Author Topic: From the Ashes - part 25  (Read 2581 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Haji (OP)

  • Moderator
  • Captain
  • *****
  • Posts: 442
  • Thanked: 53 times
From the Ashes - part 25
« on: March 07, 2017, 08:02:05 PM »
23rd June 2402

   The Commune designs their next generation battlecruisers. Like the preceding Barghest, the Sindari is centred entirely around energy weapons with neither offensive missiles nor active defences. That was a controversial decision, as the previous generation warship was designed at a time when missile situation was unstable to say the least, but the current stockpiles were reasonable. However as the Force pointed out, they have huge numbers of warships equipped with numerous missiles, only three battlecruisers can be built at a time so they will have to continue working with escort cruisers and with the current interception chances it's unknown if shipkillers are still a viable weapon, so having designs focused on close combat may very well save the Commune in the next war.
   Another controversial decision was the armament as it consisted solely of lasers rather than railguns. This was done mostly due to the fact that the lasers better utilise the available fire control range. In addition when it comes to small, fast firing guns at the current mixture of capacitors and fire controls, lasers are simply superior unless short range railguns were to be used. In short at the moment the armament is considered the more optimal one, although this may change once new capacitors and better railgun firing ranges are developed.
   Other than that the warship have much heavier passive defences than Barghest, but like the Bellerophon it accomplishes it mostly due to newer, superior technology, utilising lower percentage of its mass for said defences, which doesn't sit well with some people. At the same time the difference is rather small and not really pronounced.

Code: [Select]
Sindari class Battlecruiser    45,000 tons     1194 Crew     24113.6 BP      TCS 900  TH 12420  EM 15000
13800 km/s     Armour 18-112     Shields 500-300     Sensors 128/160/0/0     Damage Control Rating 34     PPV 162
Maint Life 3.5 Years     MSP 11387    AFR 476%    IFR 6.6%    1YR 1421    5YR 21310    Max Repair 1163 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 2   

Tugurlan Marine High Power Naval SCAM Drive Mk2 (18)    Power 690    Fuel Use 24.11%    Signature 690    Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 4,750,000 Litres    Range 78.8 billion km   (66 days at full power)
Xi Shields (100)   Total Fuel Cost  1,000 Litres per hour  (24,000 per day)

Sudiro-Yulianto 400mm Laser (9)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 42-12     RM 8    ROF 20        42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 37 33
Montemayor Cybernetics 200mm Laser (5)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 10-12     RM 8    ROF 5        10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 8
Montemayor Cybernetics Advanced 750mm Laser (1)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 147-12     RM 8    ROF 65        147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 130 117
Hansson Dynamics Long Range Railgun Fire Control (5)    Max Range: 480,000 km   TS: 12000 km/s     98 96 94 92 90 88 85 83 81 79
Janiec Aircraft Engine Co SCAM Reactor (12)     Total Power Output 192    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Martinsson Dynamics Medium Resolution Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 214.7m km    Resolution 5
Laksono Heavy Industries Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 128     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  128m km
Budiarto-Sugiantoro EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 160     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  160m km

Compact ECCM-5 (5)         ECM 50

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

   The Mandrake is the new jump battlecruiser developed to replace the Odin. The main goal of the designers was to deal with what was perceived to be the largest issue with the preceding class, which were its relatively light defences. Those were compromised in order to fit large jump drive and sensors, but it also meant that the one warship critical to safe withdrawal through a jump point, which also happened to be a command ship, was more susceptible to fire than its escorts.
   The Mandrake does not have those issues and in fact have heavier amour than the Sindari. This was possible thanks to the new, vastly improved sensor technology but it came at a cost. The new jump battlecruiser has better passives than Odin, but the active search sensor has only a little over half the range. Of course the Mandrake has also no weapons of any kind and the missile detection system has also been removed, although the Bellerophons are completely capable of detecting shipkillers on their own, so it should not be an issue. Overall the new warship improves over many aspects of its predecessor but some are unhappy with the compromises which were necessary to accomplish that.

Code: [Select]
Mandrake class Battlecruiser    45,000 tons     1047 Crew     16050.6 BP      TCS 900  TH 12420  EM 15000
13800 km/s    JR 8-500     Armour 20-112     Shields 500-300     Sensors 320/400/0/0     Damage Control Rating 52     PPV 0
Maint Life 3.07 Years     MSP 11592    AFR 311%    IFR 4.3%    1YR 1842    5YR 27630    Max Repair 2190 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 0   

Yulianto Engineering Company Battlecruiser Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 45000 tons    Distance 500k km     Squadron Size 8
Tugurlan Marine High Power Naval SCAM Drive Mk2 (18)    Power 690    Fuel Use 24.11%    Signature 690    Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 4,700,000 Litres    Range 78.0 billion km   (65 days at full power)
Xi Shields (100)   Total Fuel Cost  1,000 Litres per hour  (24,000 per day)

Gilca-Grul Wide Area Active Search Sensor  (1)     GPS 8000     Range 1,011.9m km    Resolution 10
Sudiro Electronics Industries Large Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 320     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  320m km
Sudiro Electronics Industries Large EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 400     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  400m km

ECM 50

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

14th August 2402

   The Hegemony upgrade programme is coming slowly but steadily. Five of the eleven carriers have been upgraded and all of the ion powered escorts – the Enki, Ra and Hammurabi classes – have been refitted. With this the Navy begins to shuffle the escorts around in order to create few fully modern formations. Two of those, comprising the the smallest carriers Vigilant and Unyielding, are sent to the Untama system for extended manoeuvres. This is the first step in the Hegemonys attempt to train their crews to the highest possible standards, while also providing protection for the most populous, if not necessarily the most important, star system in the nation.
   
3rd September 2402

   The Commune tries to decide what to do with their future gunboats. With the development of the Jevelin missile and the new, much better sensors the Piranhas and the Sharks would be using essentially the same ammunition from the same range, assuming the former will receive proper upgrades. As such the only difference between the two will be the combination of throw weight, operational range and endurance, making many believe a new vessel should be designed that could supplement and eventually replace both those classes.
   The Force however is still struggling with the recent anti-missile interception issue. The Jevelin have a reasonably good chance of getting past the active defences, but not great ones, and of course have lighter warhead than the previous munitions. So far two options have been considered – using the same Hydra multi-warhead missile or mixing offensive missiles with some sort of decoy.
   The problem with decoy is twofold – it has to be unrecognisable from shipkillers, or will just be ignored and it has to be good enough to justify not having a warhead. The idea to do this was to create a mixed armament of anti-ship missiles and armoured decoys of the same size, which not only would make the two essentially impossible to distinguish, it would also allow the warships to chose the ration of missiles and decoys.
   The decoy would be a very simple design as well, nothing more than an engine and armour, to make the enemy waste his fire on it. Unfortunately this does not look promising. The newer missiles dedicate sixty percent of its mass to engines, not counting fuel, leaving precious little space for anything else. While overall inclusion of such devices would increase the numbers of missiles getting through, some of those reaching the targets would also be decoys with no warhead. As the Force run the numbers they found out that no matter the size of the munition, the actual damage potential would essentially be the same. Not only that but the enemy could counter easily by using their own shipkillers in defensive mode or just by using more powerful point defence weapons, like lasers, which were used by the Hegemony during the Battle of Atlantic, following the first contact between the two nations. Overall it would appear that decoys could not function as a solution.
   Admiral Enrick Chitul, a combat veteran who destroyed the Spectre Behemoth in the system of the same name and later commanded the Fifth Fleet throughout its existence, had recently send a letter with his thoughts on the matter, which were most interesting. First of all he pointed out that no matter how good interception chances are, it takes time to fire enough anti-missiles to deal with monstrous salvoes human forces routinely throw around. Ergo it is a perfectly valid tactic to launch those missiles from relatively close range, limiting interception window. Better yet, the Commune appears to have the speed advantage over every enemy, except one. Unfortunately that one enemy are the Destroyers, and their ships require thousands of hits. Because of that the Force must retain ability to strike from an extended range, even if they decide to start using their shipkillers from shorter distances than previously.
   Such a tactic carries two dangers however. First and foremost it assures the enemy will be able to use their own missiles from shorter range as well, limiting the number of anti-missiles the Commune may be able to fire. Dealing with that would require total reversal of the recent decision to increase the magazine space of ships at the expense of number of launchers. In fact as Chitul points out if short range missile barrages become the norm, the most logical choice would be to put anti-missiles themselves in a single shot box launchers. However, as box launchers take more space, significantly cutting on the number of missile that can be carried it will leave the Force susceptible to long range strikes. In the end the Commune will have to make a choice of either carrying them in single shot missile cells, ensuring all can be actually used, or carrying them in magazines, allowing much larger numbers to be potentially used, but also running the risk of them being destroyed in said magazines if the enemy launches from short range.
   The second danger comes in the form of anti-missiles fired in offensive mode. The good news is that Commune defences are significant, as proven in the Battle of ES – 09 and later in various actions against the Travellers. The bad news is that some interceptors will always leak through and the current generation gunboats have minimal armour. If short range missile attacks are to be attempted, the small attack craft will have to become much more resilient.
   With the explanation out of the way, he presented three possible designs, developed by him, his stuff, and the R&D section attached to the Darastita Marine Industries shipyard above Gardatis.

   The first design is the most classical one, using the Piranha as a baseline model, with heavier armour, updated electronics and Jevelin launchers. Unfortunately it carries only twenty missiles, rather than twenty four like Piranha or thirty six like Shark.

Code: [Select]
Gunboat 2402A Model class Gunboat    1,000 tons     14 Crew     412 BP      TCS 20  TH 280  EM 0
14000 km/s     Armour 5-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6
Maint Life 5.97 Years     MSP 129    AFR 16%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 6    5YR 93    Max Repair 140 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 40   

Christinel-Nutiu High Performance SCAM Drive Mk2 (1)    Power 280    Fuel Use 44.06%    Signature 280    Exp 14%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 69.5 billion km   (57 days at full power)

Pangratiu Systems Small Box Launcher (20)    Missile Size 2    Hangar Reload 15 minutes    MF Reload 2.5 hours
Wozniak Research Inc Missile Fire Control (1)     Range 223.1m km    Resolution 60
Jevelin (20)  Speed: 144,000 km/s   End: 18.1m    Range: 156.4m km   WH: 4    Size: 2    TH: 480/288/144

Compact ECCM-5 (1)         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 second possible design fully embraces the possibility that missile duel will become essentially a battle of attrition. To tilt the balance in the favour of the attacker, the gunboat carries the same hardpoints as the Bobcat fighters and uses a modified anti-missile. Using a fighter munition is also a possibility however. The new munition, named Needle, has respectable warhead and on board sensor, but the range is somewhat limited if still larger than that of most anti-missiles.

Code: [Select]
Gunboat 2402B Model class Gunboat    1,000 tons     14 Crew     424 BP      TCS 20  TH 280  EM 0
14000 km/s     Armour 5-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6
Maint Life 7.61 Years     MSP 132    AFR 16%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 4    5YR 60    Max Repair 140 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 40   

Christinel-Nutiu High Performance SCAM Drive Mk2 (1)    Power 280    Fuel Use 44.06%    Signature 280    Exp 14%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 69.5 billion km   (57 days at full power)

Blom-Samuelsson Fighter Hardpoint (40)    Missile Size 1    Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes    MF Reload 1.2 hours
Wozniak Research Inc Missile Fire Control (1)     Range 223.1m km    Resolution 60
Needle (40)  Speed: 156,000 km/s   End: 4.3m    Range: 40.6m km   WH: 3    Size: 1    TH: 520/312/156

Compact ECCM-5 (1)         

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 third proposed model abandons any resemblance to previous warships and fully embraces the short range nature of missile combat. As Chitul points out due to how slowly gravitic sensor provide information, it takes five seconds for most combat systems to actually do anything. This is true even for point defence. As such if the missile crosses the energy weapon envelope in less than five seconds effectively nothing will be able to fire at it. Of course the energy weapons would be a problem if the gunboats had to come too close, but the next generation Commune fire controls will have range of six hundred thousand kilometres and even Travellers cannot engage enemies form more than eight hundred thousand kilometres. As such a missile moving at one hundred and sixty one thousand kilometres per second would be able to bypass defences while being launched from outside energy weapon range of all known enemies except for the Destroyer.
   Armed with that knowledge the developers on Gardatis produced a missile the same size as Trebuchet – or Satyr – armed with thirteen megaton warhead and speed of one hundred and seventy two thousand kilometres per second, allowing the “torpedo boat” to launch its ordnance form  safe distance. The cost of the munition is significant and fewer can be carried, due to the size, but despite being only twice as large as Jevelin it has over four times as powerful warhead. In fact, in both relative and absolute terms, it has more powerful warhead than any of the newly proposed shipkillers, while still being faster than any of them and having range of over five million kilometres – short by the standards of the modern combat, but more than sufficient for what it needs.

Code: [Select]
Gunboat 2402C Model class Torpedo Boat    1,000 tons     14 Crew     424 BP      TCS 20  TH 280  EM 0
14000 km/s     Armour 5-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 6
Maint Life 4.93 Years     MSP 132    AFR 16%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 9    5YR 135    Max Repair 140 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 40   

Christinel-Nutiu High Performance SCAM Drive Mk2 (1)    Power 280    Fuel Use 44.06%    Signature 280    Exp 14%
Fuel Capacity 170,000 Litres    Range 69.5 billion km   (57 days at full power)

Prieto & Espinoza Medium Box Launcher (10)    Missile Size 4    Hangar Reload 30 minutes    MF Reload 5 hours
Wozniak Research Inc Missile Fire Control (1)     Range 223.1m km    Resolution 60
Warhammer (10)  Speed: 172,800 km/s   End: 0.5m    Range: 5.5m km   WH: 13    Size: 4    TH: 576/345/172

Compact ECCM-5 (1)         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
   

   Those proposal may very well finally help the Force to overcome the interception issue, not only in case of gunboats but also in case of larger warships. Of the three they are the least inclined towards the A model, as they have more than enough Piranhas and Sharks to try something new. The B model is the most favoured as it essentially continues design techniques that were used up to this point and proved very successful, but a large minority claims the situation has changed so much that a drastic measures have to be taken, making them favour the C model.
   In the end a compromise is reached – both models will be built until twenty flotillas of each are available, but the B model will have priority. This will also give an opportunity for the ordnance factories to build proper ammunition for the two designs.
   The B model is named Stingray and its flotillas will have numbers from two hundred and one to three hundred. The C model is named Hammerhead and its flotillas will have numbers from one to one hundred by be designated as torpedo boat flotillas rather than gunboats. Both will be paired with the newly developed Sawfish class fast scout for sensory information (presented below).

Code: [Select]
Sawfish class Fast Scout    1,000 tons     22 Crew     588 BP      TCS 20  TH 280  EM 0
14000 km/s     Armour 7-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/80/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
Maint Life 10.03 Years     MSP 368    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 7    5YR 100    Max Repair 240 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 0   

Christinel-Nutiu High Performance SCAM Drive Mk2 (1)    Power 280    Fuel Use 44.06%    Signature 280    Exp 14%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres    Range 81.7 billion km   (67 days at full power)

Martinsson Dynamics Medium Resolution Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1200     Range 214.7m km    Resolution 5
Gebala -Sas  Small EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 80     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  80m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

3rd November 2402

   For the past couple of years the Commune has been colonising previously undeveloped planets in the Ayutthaya and Kvituchi Troyandy systems. Both of those had a single inhabited planet with over a hundred million people, were located in areas of space which needed additional development and had a total of five planets which could be colonised and terraformed. The new colonies had little to recommend them, but as the systems were located in areas of relatively heavy commercial traffic, the government hoped to create additional trading opportunities, like they did by developing Archway and Oresund in the Gateway system. The process has been slow, due to the enormous commitments on national shipping, but it has been steady.
   This however made other systems want similar attention. By this point the Commune comprised a total of eighteen systems with population exceeding a hundred million people and nine of those – not counting the after mentioned systems already in development – had additional planets that could be settled. Fortunately for the central government most of the systems in question saw each other as rivals and were individually too small and carried too little prestige to force the Committee into action. Unfortunately two stars – Peter's Crossing and Athens – were large enough and prestigious enough for their voice to carry a lot of weight.
   The colony of Knossos located in the system of Peter's Crossing was the second largest in the Commune, which bemused a lot of people, especially foreigners, as it was the location of largest number of space battles in human history. The system was initially and ADS stronghold, was the site of the Destroyer's defeat and was under siege by the Travellers. Despite that the huge mining and military related industries demanded an enormous workforce and many citizens answered the call, reassured by many victories, strong fleet presence and powerful fixed fortifications. As a result the planet was home to over five hundred and forty seven million people and the star itself was orbited by two potential colony sites.
   The Force however was extremely strongly opposed to further colonisation in the system. As they pointed out fixed fortifications could not move and that meant any new colony in the system would require their own missile bases. Aside from industrial cost, supporting them with enough missiles would be extremely difficult and to make matters worse the most likely aggressor, the Destroyers, were faster and able to outmanoeuvre the Commune ships. By providing a singular target any attacker would face a choice of either diving into enormously powerful defences comprising planetary installations and mobile forces, or trying to bypass them to reach other systems. But with numerous colonies present, the opponents options would vastly expand, potentially leading to unnecessary loses, military and civilian alike. This fortunately is enough to convince the population and although the local government is still pushing for further development, it's unlikely to succeed without popular support.
   The situation with Athens is much more difficult. The planet of Eden has population of almost eight hundred and fifty eight million – over fifteen percent of all people living in the nation – is located in a very secure chain of systems and is the single most desirable living place. To make matters worse the potential colony site, the second planet in the system which lacks an official name, would be very pleasant place to live once terraformed, It lack heavy metals, resulting in a rather low gravity, but is actually larger than Eden, has water coverage of seventy three percent, which will make the available land much more green and lush and has somewhat short, but still reasonable day of sixteen hours. In short once modified it would be among the most Earth like planets in the nation.
   The government however is unwilling to start the development. The planet has no minerals of note, not even conventional ones, is located in the Sudetes sector, which is far too large and powerful compared to others and while the Athens system attracts a lot of trade due to its size it's an end point of any run, rather than a transit location of a nexus. Overall there is no good reason to develop the planet, and the available resources could be spent a lot better elsewhere
   Unfortunately in this case the government is losing to popular demand. Far too many people see the system as a good and secure place to live and hope to emigrate there, even if that means going to the secondary planet. The best the Committee can do is to resist any calls for priority, so while the planet will not be colonised immediately it has been put high on the list of future developments.

23rd November 2402

   While the Commune economy has still not fully recovered the combination of low deficit and recent upheaval in missile effectiveness made the government push for quicker development of new warships. The problem is the Force is still trying to decide what direction to take with the current focus being on their frigate squadrons.
   Originally comprising Stockholm class railgun armed frigates and Vistuala class corvettes, those were formed for anti-missile defence and short range engagements, doing everything the gunboats couldn't. While the newer destroyer formations fill many of the same roles and are more versatile, the sheer number of gunboat flotillas – currently standing at sixty five – meant the frigate squadrons simply had to stay to support them. The appearance of the Travellers and the increased need for point blank anti-missile defences only confirmed the value of the formations.
    But the Force was very uncertain how to proceed with them into the future. The Vistuala class corvettes were very solid pieces of engineering and are proudly serving to this very day. Unfortunately after the Battle of Rampart the decision was made to increase the magazine space, possibly at the cost of launchers and such rearrangement was more than any refit could provide, so it was known that a completely new vessel was needed. Then came the news of the incredible interception chances of the modern anti-missiles, followed by the Chitul report which pointed out it may be impossible to fully utilise anti-missile ranges as launching from a short distance was one of the most effective ways to bypass active defences. With such a tactic now a very real possibility, many believed traditional escort designs are no longer valid and interceptors should be carried in box launchers like other missiles were.
   The Force disagreed simply because no enemy ever used such a tactic. The Travellers were equal or ahead of the Commune in terms of technology and they used long range wave tactics for an attack. The Hegemony continued to use fighters implying they also intended to fire from longer range, possibly simply trying to use their superior economy and numbers to run the defender out of ammunition. In short traditional launchers were still needed.
   Another issue related to the successor to the Vistuala class, was their uncompromising focus. For all instances and purposes all vessels designed by the Commune were mutli-role to a lesser or greater extent, but the corvettes were as single minded as the gunboats were and with increased possibility of energy weapon combat some wanted to add a small laser or railgun to the next generation warship. This quickly escalated to the point where some people wanted to simply abandon the corvettes and the Talca class frigates in favour of building only Saimaa class frigates, modified for new technologies of course. The Saimaa, designed to work with the Skrzak class destroyers, were equipped with anti-missiles, gauss cannons and a small railgun for emergencies, making them a perfect blend in opinion of some. The Force however wasn't sure about increasing the total size of the squadrons from six corvettes and six frigates to twelve frigates, nor were they comfortable with the light energy armament of the Saimaas and the loss of much heavier guns present in the Talca class.
   After some consideration they decided to continue using mixed formations. The energy armament of Saimaa was simply too weak and improving it would require sacrifice of either magazine space or one of the two gauss cannons. Even so a new version of their attack frigate was designed, designated the Hawana class. Like the preceding Talca class it had relatively heavy armour considering her small size, and three gauss cannon turrets, but the energy armament has been completely replaced with five small, fast firing lasers. While lacking the sheer destructive power of the newest, largest guns, their combination of good range, damage, small size and very short recharge times, makes them just as destructive, if not more so, although they obviously need more time to actually deal the damage.

Code: [Select]
Hawana class Frigate    10,000 tons     281 Crew     5354.6 BP      TCS 200  TH 2760  EM 0
13800 km/s     Armour 9-41     Shields 0-0     Sensors 64/80/0/0     Damage Control Rating 6     PPV 53.76
Maint Life 3.34 Years     MSP 2008    AFR 133%    IFR 1.9%    1YR 272    5YR 4087    Max Repair 432 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 0   

Tugurlan Marine High Power Naval SCAM Drive Mk2 (4)    Power 690    Fuel Use 24.11%    Signature 690    Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 990,000 Litres    Range 73.9 billion km   (61 days at full power)

Montemayor Cybernetics 200mm Laser (5)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 10-12     RM 8    ROF 5        10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 8
Single Warda Manufacturing Gauss Cannon Mk2 Turret (3x5)    Range 40,000km     TS: 32000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 4    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hansson Dynamics Long Range Railgun Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 480,000 km   TS: 12000 km/s     98 96 94 92 90 88 85 83 81 79
Hansson Dynamics Point Defence Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 120,000 km   TS: 32000 km/s     92 83 75 67 58 50 42 33 25 17
Janiec Aircraft Engine Co SCAM Reactor (5)     Total Power Output 80    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Hadisapoetro-Baizura Small Missile Detection System (1)     GPS 80     Range 32.0m km    MCR 3.5m km    Resolution 1
Pamungkas Electronic Systems Small Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 64     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  64m km
Gebala -Sas  Small EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 80     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  80m km

Compact ECCM-5 (2)         ECM 50

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

   The successor to the Vistuala class was much more controversial but two points were universally agreed upon – the new vessel will simply have to include some sort of energy weapon and to accommodate it will have to be larger. The ration of magazine space to anti-missile launchers was however a very hotly debated issue. Finally a compromise was proposed – the new vessel will use both traditional launchers with generous magazine space, but will also carry a number of small box launchers. Not only will it allow the vessel to increase the number of interceptors launched against specific missile wave, those could also be stuffed with the new Needle anti-ship missiles, making the vessel much more versatile.
   The Force was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea, as they believed to be the worst of both worlds. Only a small amount of box launchers could be added, so the vessel would not be able to make any real dent from large salvo fired from short range and the single shot missile cells will eat space that could be used for traditional launchers and associated magazines. The ability to launch offensive ordnance also failed to impress most of the officers as the new ships would work together with gunboats, which should have more than enough offensive punch. Unfortunately for all those very good points, the need to defend against missile attacks like those launched by the Travellers and the potential short range strike were mutually exclusive and so a mixed armament seemed like the best option for now. Once the Force could observe its performance in combat it could decide which way to go forward.
   The result of those decision is the Ruvuma class corvette. Fifty percent larger than Vistuala she carries more anti-missiles but has only ten launchers rather than sixteen. Even so she still has two fire controls and can thicken her fire thanks to seventy anti-missile cells. She also has thicker armour and a single small laser. The small size of the gun – it's only two hundred millimetres one – was controversial as this meant the single fire control, reactor and ECCM system took a lot of space for the small amount of damage the weapon was capable of doing, but the designers saw no way around that.
   Another potential issue of the design was lack of proper, long range missile detection system, but it came down again to the very limited space the designers had to work with. At the same time the Vistualas had the exact same problem, but managed to work just fine, so there is little pressure to change that.

Code: [Select]
Ruvuma class Corvette    7,500 tons     173 Crew     3275.2 BP      TCS 150  TH 2070  EM 0
13800 km/s     Armour 6-34     Shields 0-0     Sensors 64/80/0/0     Damage Control Rating 4     PPV 26.5
Maint Life 3.44 Years     MSP 1092    AFR 112%    IFR 1.6%    1YR 141    5YR 2111    Max Repair 432 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 1   
Magazine 470   

Tugurlan Marine High Power Naval SCAM Drive Mk2 (3)    Power 690    Fuel Use 24.11%    Signature 690    Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 720,000 Litres    Range 71.7 billion km   (60 days at full power)

Montemayor Cybernetics 200mm Laser (1)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 10-12     RM 8    ROF 5        10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 8
Hansson Dynamics Long Range Railgun Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 480,000 km   TS: 12000 km/s     98 96 94 92 90 88 85 83 81 79
Janiec Aircraft Engine Co SCAM Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 16    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Jurga -Bakowski Anti - Missile Launcher Mk2 (10)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 5
Mihaili Dynamics Anti-Missile Cell (70)    Missile Size 1    Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes    MF Reload 1.2 hours
Goransson-Nilsson Anti-Missile Fire Control (2)     Range 153.6m km    Resolution 1
Spear VI (400)  Speed: 156,000 km/s   End: 2.4m    Range: 22.8m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 2340/1404/702
Needle (70)  Speed: 156,000 km/s   End: 4.3m    Range: 40.6m km   WH: 3    Size: 1    TH: 520/312/156

Hadisapoetro-Baizura Small Missile Detection System (1)     GPS 80     Range 32.0m km    MCR 3.5m km    Resolution 1
Pamungkas Electronic Systems Small Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 64     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  64m km
Gebala -Sas  Small EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 80     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  80m km

Compact ECCM-5 (1)         ECM 50

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 last component of the new frigate squadrons will be the new Tortola class destroyer leader. She is very similar to the Kihnu class but thanks to smaller if still very capable sensor suite, the designers managed to squeeze a single, powerful spinal mounted laser for emergencies.

Code: [Select]
Tortola class Destroyer Leader    15,000 tons     422 Crew     7093.8 BP      TCS 300  TH 4140  EM 0
13800 km/s    JR 3-50     Armour 10-54     Shields 0-0     Sensors 320/400/0/0     Damage Control Rating 18     PPV 24
Maint Life 5.01 Years     MSP 5320    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 353    5YR 5295    Max Repair 1163 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months    Spare Berths 1   

Cahyono Putro-Daratista  Destroyer Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 15000 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 3
Tugurlan Marine High Power Naval SCAM Drive Mk2 (6)    Power 690    Fuel Use 24.11%    Signature 690    Exp 11%
Fuel Capacity 1,800,000 Litres    Range 89.6 billion km   (75 days at full power)

Montemayor Cybernetics Advanced 750mm Laser (1)    Range 480,000km     TS: 13800 km/s     Power 147-12     RM 8    ROF 65        147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 130 117
Hansson Dynamics Long Range Railgun Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 480,000 km   TS: 12000 km/s     98 96 94 92 90 88 85 83 81 79
Janiec Aircraft Engine Co SCAM Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 16    Armour 0    Exp 5%

Goransson-Nilsson Missile Detection System (1)     GPS 380     Range 152.0m km    MCR 16.6m km    Resolution 1
Gilca-Grul Wide Area Active Search Sensor  (1)     GPS 8000     Range 1,011.9m km    Resolution 10
Sudiro Electronics Industries Large Thermal Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 320     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  320m km
Sudiro Electronics Industries Large EM Detection Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 400     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  400m km

Compact ECCM-5 (1)         ECM 50

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

8th January 2403

   As was expected the retooling and expansion of the shipyards have significantly impacted the Commune budget. Thanks to the still existing reserve the operations can continue without interruptions but for now it will be impossible to develop new warships to replace the Skrzak and Saimaa classes which comprise the destroyer squadrons. This actually led to the Committee questioning the wisdom of building obsolete vessels, but the Force points out that while those warships are indeed old they are not useless and have proven themselves against the Travellers. In short while those are not currently using full potential of the available technology and tactical data, they are still very useful.
   But one area that demands an immediate attention are the planetary missile bases. Many were designed decades ago and were never upgraded, as they used larger components with range and capability more than sufficient for their tasks. But now that the design practices themselves are changing a new missile base to reflect those is needed, but developing one is proving to be much harder proposition.
   The biggest issue for the designers is the relatively short range of the current munitions, which were forced to divert significant mass to engines, which means it will be possible for the enemy to strike from outside their own range. As many officers point out this is somewhat irrelevant as the bases were never designed to actually kill incoming fleets – they were designed to protect the planets from the enemy missile attacks, with shipkillers being installed simply to prevent the enemy from closing to energy weapon range. Even so with the new technologies and advent of multi-stage missiles, the designers wanted more than ever to give their new constructs missiles which could engage from hundreds of millions, possibly even billions of kilometres. The Force was somewhat interested but ultimately rejected the notion. Aside from the sheer cost of such munitions, the ordnance factories are already forced to build no less than seven different missiles and anti-missiles, and that's counting Hydra and her internal warheads as one. Adding yet another design would complicate the logistic situation even more.
   With this the designers had no choice but to revert to the original intent of those bases, focusing on defence with only relatively small numbers of launchers available. The question was which should be used, for currently the Commune used four different shipkiller sizes – the new, anti-missile sized Needle, the small Arrows, Mistletoes and Jevelins, the medium sized Trebuchets and Satyrs and the large, multi-warhead Hydras.
   The medium sized launchers were rejected almost out of hand. The Satyrs were the least economical shipkillers at the moment, and the situation will become only worse in time. The smallest ones were also rejected, in a manner. Those will be used to provide additional anti-missile capability that can be used for offence as well, similar to how the Ruvuma was designed, but due to the very short range of the Needles those were rejected as the primary offensive power of the new base. After serious consideration the designers decided to use the small launchers, used for Arrows and Jevelins. The Hydras were an unproven concept while the gunboat sized munitions have defeated many enemies, including the Destroyer.
   The last remaining decision was magazine space. On the one hand the base could easily draw from planetary stockpiles. On the other hand is still took time to transport and load missiles. In the end the decision was made to have enough space for twenty salvoes, less than in case of starships, but sufficient to deal with most threats and if enemy used small number of large strikes, like the Hegemony did with their fighters, there will be time to reload the magazines from the planet.
   The base was also designed to be much larger than previous ones, but also to be built in very small numbers, preferably no more than one per planet. For this reason it also boasts an excellent sensor suite, so that it doesn't need support from a dedicated outpost. It was named Palmanova, after an Italian star fort.

Code: [Select]
Palmanova class Missile Base    22,050 tons     430 Crew     7724.4 BP      TCS 441  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 10-70     Sensors 1/1600     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 265
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 3   
Magazine 2735   

Mihaili Dynamics Anti-Missile Cell (500)    Missile Size 1    Hangar Reload 7.5 minutes    MF Reload 1.2 hours
Korczak -Sobierajski  Ground Based Anti-Missile Launcher (70)    Missile Size 1    Rate of Fire 5
Pangratiu Systems Small Box Launcher (400)    Missile Size 2    Hangar Reload 15 minutes    MF Reload 2.5 hours
Wozniak Research Inc Missile Fire Control (10)     Range 223.1m km    Resolution 60
Goransson-Nilsson Anti-Missile Fire Control (10)     Range 153.6m km    Resolution 1
Jevelin (400)  Speed: 144,000 km/s   End: 18.1m    Range: 156.4m km   WH: 4    Size: 2    TH: 480/288/144
Spear VI (1435)  Speed: 156,000 km/s   End: 2.4m    Range: 22.8m km   WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 2340/1404/702
Needle (500)  Speed: 156,000 km/s   End: 4.3m    Range: 40.6m km   WH: 3    Size: 1    TH: 520/312/156

Hammare Electronics Wide Area HR Search Sensor (1)     GPS 1600     Range 640.0m km    MCR 69.7m km    Resolution 1

ECCM-7 (10)         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 Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 9 sections