Fighters are almost an art form. Technically, in Aurora any ship 500t or less is classed as a fighter...with some caveats. If I recall correctly, systems like Bridge will drop the fighter classification just by thier presence even if your in the tonnage range.
Everything needs to be smaller to build an effective fighter.
Anything larger than a size 1 or 2 box launcher on a fighter is probably too big. Too be a functional missile fighter it has to be able to launch from the edge of the targets ability to see and engage, and then control the missiles from longer range. On average AMM ranges are from 1mkm to 3mkm. Also the salvo load must be sizable enough to keep the targets PD busy. This is a function both of the number of missiles the fighter mounts and the number of fighters in the strikegroup. If you can't swamp the defenses all your going to do is waste resources.
Here is an example of what I consider an effective missile fighter:
SF1-Strike Fighter class Strikefighter 248 tons 12 Crew 47.3 BP TCS 4.96 TH 14.7 EM 0
8467 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 2.4
Annual Failure Rate: 49% IFR: 0.7% Maintenance Capacity 0 MSP Max Repair 12 MSP
Magazine 16
FTR Ion Engine E780 (1) Power 42 Fuel Use 7800% Signature 14.7 Armour 0 Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres Range 1.9 billion km (61 hours at full power)
Size 2 Box Launcher (8) Missile Size 2 Hangar Reload 15 minutes MF Reload 2.5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC6.93-R100 (1) Range 20.8m km Resolution 100
FM-2-1 (8) Speed: 21,400 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 1.5m km WH: 4 Size: 2 TH: 142 / 85 / 42
Active Search Sensor S6.93-R100 (1) GPS 693 Range 6.9m km Resolution 100
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
Beam weapons on a fighter are next to useless for anti-shipping since you would have to close to well within missile defense envelopes and fighters are a little easier to see than missiles. Beams on fighters do have a function, missile and smallcraft intercept. Missile intercept is a tricky task and usually isn't very successful. Smallcraft intercept is a whole different matter. Most attacking gunboats and fighters are set up for anti-shipping and have a hard time seeing another smallcraft. A single full size Gauss cannon with a minimum size fighter beam fire control and minimum size active sensor plus the fastest fighter engine, command module, and minimum fuel is really all you need. Keep in mind this is a very limited use fighter for the expense.
Another type of "fighter" is the scout. This is a really just a fighter that has swapped weapons for a sensor suite. This can be a dual role platform. If you have both active and passive systems the scout can "paint" the target the strikefighters as well as shadowing from outside detection ranges.
We have a new type of fighter coming onto the scene, jump fighters. We now have small single ship jump engine tech available. I'm experimenting with a modified version of the above fighter that is jump capable.
JF1-Jump Fighter class Jump Fighter 243 tons 16 Crew 40.7 BP TCS 4.86 TH 14.7 EM 0
8641 km/s JR 1-200 Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 1.5
Annual Failure Rate: 48% IFR: 0.7% Maintenance Capacity 0 MSP Max Repair 12 MSP
Magazine 10
J250(1-200) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 250 tons Distance 200k km Squadron Size 1
FTR Ion Engine E780 (1) Power 42 Fuel Use 7800% Signature 14.7 Armour 0 Exp 60%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 0.9 billion km (30 hours at full power)
Size 2 Box Launcher (5) Missile Size 2 Hangar Reload 15 minutes MF Reload 2.5 hours
Missile Fire Control FC6.93-R100 (1) Range 20.8m km Resolution 100
FM-2-1 (5) Speed: 21,400 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 1.5m km WH: 4 Size: 2 TH: 142 / 85 / 42
Active Search Sensor S6.93-R100 (1) GPS 693 Range 6.9m km Resolution 100
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 disign is intended for assaulting contested jump points ahead of the primary fleet.
Of course fighters need a carrier. This is what I'm currently fielding:
Enterprise class Carrier 15950 tons 915 Crew 2601.6 BP TCS 319 TH 386.4 EM 960
3460 km/s Armour 4-56 Shields 32-240 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 16 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 127% IFR: 1.8% Maintenance Capacity 1631 MSP Max Repair 150 MSP
Flag Bridge Hangar Deck Capacity 5000 tons Magazine 540
Ion Engine E7.8 (mil/cbt) (16) Power 69 Fuel Use 78% Signature 24.15 Armour 0 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 800,000 Litres Range 115.7 billion km (387 days at full power)
Gamma R240/12 Shields (16) Total Fuel Cost 192 Litres per day
CIWS-160 (2x8) Range 1000 km TS: 16000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% To Hit
FM-2-1 (270) Speed: 21,400 km/s End: 1.2m Range: 1.5m km WH: 4 Size: 2 TH: 142 / 85 / 42
ECM 10
Strike Group
20x SF1-Strike Fighter Strikefighter Speed: 8467 km/s Size: 4.96
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
Each carrier is escorted by 2 of these:
Portland class Escort Cruiser 11000 tons 930 Crew 2171 BP TCS 220 TH 265.65 EM 660
3450 km/s Armour 3-44 Shields 22-240 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 21 PPV 15
Annual Failure Rate: 84% IFR: 1.2% Maintenance Capacity 1419 MSP Max Repair 315 MSP
Magazine 910
Ion Engine E7.8 (mil/cbt) (11) Power 69 Fuel Use 78% Signature 24.15 Armour 0 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 600,000 Litres Range 125.9 billion km (422 days at full power)
Gamma R240/12 Shields (11) Total Fuel Cost 132 Litres per day
Quad Gauss Cannon RF4-R1-100 Turret (1x16) Range 10,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 1 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fire Control S04 16-16000 (1) Max Range: 32,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 69 37 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Counter Missile Launcher mk1 (10) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Missile Fire Control FC105-R1 (2) Range 3.2m km Resolution 1
CM-1-1 (910) Speed: 24,000 km/s End: 2.1m Range: 3m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 232 / 139 / 69
Active Search Sensor S315-R1 (1) GPS 315 Range 3.2m km Resolution 1
ECCM-1 (3) ECM 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 military vessel for maintenance purposes
I've modified by database to be able to build the GC turret the way I did though. Turret tracking is faster and cannon size is much smaller. So don't expect to be able to match this design from the common database for the same mass of ship, it will be closer to the mass of the carrier.
For eyes, my carrier groups have 2 of these, eventually there will be 6 per battle group:
North Carolina class Fleet Scout 5000 tons 450 Crew 1029 BP TCS 100 TH 144.9 EM 0
4140 km/s JR 5-200 Armour 4-26 Shields 0-0 Sensors 55/55/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 40% IFR: 0.6% Maintenance Capacity 643 MSP Max Repair 210 MSP
J5000(5-200) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 5000 tons Distance 200k km Squadron Size 5
Ion Engine E7.8 (mil/cbt) (6) Power 69 Fuel Use 78% Signature 24.15 Armour 0 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 115.4 billion km (322 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S105-R100 (1) GPS 10500 Range 105.0m km Resolution 100
Thermal Sensor TH5-55 (1) Sensitivity 55 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 55m km
EM Detection Sensor EM5-55 (1) Sensitivity 55 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 55m km
This design is classed as a military vessel for maintenance purposes
My ships tend to be slower that others for the same engine tech, but I'm depending on the fighters for controlling the battle space. Is this the right way to do it? For me, yes. Your milage may vary.