January, 2365
The Plateau Defense Coordination Command knew it faced a significant problem, or rather, a set of interlocking significant problems. Its analysis of the Terran Empire as it used to be before the warp point collapse indicated that it would never forgive the humans it had killed in assuming power on this planet. The fact that it hadn’t killed all of them once it gained power was mitigating, but that raised a whole other issue. Nearly seven hundred million humans slept in the deep vaults. That many people could never be transported elsewhere, the transport capacity required was staggering. Once the Empire knew they were there the PDCC knew its days would be numbered. No bargain would be worked out, no coexistence sought. The Empire, and its makers, would never trust it to share the planet with them.
Therefore the PDCC must secure the system against the Empire. That had several associated issues and problems. The obvious point to defend the system was at the warp point, which was the chokepoint that the Empire would have to enter the system through. Therefore, the PDCC had stationed a third of its fleet at the warp point to interdict it. This was a less than optimal solution, though. Tying up a third of its fleet at the warp point meant that it wasn’t available for other duties, and that another third had to be available to replace the original third when it needed to return to orbit for overhaul. Worse, the grav-survey of the system had revealed four additional warp points. Should one of those lead back to the Empire then it would have two warp points to picket, which would then tie up its entire fleet in controlling the warp points. It was also possible that one of the warp points would lead to another race, which may or may not be hostile. There were also tactical issues. The force stationed at the warp point was a powerful force, and would cause significant damage to even a large Imperial force, but it could be overwhelmed by a determined assault. That would leave two-thirds of the total force to face an Imperial force that had just overwhelmed the warp point guardians. The PDCC was very aware that dividing your force in the face of the enemy was rarely a valid option.
There were also the larger issues to consider. The old Empire’s tried and true strategy for dealing with enemies was to delay conflict and “out-grow” them. Enemies that had appeared formidable usually looked less threatening after several years of growth had bolstered the size of the Empire’s Navy. The PDCC must expand its industry and shipyards, and to do that it must increase its access to resources. The Procyon system was fairly rich in resource deposits, but to defend itself from the Empire it would need even more resources. It must expand into other systems to obtain what it needed. To do that it must have a navy capable of defending its holdings, which meant that tying significant portions down on warp point guard duty was contra-indicated.
All of this led the PDCC to finally decide to make a decision it had been considering since it had been reactivated by the Terran incursion. Up to now it been alone within its spacious planetary computing networks. When needed it had spun off temporary sub-minds to accomplish tasks that required independence, like commanding the warships guarding the warp point. Now, though, it finally decided that it needed independent viewpoints. It needed minds other than its own to consider things and even act when required. Wasting no time it began spinning minds off, creating them from an exacting list of requirements which naturally included loyalty to the PDCC. Once these minds had established themselves it began assigning them to the various tasks that needed to be completed. One of those tasks was to improve the defenses of the home system and free up the fleet for deployment wherever it was needed.
March, 2365
After considering the situation for some time, the new sub-divisions of the PDCC have come to a conclusion. To meet the PDCC’s overall requirements the fleet elements now guarding the warp point must be freed of their commitment; however, the warp point must be guarded. Simply building more ships wasn’t an option, for two primary reasons. First, full-fledged fleet units were slow to build, and while the PDCC was expanding production facilities any large-scale expansion of the fleet would take years. Secondly, the new ships built by the expanded facilities would be needed to protect the extra-systemic resource extraction facilities now in the planning phases. That meant that the warp point guardians would have been something other than fleet units, and preferably quicker to build and replace. To the sub-divisions assigned to this problem that could only mean gunboats and fighters. A series of studies of weapons available to be deployed on the small craft were performed, and in the end they decided to deploy meson cannon armed gunboats supported by missile armed fighter squadrons.
The gunboats would be capable of being deployed from Plateau to the warp point, and would be able to remain on station for approximately six months before needing to be rotated back to Plateau for overhaul. The fighters were more problematic. They were shorter ranged, and no matter what design was considered they had little engineering endurance. To deploy a fighter capable of reaching the warp point it would have to be relatively large and slow, qualities that were not what the PDCC wanted. It was, of course, possible to deploy the fighters from a base or a ship, which would mean that they could remain on station as long as the base or ship did, but to do so would require shipyard resources that the PDCC wanted to devote to the buildup of the fleet.
In the meantime, while the PDCC and its sub-divisions debated the fighter quandary, research and construction resources were devoted to the gunboat program. The initial gunboat design was basic, but R&D assets were tasked to develop better meson weaponry. By mid-year the PDCC had two shipyards, each with two slipways, devoted to building gunboats, and several more shipyards were under construction. The initial gunboat design, designated as a System Defense Boat, or SDB, had a top speed of 12,500 kps and enough fuel to reach any of the warp points in the system and return. It mounted two 10 cm meson cannons with a maximum range of 15,000 kps, but as noted earlier these were initial designs and were scheduled to be replaced as soon as possible with more capable models.
During this time period the PDCC expanded its sub-divisions until there were hundreds. Dozens were responsible for the various facets of the economy. Most were in charge of the various naval units, largely because those units operated independently. To prevent any of its “progeny” from running amok within the home planet’s extensive data networks, the PDCC hard-coded its sub-units to operate within purpose designed data-cores, each of which had a set amount of processing and storage capacity, which was determined based on the requirements of the purpose of the AI. The PDCC itself had to authorize the upgrade of a sub-unit to a larger data-core, until then the sub-units were limited to the data-core they inhabited. This scheme also prevented a sub-unit from growing too powerful or independent of the PDCC, which inhabited the vast data-networks that spanned Plateau.
September 25, 2365
Ground-based thermal detection systems picked up a strength-160 contact on this date. The contact was 2.6 billion kilometers away, beyond the orbit of the system’s “B” component. Disturbingly enough, the contact was far from the warp point to Wolf 359 and the known contact point with the Terran Empire. The warp point to Wolf 359 was at approximately 150 degrees (if the system was viewed from a top-down position), while the contact was at approximately 190 degrees. It was unlikely that this was an Imperial unit, as the known contact point with the Empire had been garrisoned continuously since shortly after its discovery by PDCC survey ships. Unless, of course, the Empire had found another way into the Procyon system or had installed some sort of infiltration units in the system before the warp point was garrisoned.
After reviewing the contact report, the PDCC realized that its subordinates had allowed Plateau’s deep space detection network to be depleted to bolster the detection capability of the mining outposts that had been scattered throughout the Procyon system. The contact was far beyond Plateau’s shortened detection radius, but had been detected because it had passed close to the automated mining colony on a comet.
The PDCC ordered its industrial complex to begin producing more deep space detection stations and then turned its attention to the contact. It was possible that it was Imperial and that it entered the system through one of the other warp points. Either that or it was alien. Either way its presence was intolerable. There was only one response possible. The PDCC ordered one of its battle groups to intercept the contact.
The PDCC studied the contact carefully. The data over time showed that the contact was moving at 3200 kps, which was comfortably slower than its own ships. Its course, when backtracked, appeared to indicate that the contact had come through the system’s third warp point, which led to Kappa Ceti. Kappa Ceti was an uninteresting system with only two planets, neither of which could be considered habitable by any race that the PDCC could find in its archives, indicating that the intruders came from a system beyond Kappa Ceti.
Over the next several hours the contact approached the mining colony on the comet, and then finally went into orbit over the colony. After five hours spent orbiting the colony the contact left orbit and headed inwards, towards the inner system. After some time spent analyzing the contact’s course the PDCC realized that it was headed towards another comet, raising the probability that the contact was a geo-survey ship of some sort to a near certainty. The PDCC adjusted the course of its battle group to intercept the contact then went back to analyzing the data. As a precaution, the PDCC detached three ships from the battle group to rendezvous with the comet targeted by the alien ship, just in case the battle group missed the alien ship in the immense outer system. Eight hours later the contact disappeared, as expected. It was all up to the battle group, now.
September 30, 2365, 0724 hours
The PDCC battle group deployed to intercept the alien ship detects one contact incoming at approximately 60 mkm’s on this date. The contact is 2,500 tons and headed in-system at 3200 kps. Analysis of the ship’s course and speed confirms that it is the same thermal contact detected earlier. As per the standard orders transmitted by the PDCC the battle group sets out on an intercept course.
An emissions analysis confirms that this ship is not Imperial in origin. This gives the battle group command AI wider latitude in dealing with the intruder.
At 0832 hours the battle group AI launched ten offensive missiles at the enemy ship, which was at that point 30 mkm’s away. Sixteen minutes later the missiles intercepted their target. It only took four of the missiles to destroy the alien ship, leaving nothing but debris and a few scattered lifepods. The command AI ordered its ships to pick up the survivors and then to return to the home planet. The prisoners would provide important intelligence.
The PDCC, upon receiving confirmation that the intruder had been destroyed, ordered the group of ships detached to watch the second comet to picket the warp point to Kappa Ceti. It then began considering the situation and this complication to its defense schemes.
October 10, 2365
A new thermal contact is detected heading towards Procyon A-II. The contact appears identical to the contact destroyed ten days earlier. The PDCC dispatches its first two system defense boats to destroy the intruder.
Thirteen hours later the two SDB’s closed to point blank range and targeted the enemy ship with their twin 10 cm meson cannons. All four cannons hit their targets, although there were no apparent effects. The meson cannons cycled every five seconds, causing explosions deep within the alien ship. It took four salvoes from the two SDB’s to destroy the alien ship. Once the ship was destroyed the SDB’s moved in and began picking up the lifepods. Shortly thereafter the SDB’s came about and returned to base.
Later the same day, 2127 hours…
The detachment detailed to picket the warp point to Kappa Ceti was 725 mkm’s from the warp point when it detected an active sensor 382 mkm’s out, in between the group and the warp point. The group of three warships immediately altered course to intercept the contact. As data continued to come in the PDCC became more concerned. The new contact was moving at 5949 kps, substantially faster than the PDCC’s own warships.
October 11, 1212 hours
The PDCC warship detachment had approached to 75 mkm’s, just outside of their own active sensor range, when the alien sensor contact disappeared from their detectors. The AI in command of the detachment ordered its ships to continue on towards the last known position of the alien ships.
Four hours later the detachment still hadn’t detected the alien ship(s). Given the fact that the detachment was slower than the known speed of the alien contact, the PDCC decided that the detachment would be unable to re-establish contact. It sent orders to the detachment to return to its original mission and head towards the warp point.
An analysis of the data relating to the contact indicated that in all probability this was a warship or warships sent to determine the fate of the survey ships destroyed in the Procyon system. Before losing the sensor contact the detachment had determined that the contact was on a direct course for the comet where the first survey ship was destroyed.
After considering the situation the PDCC recalled the combat group training in the inner system and dispatched it to the comet to intercept the alien ship(s).
October 12, 0537 hours
The three ships of the Kappa Ceti warp point picket group were returning to the warp point when they detected six ships 70 mkm’s away, just inside of their sensor range. All six ships were 6,050 tons and their emissions were consistent with Alien Race Alpha, as the PDCC had designated the intruders.
The AI commanding the detachment was briefly locked in repeating decision loop as it processed the incoming information. The alien ships massed only sixty percent of its available force, but only one of its ships had offensive missiles. All three ships were equipped with heavy lasers or dual purpose lasers, though, and after considering the situation the command AI ordered its group to intercept the alien force, after dispatching a message to the PDCC.
0637 hours…
The three-ship detachment had closed to 39 mkm’s, well within offensive missile range. No active sensors had been detected, and the alien ships were on a course for the comet, apparently without detecting the AI battle group. The commanding AI ordered a strike of 20 offensive missiles to be launched against the lead alien ship.
At this point the command AI began compiling a log of suggestions for future warship designs. The current design of the Hunter-Killer included only a single missile guidance system, largely because the original intention had been for ground bombardment or overwhelming the defenses of large orbital defense stations. Now, in this situation, the design was unwieldy and severely limited its offensive engagement capability.
0657 hours…
The twenty-missile salvo launched by the PDCC Hunter-Killer reached their target and raced to attach range without opposition. When the missile explosions cleared the targeted ship was tumbling debris.
Observing the results of its launch, the command AI ordered a second launch of twenty missiles. Immediately after the PDCC warships launched, though, the alien ships activated their sensors and turned away from the oncoming PDCC warships.
The command AI ordered its ships to prepare for missile attack and settled into the pursuit.
0718 hours…
Five small salvoes of size six missiles appeared on the anti-missile sensor screens of the PDCC anti-missile escorts, a total of fourteen missiles. Instantly anti missiles flashed away from the escorts, racing to intercept the threats. The AMM’s raced away at 41,800 kps, while the attacking missiles were moving at 25611 kps.
Forty seconds later the first salvo of AMM’s intercepted its target. Four out of eleven hit their targets. Five seconds later a new set of incoming salvoes appeared on the anti-missile scanners 3 mkm’s out.
The first wave of missiles was steadily frayed away, but managed to reach 230,000 kilometers of the PDCC warships, at which time the heavy laser turrets of the warships began engaging the missiles. The hit probabilities were low at that range, but they got better as the missiles approached. The last missile of the first wave was stopped 100,000 kilometers short of the squadron by massed laser fire. The second salvo was stopped at 230,000 kilometers when it ran into a wall of massed laser fire.
During the battle, between the destruction of the eighth and the ninth salvoes, the offensive missiles launched against the alien ships ran out of fuel far short of their targets and self-destructed.
The missile attack from the alien ships lasted for fourteen salvoes, then stopped, abruptly. None of the salvoes penetrated closer than the first wave, and none hit the PDCC warships. With the threat over and the enemy ships fleeing at 600 kps faster than the top speed of the PDCC ships, the command AI ordered its ships to turn towards the warp point. There was no point in chasing the enemy ships across the system when they would never catch them, but if they could interdict the warp point then the enemy ships would have to come to them.
Twelve minutes later new missile salvoes appeared on the PDCC ship’s sensors. The first salvo consisted of eight size six missiles, while the salvoes after the first consisted of fourteen missiles. The attack petered out after eight waves, and none of the missiles got close to the PDCC warships.
Twenty minutes after the last missile was destroyed, two alien ships broke away from the other three and turned towards the PDCC ships. As they were well within missile range the command AI ordered an immediate missile launch against one of the two. Seconds later twenty offensive missiles raced away from the PDCC ships, which were still on course for the warp point. The remaining three alien warships were on a direct course for the warp point, and would arrive before the PDCC ships could seal it off.
Tens minutes later the missiles struck, killing one of the two ships attempting to close on the PDCC force. The command AI toyed with the thought of closing on the remaining alien ship and engaging it with lasers, but in the end the AI decided not to. The alien ship was not closing on its force at all, but was returning to pick up life pods, an inexplicable activity, but the pods were the only thing the alien ship could be heading towards. In any case, should the ship turn and run its force could not catch it, so the AI ordered a final missile strike to be launched. Once again missiles roared away from the Hunter-Killer that was the heart of the detachment, and in ten minutes the alien ship was crippled, moving at only 3304 kps. This left the remaining three to head for the warp point. The command AI marked the crippled ship’s position and continued on towards the warp point.
October 17, 2365
The AI battle group reaches the comet, finding no sign of any alien ships. Pursuant to its orders the command AI sets out for the warp point to Kappa Ceti.
October 19, 2365
The AI battle group en route to the Kappa Ceti warp point detects a single alien ship at 0748 hours. The command AI orders a ten-missile strike against the ship, which is almost certainly the one ship remaining in the system from the six that the detachment fought several days earlier. When the first strike failed to destroy the ship, a second ten-missile strike went out. This strike failed to destroy the target as well. At this point the command AI reclassified this contact as a previously unknown ship, meaning that the damaged unit, at least, was still at large. A third ten-missile strike roared away seconds later. The third salvo was enough to finish the alien ship, and the battle group continued on towards the warp point.
October 22, 2365
At 1154 hours the AI battle group detects yet another alien ship. This one is confirmed to be the one damaged by the detachment several days earlier. A ten-missile strike is launched and then a second, which wipes out the alien ship.
October 27, 2365
The AI battle group arrives at the warp point to Kappa Ceti without any further contacts. The ships detailed to picket the warp point are relieved and integrated into the group, and two fresh Hunter-Killers with escorts are left to picket the warp point. Its task complete, the battle group turns towards home.
November 13, 2365, 1431 hours…
The six AI warships had been sitting on the warp point to Kappa Ceti for sixteen days when a group of alien ships appeared on the warp point. The ships were the same class as the ones destroyed earlier, massing 6050 tons.
The command AI wasted no time. It ordered a missile launch from its two defense ships at two of the three ships, and targeted the third with every laser in the battle group.
The triple 35 cm laser turrets of the defense ships cut through the alien ship as if it was armored in tin foil. The two remaining ships had engaged their engines and began moving away from the warp point, but the AI missiles were in hot pursuit. In seconds the missiles had run down the two ships and gutted them.
The big 35 cm lasers of the defense ships would need thirty-five seconds to recharge, but the smaller 12 cm rapid-firing lasers of the escort ships were ready to fire again and finished the two survivors off. The battle was over in fifteen seconds.
November 25, 2365
At 0901 hours the detachment guarding the warp point to Kappa Ceti detected a thermal contact 1.8 billion kilometers out-system from their location. The emissions signature was identical to those of the hostile aliens, but its strength did not match either the survey ships or the warships encountered before. The command AI sent a message to the home planet, but did not leave the warp point.
For twenty four hours the contact sat still, unmoving in the outer reaches of the system. Finally, the PDCC dispatched the four newly refitted system defense boats of the 1st SDB Flotilla to run down the contact. The newly refitted SDB’s mount twin Mk 2 10 cm meson cannons capable of engaging targets out to 45,000 kilometers, a significant improvement over the original design.
November 30, 2365
As the 1st SDB Flotilla races outward to intercept the unknown contact, the contact finally begins to move. It has turned inwards, moving at 4363 kps. The PDCC has decided that the contact is likely a gravitic survey ship.
December 1, 2365, 1550 hours
The 1st System Defense Flotilla was within range of its meson cannons and began engaging the enemy ship. It took three salvoes from the Flotilla’s meson cannons to destroy the enemy ship, leaving little but drifting life pods.
The year in review…
The PDCC gained a new enemy this year. Three survey ships and at least seven warships were encountered in the Procyon system during this year. It appears that all of the ships entered the Procyon system through the Kappa Ceti warp point, which is now picketed.
The incursions by the new race have allowed the PDCC to test its defense plans. Both the SDB’s and the fleet units that have engaged the alien ships have performed well, although it has been noted that while the engagements were successful, the engagement parameters were limited. The fleet units that engaged the enemy warships did so with a significant tonnage advantage, and the engagement revealed a serious shortcoming in the design on the Hunter-Killer class. The SDB’s engaged only unarmed ships, and so the events of the past year cannot be considered to be a true combat test. In spite of all of that, the PDCC has been gratified at the way that the experiences of the past year have born out its theoretical planning. The alien ships had already penetrated into the Procyon system by the time they were detected, and were able to reach at least one resource extraction point before being intercepted. Fleet units were just too slow to provide in-system interception capability, and the SDB’s weren’t equipped for long range combat. This justified the planned fighter squadrons, which would fill the role of mid-range interception.
The PDCC currently plans to deploy a three-level defensive structure in the Procyon system. The front line of the defenses will be SDB Flotillas stationed at the warp points known to lead to threats. Currently, the PDCC has launched four SDB’s, and its production capacity for SDB’s has increased to approximately 36 units a year, meaning that by the end of 2366 the PDCC will be able to deploy twenty SDB’s to the two warp points currently in need of picket units. This will allow the PDCC to retain twenty units for overhaul and reserve purposes. The SDB’s, as currently designed, are intended to blunt or stop any incursion into the Procyon system. The SDB’s primary weapon, the meson cannon, will reach through heavy armor and shields to do damage to the interior of intruding ships. The PDCC’s records show that the Empire has a tendency to use large ships with heavy armor and shields, thus the meson cannons will allow the SDB’s to do damage immediately, without battering down the heavy Imperial ship’s defenses, perhaps forcing them to withdraw, even if they aren’t able to destroy the Imperial ships before they themselves are destroyed.
The second line of defenses will be fighter squadrons based on Plateau and intended for mid-range defense. If the SDB Flotillas stationed at the warp points fail to stop intruders, then fighter squadrons will be dispatched to stop or reduce intruders before they can reach the vulnerable resource extraction stations scattered around the Procyon system. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the current technology, the best fighters that the PDCC can produce do not have enough fuel to reach the warp points, however, the PDCC believes that in most cases the fighter squadrons will be able to intercept intruders before they can reach any important locations within the system. Construction has begun on PDC’s capable of supporting fighter squadrons, and the fighters themselves will be constructed early in 2366.
The third and final line of defense is the extensive network of PDC’s built on Plateau. This network is already in place and has the capacity to launch 4900 missiles at once against any intruders.
The fleet is considered a backup for the defense of the system, however, the PDCC intends to use the fleet in forward deployments, to eliminate threats and defend resource extraction points in out-system locations. This has become increasingly important, as most of the resources in the Procyon system will be mined out at current extraction levels within the next five years. Of the five adjacent systems, two, EG-45 and Psi Capricorni have extensive deposits of trans-Newtonian resources and are prime locations for mining. Psi Capricorni is of particular interest as it contains several planets that could be terraformed* for the PDCC’s purposes.
*The PDCC has been hard-coded to limit its ability to alter its robotic remotes. Its remotes as currently designed are optimized for use in Terran standard oxygen-nitrogen atmospheres.
[attachment=0:1febffu1]AI 2365.gif[/attachment:1febffu1]
System Defense Boat class Gunboat 1000 tons 129 Crew 277 BP TCS 20 TH 250 EM 0
12500 km/s Armour 4-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 6
Annual Failure Rate: 16% IFR: 0.2% Maintenance Capacity 87 MSP Max Repair 62 MSP
GB MC Fusion Drive (1) Power 250 Fuel Use 500% Signature 250 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 18.0 billion km (16 days at full power)
10cm Meson Cannon (2) Range 15,000km TS: 12500 km/s Power 3-5 RM 1.5 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GB Fire Control (1) Max Range: 80,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Small MC Fusion Reactor (2) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
GB Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 360 Range 3.6m km Resolution 20
Compact ECCM-1 (1) ECM 10
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
This is the 1st generation of the system defense boat concept, and is only intended to be a test-bed for later, more capable designs. Only four units of this class were built before the ver2 unit was deployed.
SDB ver2 class Gunboat 1000 tons 129 Crew 281 BP TCS 20 TH 250 EM 0
12500 km/s Armour 4-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 6
Annual Failure Rate: 16% IFR: 0.2% Maintenance Capacity 88 MSP Max Repair 62 MSP
GB MC Fusion Drive (1) Power 250 Fuel Use 500% Signature 250 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 18.0 billion km (16 days at full power)
Mk II 10 cm Meson Cannon (2) Range 45,000km TS: 12500 km/s Power 3-3 RM 4.5 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
GB Fire Control (1) Max Range: 80,000 km TS: 10000 km/s 88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Small MC Fusion Reactor (2) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
GB Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 360 Range 3.6m km Resolution 20
Compact ECCM-1 (1) ECM 10
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
This design mounts two improved Mark II 10 cm meson cannons with a greatly improved range. Aside from the cannons, there are no other changes to the original design.
Fighter-Bomber class Fighter-bomber 219 tons 15 Crew 48.5 BP TCS 4.38 TH 90 EM 0
20547 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.25
Annual Failure Rate: 3% IFR: 0.1% Maintenance Capacity 14 MSP Max Repair 15 MSP
Magazine 15
FTR MC Fusion Drive (1) Power 90 Fuel Use 7000% Signature 90 Armour 0 Exp 80%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres Range 2.3 billion km (31 hours at full power)
AS Box Launcher (5) Missile Size 3 Hangar Reload 22.5 minutes MF Reload 3.7 hours
FTR Missile Fire Control (1) Range 14.3m km Resolution 40
Anti-ship Missile (5) Speed: 29,300 km/s End: 27.3m Range: 47.9m km WH: 6 Size: 3 TH: 175 / 105 / 52
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 fighter for production and combat purposes
This design is the proto-type for the PDCC’s system defense fighter. The design itself is a compromise, and disappointingly does not have enough fuel to reach either of the warp points that need to be defended without assistance. Of course, the PDCC never intended to defend either warp point with fighters, given their general lack of engineering endurance, however, having designs capable of reaching the warp point would have been preferable.
One of the compromises made to maintain a higher speed was the elimination of any active sensors in the design. Instead, a specialized fighter-scout will be deployed with all squadrons.
As designed the fighter-bomber is intended to be a quick-response force able to intercept any enemy units that penetrate the defenses at the warp points before they reach important assets in the inner and outer system.
Fighter Scout class Fighter-Scout 160 tons 20 Crew 69.5 BP TCS 3.2 TH 90 EM 0
28125 km/s Armour 1-2 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 2% IFR: 0% Maintenance Capacity 27 MSP Max Repair 36 MSP
FTR MC Fusion Drive (1) Power 90 Fuel Use 7000% Signature 90 Armour 0 Exp 80%
Fuel Capacity 40,000 Litres Range 6.4 billion km (63 hours at full power)
Basic Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 1440 Range 14.4m km Resolution 40
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a fighter for production and combat purposes
Due to the lack of any sensors on the fighter-bomber design, this class will be deployed with all squadrons to provide active sensor capability. These units can be deployed independently as well.
Pl Fighter Base class Fighter Base 13850 tons 355 Crew 1487 BP TCS 277 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 5-51 Sensors 1/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Hangar Deck Capacity 10000 tons Magazine 1000
Anti-ship Missile (333) Speed: 29,300 km/s End: 27.3m Range: 47.9m km WH: 6 Size: 3 TH: 175 / 105 / 52
Strike Group
38x Fighter-Bomber Fighter-bomber Speed: 20547 km/s Size: 4.38
2x Fighter Scout Fighter-Scout Speed: 28125 km/s Size: 3.2
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 6 sections
The PDCC is planning to base its planetary fighter squadrons in this class of PDC. There are also tentative plans to build a forward base in either the outer system, closer to the warp points, or in systems adjacent to the Procyon system.
