Jump Tenders - A Different Approach

[liveware (OP)]

The Piranha-MB is a missile bomber variant of the Piranha hull. It has a single, large size 9 missile launcher capable of delivering a large warhead to distant targets with reasonable accuracy. When used in tandem with the Piranha-MF, very large missile barrages can be deployed.

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Piranha-MB class Fighter      108 tons       3 Crew       28 BP       TCS 2    TH 35    EM 0
16296 km/s      Armour 1-2       Shields 0-0       HTK 1      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0.9
Maint Life 30.18 Years     MSP 16    AFR 1%    IFR 0.0%    1YR 0    5YR 1    Max Repair 17.50 MSP
Magazine 9   
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.3 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP35.00 (1)    Power 35.0    Fuel Use 2241.05%    Signature 35.00    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 7,000 Litres    Range 0.5 billion km (8 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 9.00 Box Launcher (1)     Missile Size: 9.00    Hangar Reload 150 minutes    MF Reload 25 hours
Chaimberlin-Sherman Missile Fire Control FC5-R1 (50%) (1)     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction


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Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 9 Anti-Ship Missile
Missile Size: 9.000 MSP  (22.5000 Tons)     Warhead: 15    Radiation Damage: 15    Manoeuvre Rating: 17
Speed: 50,000 km/s     Fuel: 160     Flight Time: 22.9 seconds     Range: 1,145,000 km
ECM Modifier: 10%     ECCM Modifier: 10%
Cost Per Missile: 17.19808     Development Cost: 1,720
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 850%   3k km/s 283.3%   5k km/s 170%   10k km/s 85%

Materials Required
Corbomite  1
Tritanium  3.75
Gallicite  12.44808
Fuel:  160


[liveware (OP)]

I will also be designing a mine layer which will be responsible for deploying a network of sensor buoys throughout the engagement zone. Those buoys provide better missile and fighter detection coverage. The Piranha-S is intended to detect larger ships at longer range.

Actually, the Piranha-MF and -MB can serve as mine layers. Additional minelayer ships are not required.

[liveware (OP)]

The Piranha-MF and -MB can also launch sensor buoys to assist with maintaining improved situational awareness and detection of smaller craft.

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Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 1 Sensor Satellite
Missile Size: 1 MSP  (2.5 Tons)     Warhead: 0    Radiation Damage: 0    Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 0 km/s     Fuel: 0     Flight Time: 1 seconds     Range: 0 km
Active Sensor Strength: 0.26   EM Sensitivity Modifier: 11
Resolution: 100    Maximum Range vs 5000 ton object (or larger): 4,428,679 km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.14    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  2,958,040 km
EM Sensor Strength: 0.14    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  2,958,040 km
Cost Per Missile: 0.864     Development Cost: 86
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 0%   3k km/s 0%   5k km/s 0%   10k km/s 0%

Materials Required
Boronide  0.324
Uridium  0.54


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Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 2 Sensor Satellite
Missile Size: 2.000 MSP  (5.0000 Tons)     Warhead: 0    Radiation Damage: 0    Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 0 km/s     Fuel: 0     Flight Time: 1 seconds     Range: 0 km
Active Sensor Strength: 0.52   EM Sensitivity Modifier: 11
Resolution: 100    Maximum Range vs 5000 ton object (or larger): 6,263,098 km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 0.28    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  4,183,300 km
EM Sensor Strength: 0.28    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  4,183,300 km
Cost Per Missile: 1.728     Development Cost: 173
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 0%   3k km/s 0%   5k km/s 0%   10k km/s 0%

Materials Required
Boronide  0.648
Uridium  1.08


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Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 9 Sensor Satellite
Missile Size: 8.99 MSP  (22.475 Tons)     Warhead: 0    Radiation Damage: 0    Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 0 km/s     Fuel: 0     Flight Time: 1 seconds     Range: 0 km
Active Sensor Strength: 2.1   EM Sensitivity Modifier: 11
Resolution: 1    Maximum Range vs 50 ton object (or larger): 2,711,631 km
Thermal Sensor Strength: 1.33    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  9,117,291 km
EM Sensor Strength: 1.1    Detect Sig Strength 1000:  8,291,562 km
Geo Sensor Strength: 0.02     Geo Points Per Day: 0.48
ECM Modifier: 10%     
Cost Per Missile: 7.78     Development Cost: 778
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 0%   3k km/s 0%   5k km/s 0%   10k km/s 0%

Materials Required
Corbomite  0.5
Boronide  2.73
Uridium  4.55


[Rich.h]

I haven't yet started using carriers in C#, but I'm confused on this one. Where is the problem with just making the original 70kt carrier jump capable on it's own?

[liveware (OP)]

I haven't yet started using carriers in C#, but I'm confused on this one. Where is the problem with just making the original 70kt carrier jump capable on it's own?

Jump drives have massive MSP requirements. To get a military jump carrier with similar hangar capacity, speed, and range to the Cetan + Pegasus combo, you need a much larger carrier than what I can achieve with the separate commercial jump drive and commercial engine transport carrier. The larger military carrier is also much more MSP hungry than my large commercial carrier. Basically, I am optimizing around two design requirements: long range and high speed. The Cetan is fast but lacks range. The Pegasus has range but lacks speed. Additionally, by keeping the Cetan stored on the Pegasus while not in use, I think that I can keep the Cetan's maintenance clock from ticking up (I need to confirm this still). This would theoretically provide a significant savings in terms of MSP and how frequently I need to overhaul the Cetan. If this does not work, I still benefit from more efficient commercial engines and jump drives and reap MSP and fuel efficiency benefits there. The Cetan has MUCH lower fuel efficiency than the Pegasus and is not intended to do a lot of cruising unless it is actively engaging the enemy.

FWIW I had originally designed a 100k ton military jump carrier. After staring at the design for a while, I determined that it had inadequate range and speed for it's intended mission and required a huge allocation of hull space to maintenance storage to achieve the required mission and range and endurance. I decided to attempt a non-jump carrier but still ran into the problem of inadequate range and MSP for a given speed. I don't want my carrier to be able to be caught by enemy destroyers, which seem to max out at around 8k km/s based on my existing scout intel. To reduce MSP requirements, I decided to explore commercial engines and jump drives. Ships with military hangers do not benefit substantially from commercial engines in terms of MSP savings, and I could not jump a carrier with military engines using a commercial jump drive, so I opted instead for a very large commercial ship with a single large commercial jump drive and large hangars. Then I re-designed my military carrier to fit inside the commercial jump ship and found that it had substantially more hangar space and speed per hull size (which I consider among the most important attributes that a carrier should possess), and after some design revisions I was able to improve the range to an acceptable value for in-system combat.

[Iceranger]

Additionally, by keeping the Cetan stored on the Pegasus while not in use, I think that I can keep the Cetan's maintenance clock from ticking up (I need to confirm this still). This would theoretically provide a significant savings in terms of MSP and how frequently I need to overhaul the Cetan.

You don't have to test this...

Commercial hangars are available in C# Aurora. They are 50% larger than military hangar bays (size 32), have the same cost of 100 BP and the same crew requirement (15).

They are intended for transport of other commercial vessels, temporary transport of military vessels, reloading of box launchers and for repairing ships. With this in mind, a military ship still has normal maintenance requirements while in a civilian hangar.

[liveware (OP)]

Additionally, by keeping the Cetan stored on the Pegasus while not in use, I think that I can keep the Cetan's maintenance clock from ticking up (I need to confirm this still). This would theoretically provide a significant savings in terms of MSP and how frequently I need to overhaul the Cetan.

You don't have to test this...

Commercial hangars are available in C# Aurora. They are 50% larger than military hangar bays (size 32), have the same cost of 100 BP and the same crew requirement (15).

They are intended for transport of other commercial vessels, temporary transport of military vessels, reloading of box launchers and for repairing ships. With this in mind, a military ship still has normal maintenance requirements while in a civilian hangar.

In that case, the Cetan probably needs a longer maintenance life. It also needs a missile magazine to store extra missiles for the missile bombers so a re-design is in order. However I still find the improved fuel efficiency and improved in-system combat capabilities of the Cetan + Pegasus to be superior to my existing military jump-carrier designs. It is possible that larger shipyards and better technology will close this gap, as I am currently limited to 100k ton naval shipyards and 200k ton commercial shipyards.

[Ulzgoroth]

Military engines can be almost as efficient as commercial ones if you want them to be, but of course combat ships seldom want them to be because they need speed to maneuver and fight. (You have to either have power at least 55% or size at most 24, but most military drives don't go anywhere near as low as 55% power. Except the occasional engine for small but very-long-range craft like surveyors.)

The huge savings of the Pegasus (or anything) being commercial is that it has zero maintenance failures and unlimited deployment time.

[liveware (OP)]

The huge savings of the Pegasus (or anything) being commercial is that it has zero maintenance failures and unlimited deployment time.

Yes. This was a major consideration in my earlier designs as my previous military carrier fleets had enormous MSP requirements and spent a huge amount of time in overhaul. This is an ongoing design optimization process for me that I am trying to improve.

[liveware (OP)]

The addition of missile bombers to the Cetan's flight wings introduced a requirement for re-arming missile fighters and bombers. Additionally, increased maintenance life was desired for the Cetan. The resulting new class, the Cetan B, has somewhat reduced hangar capacity and range but now includes a missile magazine and improved maintenance life. As the enemy's home system is only about 5b km in diameter, the reduction in range should not be a problem and the improved maintenance life should improve time-on-station. By my estimates, the Pegasus takes about a year to arrive on station, resulting in a useful deployment time of at most 1 year for the Cetan before it requires overhaul. Since combat missions are generally measured in days or hours (or less), this should be adequate for many mission types. With 3 or more Cetans and good mission planning, a single Pegasus could theoretically keep a Cetan on-station continuously. While the deployment time of the Cetan is 1 year, it only has 2 months worth of maneuvering capability, so it is expected that for much of it's deployment it will be kept in a stationary orbit rather than continuously maneuvering.

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Cetan B class Escort Carrier      70,000 tons       1,460 Crew       12,370.1 BP       TCS 1,400    TH 12,000    EM 0
8571 km/s      Armour 10-151       Shields 0-0       HTK 384      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 80      PPV 68.14
Maint Life 3.20 Years     MSP 19,731    AFR 560%    IFR 7.8%    1YR 2,904    5YR 43,557    Max Repair 2000 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 15,000 tons     Magazine 703    Cryogenic Berths 1,800   
Captain    Control Rating 4   BRG   AUX   ENG   FLG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 300    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP4000.00 (3)    Power 12000    Fuel Use 107.33%    Signature 4000    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 13,616,000 Litres    Range 32.6 billion km (44 days at full power)

Single Chaimberlin-Sherman Gauss Cannon R300-100 Turret (1x4)    Range 30,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 30,000 km    ROF 5       
Quad Chaimberlin-Sherman Gauss Cannon R300-85.00 Turret (2x16)    Range 30,000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 30,000 km    ROF 5       
Chaimberlin-Sherman CIWS-160 (8x8)    Range 1000 km     TS: 16,000 km/s     ROF 5       
Chaimberlin-Sherman Beam Fire Control R32-TS16000 (50%) (3)     Max Range: 32,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS39-R100 (50%) (1)     GPS 2100     Range 39.8m km    Resolution 100
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS68-R500 (50%) (1)     GPS 10500     Range 68.1m km    Resolution 500
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS8-R1 (50%) (1)     GPS 21     Range 8.6m km    MCR 771.7k km    Resolution 1

ECCM-1 (3)         ECM 10

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


[liveware (OP)]

Recognizing a need for improved reconnaissance capabilities, the Terran Mercantile Guild has developed the Barracuda hull. Several variants were developed with different mission profiles in mind. First is the Barracuda-S:

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Barracuda-S class Fighter      500 tons       18 Crew       208.5 BP       TCS 10    TH 200    EM 0
20015 km/s      Armour 3-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 5      Sensors 2/2/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 11.80 Years     MSP 185    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 2    5YR 37    Max Repair 100 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP200.00 (1)    Power 200    Fuel Use 937.50%    Signature 200    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 28,000 Litres    Range 1.1 billion km (14 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS68-R500 (50%) (1)     GPS 10500     Range 68.1m km    Resolution 500
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS8-R1 (50%) (1)     GPS 21     Range 8.6m km    MCR 771.7k km    Resolution 1
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS39-R100 (50%) (1)     GPS 2100     Range 39.8m km    Resolution 100
Chaimberlin-Sherman Thermal Sensor TH0.2-2.2 (50%) (1)     Sensitivity 2.2     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  11.7m km
Chaimberlin-Sherman EM Sensor EM0.2-2.2 (50%) (1)     Sensitivity 2.2     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  11.7m km

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

The Barracuda hull is substantially larger than the Piranha, but the -S variant has a much more powerful engine capable of propelling the -S at very high speeds and also longer range than the Piranha. The Barracuda-S also boasts a more powerful sensor suite and is capable of providing more detailed sensor coverage than the Piranha. The -S variant is intended to support the planned Barracuda heavy fighter variants in combat with hostile forces.

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Barracuda-SLR class Fighter      500 tons       13 Crew       112.3 BP       TCS 10    TH 14    EM 0
1401 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 5      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 1
Maint Life 16.82 Years     MSP 95    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 1    5YR 10    Max Repair 26.2 MSP
Magazine 19   
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP14.00 (1)    Power 14    Fuel Use 1.81%    Signature 14    Explosion 2%
Fuel Capacity 1,000 Litres    Range 19.9 billion km (164 days at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman Size 1 Missile Launcher (1)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
Chaimberlin-Sherman Missile Fire Control FC5-R1 (50%) (1)     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 1

Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS68-R500 (50%) (1)     GPS 10500     Range 68.1m km    Resolution 500
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS8-R1 (50%) (1)     GPS 21     Range 8.6m km    MCR 771.7k km    Resolution 1
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS39-R100 (50%) (1)     GPS 2100     Range 39.8m km    Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

The Barracuda-SLR is a long ranged variant of the Barracuda-S, featuring reduced speed and dramatically better range and deployment time. It also possesses a size 1 missile launcher in order to support deployment of sensor satellites.

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Barracuda-SGE class Fighter      500 tons       13 Crew       119.6 BP       TCS 10    TH 14    EM 0
1401 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 2      Sensors 0/0/0/1      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 9.39 Years     MSP 137    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 3    5YR 42    Max Repair 100 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP14.00 (1)    Power 14    Fuel Use 1.81%    Signature 14    Explosion 2%
Fuel Capacity 1,000 Litres    Range 19.9 billion km (164 days at full power)

Geological Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

#############################
Barracuda-SGR class Fighter      500 tons       13 Crew       119.6 BP       TCS 10    TH 14    EM 0
1401 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 2      Sensors 0/0/1/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 9.39 Years     MSP 137    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 3    5YR 42    Max Repair 100 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP14.00 (1)    Power 14    Fuel Use 1.81%    Signature 14    Explosion 2%
Fuel Capacity 1,000 Litres    Range 19.9 billion km (164 days at full power)

Gravitational Survey Sensors (1)   1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

The Barracuda-SGE and -SGR are geological and gravitional survey craft designed to operate with the Cetan and Pegasus.

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Barracuda-JS class Fighter      450 tons       16 Crew       155 BP       TCS 9    TH 175    EM 0
19473 km/s    JR 1-50      Armour 3-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 3      Sensors 1/1/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 16.80 Years     MSP 233    AFR 6%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 2    5YR 23    Max Repair 87.5 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman J450(1-50) Military Jump Drive     Max Ship Size 450 tons    Distance 50k km     Squadron Size 1

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP175.00 (1)    Power 175    Fuel Use 1002.23%    Signature 175    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 25,000 Litres    Range 1 billion km (14 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS2-R1 (50%) (1)     GPS 3     Range 2.7m km    MCR 244k km    Resolution 1
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS12-R100 (50%) (1)     GPS 210     Range 12.6m km    Resolution 100
Chaimberlin-Sherman Active Search Sensor AS68-R500 (50%) (1)     GPS 10500     Range 68.1m km    Resolution 500
Chaimberlin-Sherman Thermal Sensor TH0.1-1.1 (50%) (1)     Sensitivity 1.1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  8.3m km
Chaimberlin-Sherman EM Sensor EM0.1-1.1 (50%) (1)     Sensitivity 1.1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  8.3m km

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

The Barracuda-JS is the jump scout designed to operate with the Cetan and Pegasus. It is intended to be deployed in advance of the Pegasus, allowing for scouting of the far side of potentially hostile jump points prior to the arrival of the larger carriers. Once a jump point is verified free of hostile forces, the Pegasus will be permitted to transit the jump point and deploy it's Cetan.

[Migi]

I haven't yet started using carriers in C#, but I'm confused on this one. Where is the problem with just making the original 70kt carrier jump capable on it's own?

Jump drives have massive MSP requirements. To get a military jump carrier with similar hangar capacity, speed, and range to the Cetan + Pegasus combo, you need a much larger carrier than what I can achieve with the separate commercial jump drive and commercial engine transport carrier. The larger military carrier is also much more MSP hungry than my large commercial carrier. Basically, I am optimizing around two design requirements: long range and high speed. The Cetan is fast but lacks range. The Pegasus has range but lacks speed. Additionally, by keeping the Cetan stored on the Pegasus while not in use, I think that I can keep the Cetan's maintenance clock from ticking up (I need to confirm this still). This would theoretically provide a significant savings in terms of MSP and how frequently I need to overhaul the Cetan. If this does not work, I still benefit from more efficient commercial engines and jump drives and reap MSP and fuel efficiency benefits there. The Cetan has MUCH lower fuel efficiency than the Pegasus and is not intended to do a lot of cruising unless it is actively engaging the enemy.

FWIW I had originally designed a 100k ton military jump carrier. After staring at the design for a while, I determined that it had inadequate range and speed for it's intended mission and required a huge allocation of hull space to maintenance storage to achieve the required mission and range and endurance. I decided to attempt a non-jump carrier but still ran into the problem of inadequate range and MSP for a given speed. I don't want my carrier to be able to be caught by enemy destroyers, which seem to max out at around 8k km/s based on my existing scout intel. To reduce MSP requirements, I decided to explore commercial engines and jump drives. Ships with military hangers do not benefit substantially from commercial engines in terms of MSP savings, and I could not jump a carrier with military engines using a commercial jump drive, so I opted instead for a very large commercial ship with a single large commercial jump drive and large hangars. Then I re-designed my military carrier to fit inside the commercial jump ship and found that it had substantially more hangar space and speed per hull size (which I consider among the most important attributes that a carrier should possess), and after some design revisions I was able to improve the range to an acceptable value for in-system combat.

Why not put the jump drive in a separate ship?
Cutting the mass of the jump drive out of the Pegasus would let you make the Pegasus faster (or better in some other way).
You could also cut the deployment time (not maintenance life) of the Cetan by a bit because deployment time won't increase while it is in the hanger, and it only has fuel for <2 months of chasing things around.
Also strictly speaking carriers are supposed to stay out of range of the enemy so having so much armour might be excessive? On the other hand I'd be pretty protective of such a huge ship so maybe not.

I note that as a limitation that if the enemy retreats out of the system you start in, you can't chase them until the Pegasus catches up. Also if the enemy catches the Pegasus then the Cetan is stuck until you can either get a replacement out there or stabilize the jump points.

[liveware (OP)]

The Terran Mercantile Guild has completed initial design efforts for it's new Barracuda heavy fighter hulls. The results are below:

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Barracuda-L class Fighter      500 tons       27 Crew       217.9 BP       TCS 10    TH 160    EM 0
16003 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 3      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 2
Maint Life 2.05 Years     MSP 160    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 51    5YR 765    Max Repair 96 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP160.00 (1)    Power 160.0    Fuel Use 1048.16%    Signature 160.00    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 20,000 Litres    Range 0.7 billion km (11 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman 10cm C0.25 Far Ultraviolet Laser (1)    Range 96,000km     TS: 16,003 km/s     Power 3-0.25     RM 50,000 km    ROF 60        3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 0
Chaimberlin-Sherman Beam Fire Control R96-TS16000 (50%) (1)     Max Range: 96,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Chaimberlin-Sherman Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor R3-PB60 (1)     Total Power Output 3    Exp 30%

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

Range bands are shown with 10km increments against a 10k km/s target.

The Barracuda-L is a heavy fighter armed with a 10cm far ultraviolet laser cannon. It can hit targets at speeds up to 16k km/s at ranges as distant as 96k km. It is fast and possesses better range than the Piranha-G hull, but is extremely lightly armored and is intended to be used in conjunction with large swarms of Piranha-G's. Compared to the Piranha-G, the Barracuda-L can strike enemy targets from 3x the range, however it has a much lower rate of fire.

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Barracuda-C class Fighter      500 tons       19 Crew       141.9 BP       TCS 10    TH 160    EM 0
16008 km/s      Armour 2-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 3      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 4
Maint Life 2.48 Years     MSP 120    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 27    5YR 406    Max Repair 80.00 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP160.00 (1)    Power 160.0    Fuel Use 1048.16%    Signature 160.00    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 22,000 Litres    Range 0.8 billion km (13 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman 15 cm C5 Plasma Carronade (1)    Range 16,000km     TS: 16,008 km/s     Power 6-5     RM 10,000 km    ROF 10        6 6 6 6 6 5 4 3 0 0
Chaimberlin-Sherman Beam Fire Control R16-TS16000 (50%) (1)     Max Range: 16,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     88 75 62 50 38 25 12 0 0 0
Chaimberlin-Sherman Magnetic Confinement Fusion Reactor R6-PB60 (1)     Total Power Output 6    Exp 30%

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

Range bands are shown with 2km increments against a 10k km/s target


The Barracuda-C is a close range heavy fighter armed with a single 15 cm plasma carronade. Like all Barracuda heavy fighters, it is intended to operate as part of a larger strike group composed of Piranha fighters and missile bombers. The -C variant is the only armored Barracuda variant due to it's close range weapon. It's plasma carronade has extremely high damage potential, and can strike once every 10 seconds, which at point blank range can devastate enemy armor.

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Barracuda-G class Fighter      500 tons       22 Crew       158 BP       TCS 10    TH 160    EM 0
16003 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 4      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 4
Maint Life 13.37 Years     MSP 249    AFR 8%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 3    5YR 39    Max Repair 80.00 MSP
Lieutenant    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 0.6 days    Morale Check Required   

Chaimberlin-Sherman Internal Fusion Drive  EP160.00 (1)    Power 160.0    Fuel Use 1048.16%    Signature 160.00    Explosion 25%
Fuel Capacity 24,000 Litres    Range 0.8 billion km (14 hours at full power)

Chaimberlin-Sherman Gauss Cannon R300-67.00 (1x4)    Range 30,000km     TS: 16,003 km/s     Accuracy Modifier 67.00%     RM 30,000 km    ROF 5        1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Chaimberlin-Sherman Beam Fire Control R32-TS16000 (50%) (1)     Max Range: 32,000 km   TS: 16,000 km/s     91 81 72 62 53 44 34 25 16 6

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction

Range bands are in increments of 3km against a 10k km/s target.

The Barracuda-G is the gauss cannon variant of the Barracuda heavy fighter hull. It has improved range and accuracy over the Piranha-G, which it will accompany on combat missions to provide improved fleet firepower.

[skoormit]

Why not put the jump drive in a separate ship?
...

Actually, yeah, why not?
In fact, replace the jump drive on the Pegasus with a tractor beam.
Now build a space station with the jump drive (and nothing else), and tow it with the Pegasus.
This makes the Pegasus quite a bit smaller, which means you can use a smaller jump drive--probably more than enough weight savings to offset the tractor beam.
And you gain the option of ditching the jump drive for increased speed in an emergency.

[liveware (OP)]

I haven't yet started using carriers in C#, but I'm confused on this one. Where is the problem with just making the original 70kt carrier jump capable on it's own?

Jump drives have massive MSP requirements. To get a military jump carrier with similar hangar capacity, speed, and range to the Cetan + Pegasus combo, you need a much larger carrier than what I can achieve with the separate commercial jump drive and commercial engine transport carrier. The larger military carrier is also much more MSP hungry than my large commercial carrier. Basically, I am optimizing around two design requirements: long range and high speed. The Cetan is fast but lacks range. The Pegasus has range but lacks speed. Additionally, by keeping the Cetan stored on the Pegasus while not in use, I think that I can keep the Cetan's maintenance clock from ticking up (I need to confirm this still). This would theoretically provide a significant savings in terms of MSP and how frequently I need to overhaul the Cetan. If this does not work, I still benefit from more efficient commercial engines and jump drives and reap MSP and fuel efficiency benefits there. The Cetan has MUCH lower fuel efficiency than the Pegasus and is not intended to do a lot of cruising unless it is actively engaging the enemy.

FWIW I had originally designed a 100k ton military jump carrier. After staring at the design for a while, I determined that it had inadequate range and speed for it's intended mission and required a huge allocation of hull space to maintenance storage to achieve the required mission and range and endurance. I decided to attempt a non-jump carrier but still ran into the problem of inadequate range and MSP for a given speed. I don't want my carrier to be able to be caught by enemy destroyers, which seem to max out at around 8k km/s based on my existing scout intel. To reduce MSP requirements, I decided to explore commercial engines and jump drives. Ships with military hangers do not benefit substantially from commercial engines in terms of MSP savings, and I could not jump a carrier with military engines using a commercial jump drive, so I opted instead for a very large commercial ship with a single large commercial jump drive and large hangars. Then I re-designed my military carrier to fit inside the commercial jump ship and found that it had substantially more hangar space and speed per hull size (which I consider among the most important attributes that a carrier should possess), and after some design revisions I was able to improve the range to an acceptable value for in-system combat.

Why not put the jump drive in a separate ship?
Cutting the mass of the jump drive out of the Pegasus would let you make the Pegasus faster (or better in some other way).
You could also cut the deployment time (not maintenance life) of the Cetan by a bit because deployment time won't increase while it is in the hanger, and it only has fuel for <2 months of chasing things around.
Also strictly speaking carriers are supposed to stay out of range of the enemy so having so much armour might be excessive? On the other hand I'd be pretty protective of such a huge ship so maybe not.

I note that as a limitation that if the enemy retreats out of the system you start in, you can't chase them until the Pegasus catches up. Also if the enemy catches the Pegasus then the Cetan is stuck until you can either get a replacement out there or stabilize the jump points.

My intention was to keep the Pegasus on the friendly side of the jump point, only entering hostile territory to drop off / pick up Cetans, thus minimizing it's exposure to hostile forces and hopefully improving it's survivability. For this reason the Cetan has no jump drive but does have powerful engines so that it can zip around the hostile system while the Pegasus stays hidden out of range. Ideally the Cetan will also stay out of range of anything it can't out run, but it does rely on the Pegasus to jump out of a hostile system in an emergency.