21 5YR 312 Max Repair 84 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.5 months Spare Berths 2
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 2.0 billion km (51 hours at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR11-R1 (1) GPS 84 Range 11.8m km Resolution 1
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
The Y-wing Extension class Fighter-Tanker has an incredible range of 32.7 billion km and is used to refuel its sister ships in flight to dramatically increase the effective range of the wing.
Y-wing Extension class Fighter-Tanker 225 tons 2 Crew 62 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 8 5YR 113 Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 15 months Spare Berths 0
50 EP Internal Fusion Drizve (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 160,000 Litres Range 32.7 billion km (34 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
The Y-wing Seraphim class Area Defense Fighter is an anti-missile platform used in conjunction with the Guardian sensor fighter. It has a much more finely-tuned fire control than the standard Y-Wing and has 14 Meteor II anti-missiles.
Y-wing Seraphim class Area Defense Fighter 225 tons 4 Crew 64.4 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.1
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 1 5YR 20 Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 1.9 months Spare Berths 0
Magazine 14
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres Range 3.1 billion km (3 days at full power)
Size 1 Box Launcher (14) Missile Size 1 Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes MF Reload 1.2 hours
Missile Fire Control FC9-R1 (1) Range 9.4m km Resolution 1
Meteor II (14) Speed: 60,000 km/s End: 1.3m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 720/432/216
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 maintenance purposes
Y-wing Protector class Gunship Escort is also primarily an anti-missile design, but also gives the fighter wing a small non-missile armament - possibly useful for the destruction of enemy civilian assets or badly crippled enemies.
The 5 small Gauss cannons on the gunship aren't individually very accurate, but the fighters speed and the sheer volume of fire helps give the ship a fighting chance against incoming missiles. It's also noted that there are incredible flying aces that have been training with Frogfoot Fighters for a decade or more who could overcome some of the shortcomings of the fire control.
Y-wing Protector class Gunship Escort 225 tons 4 Crew 61 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.5
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 2 5YR 34 Max Repair 25 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.5 months Spare Berths 2
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres Range 4.1 billion km (4 days at full power)
Gauss Cannon R3-8 (5x4) Range 27,200km TS: 11111 km/s Accuracy Modifier 8% RM 3 ROF 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S00.3 13.6-3000 (FTR) (1) Max Range: 27,200 km TS: 12000 km/s 63 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
And finally, the Y-wing Lightning and Heatwave class Sensor Fighters give the wing a measure of passive sensor capability - important given that other sensor platforms are a double-edged sword, often tipping the enemy off as to the existence or disposition of the fighter wing.
Even more so than most designs, these passive sensor ships sacrifice fuel and deployment time for larger sensors to fulfill their primary function.
Y-wing Lightning class Sensor Fighter 225 tons 4 Crew 74 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/42/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 11 5YR 170 Max Repair 42 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.5 months Spare Berths 2
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 2.0 billion km (51 hours at full power)
EM Detection Sensor EM3-42 (1) Sensitivity 42 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 42m km
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Y-wing Heatwave class Sensor Fighter 225 tons 4 Crew 74 BP TCS 4.5 TH 50 EM 0
11111 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 42/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 0 Years MSP 0 AFR 45% IFR 0.6% 1YR 11 5YR 170 Max Repair 42 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.5 months Spare Berths 2
50 EP Internal Fusion Drive (1) Power 50 Fuel Use 391.33% Signature 50 Exp 25%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 2.0 billion km (51 hours at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH3-42 (1) Sensitivity 42 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 42m km
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes
Total numbers of each ship in a wing of 80 fighters:
Protector - 3
Seraphim - 2
Awacs - 3
Extension - 4
Lightning - 1
Heatwave - 1
Guardian - 2
Y-Wing - 64
Together, the wing has a range of 2.9575 billion km if all fighters are moving together.
And finally - the capital ship designed to take them into battle - the Aurora Strike Carrier.
At 48,000 tons, it's twice the size of any military ship yet deployed. It's therefore unable to travel through jump points with any yet designed jumpship and is confined to areas connected by jump gate.
It also has a slightly low maintenance life compared to other capital ships, a small fuel tank given how many fighters will need to refuel at the carrier and only carries enough ordinance to fully rearm its fighter wing once. So it would need a small fleet of sensor ships, colliers, pickets, and tankers to be effective - possibly being hosted by one of the two heavy battle fleets.
But the fighter wing it carries is devastatingly powerful and it's protected from enemy missiles by the ECM-4 array salvaged from an alien Probe Builder.
Aurora class Strike Carrier 48,000 tons 814 Crew 7054 BP TCS 960 TH 5280 EM 0
5500 km/s Armour 5-117 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 46 PPV 0
Maint Life 3.32 Years MSP 4225 AFR 400% IFR 5.6% 1YR 580 5YR 8700 Max Repair 440 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Flight Crew Berths 274
Hangar Deck Capacity 18000 tons Magazine 1340
880 EP Internal Fusion Drive (6) Power 880 Fuel Use 30.46% Signature 880 Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 5,000,000 Litres Range 61.6 billion km (129 days at full power)
Meteor II (56) Speed: 60,000 km/s End: 1.3m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 720/432/216
Sparrow (1284) Speed: 30,000 km/s End: 32.1m Range: 57.7m km WH: 3 Size: 1 TH: 180/108/54
ECM 40
Strike Group
64x Y-wing Fighter-Bomber Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
3x Y-wing Protector Gunship Escort Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
2x Y-wing Guardian Sensor Fighter Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
1x Y-wing Heatwave Sensor Fighter Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
1x Y-wing Lightning Sensor Fighter Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
3x Y-wing AWACs Fighter-Scout Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
4x Y-wing Extension Fighter-Tanker Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
2x Y-wing Seraphim Area Defense Fighter Speed: 11111 km/s Size: 4.5
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
The Arsenal class Collier is the only specially designed support ship for the new carrier. Larger than any other collier, the Arsenal has enough missiles to rearm a full fighter wing twice. It also has two of its own size 1 missile launchers and 8 box launchers, along with both anti-ship and anti-missile fire controls from the Y-Wing and Seraphim class respectively. It also has a new ECM-3 package, a CIWS, and a thick armor belt. So in a sense, it can escort itself or at least lend enough fire power to substantially assist against any attack on a resupply fleet.
Arsenal class Collier 16,000 tons 278 Crew 2605.7 BP TCS 320 TH 1760 EM 0
5500 km/s Armour 5-56 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 19 PPV 3.2
Maint Life 4.65 Years MSP 1934 AFR 107% IFR 1.5% 1YR 146 5YR 2186 Max Repair 440 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 48 months Spare Berths 1 Magazine 2378
880 EP Internal Fusion Drive (2) Power 880 Fuel Use 30.46% Signature 880 Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 1,885,000 Litres Range 69.6 billion km (146 days at full power)
CIWS-160-2 (1x8) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
Size 1 Missile Launcher (2) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Size 1 Box Launcher ( 8 ) Missile Size 1 Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes MF Reload 1.2 hours
Missile Fire Control FC9-R1 (1) Range 9.4m km Resolution 1
Missile Fire Control FC57-R150 (1) Range 57.6m km Resolution 150
Meteor II (62) Speed: 60,000 km/s End: 1.3m Range: 4.6m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 720/432/216
Sparrow (2316) Speed: 30,000 km/s End: 32.1m Range: 57.7m km WH: 3 Size: 1 TH: 180/108/54
Active Search Sensor MR96-R150 (1) GPS 8400 Range 96.0m km Resolution 150
ECM 30
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
Shipyards are retooling for the new carrier and collier. The former will be complete in October. Fighter craft themselves are likely to wait until the carrier is well on its way to completion as are missiles for that matter, mostly because of the fuel shortage.
