People's Republic of China
The PRC has taken a radically different approach from the two major superpowers, both in terms of ship design and in terms of overall strategic direction. The ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are primarily beam-armed and generally more heavily armoured than their Soviet and NATO counterparts. Unfortunately, the inferior engine technology of the Chinese means the majority of their ships are slower than those of the other powers, which creates a very challenging tactical situation when facing faster opponents with far greater weapon range. Therefore, in the event of a major war against NATO or the Soviet Union their strategy is to proceed en masse to Ganymede or Titan, defeating or absorbing any attack en route, and eliminate the key strategic base of their opponent through orbital bombardment. The major warships of the Chinese fleet have been designed with this strategy in mind.
Unlike the NATO and Soviet fleets, the PLAN has no missile-armed escorts. Instead, the Luhu class escort cruiser, designed around four quad 10cm laser turrets, is intended to provide a single, close-range line of defence. Twelve Luhu class vessels would escort the fleet intended to attack Ganymede or Titan. Unlike its escort counterparts in the navies of the other powers, the Luhu has strong armour protection, enabling it to maintain defensive fire even after taking a significant number of missile hits.
Luhu class Escort Cruiser 12000 tons 1079 Crew 1585 BP TCS 240 TH 600 EM 0
2500 km/s Armour 7-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 68
Annual Failure Rate: 288% IFR: 4% Maint Capacity 330 MSP Max Repair 105 MSP Est Time: 1.05 Years
Nuclear Pulse Engine (15) Power 40 Fuel Use 90% Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 33.3 billion km (154 days at full power)
Quad 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (4x4) Range 64,000km TS: 16680 km/s Power 12-12 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0
Fast Tracking Fire Control (2) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Pebble Bed Reactor (16) Total Power Output 48 Armour 0 Exp 5%
SR-1 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 192k km Resolution 1
LR-1 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 3600 Range 21.6m km Resolution 75The Jiangwei class cruiser has the most powerful non-missile armament of any human warship. Ironically, despite its awesome anti-ship firepower, the Jiangwei is essentially an escort design. Due to its low speed in comparison to NATO and Soviet missile-armed warships, it cannot force an engagement on its own terms. Instead, its role is to protect the PLAN fleet from attack by beam or railgun-armed ships. The PLAN strategic planners believe their Luhu class escorts will be able to hold back any hostile missile attack and therefore the other powers might attempt to destroy the Luhus using energy weapons. As the quad turrets of the Luhus are very short-ranged weapons, they would be vulnerable to an attack by the 15cm lasers of the NATO Spruance class or the 200mm railguns mounted by several Soviet designs. The Chinese 20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser outranges both those weapons and is intended to defend the fleet against such an attack. Eight Jiangweis are in service
Jiangwei class Cruiser 12000 tons 1202 Crew 1694.8 BP TCS 240 TH 600 EM 0
2500 km/s Armour 8-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 60
Annual Failure Rate: 230% IFR: 3.2% Maint Capacity 441 MSP Max Repair 77 MSP Est Time: 1.74 Years
Nuclear Pulse Engine (15) Power 40 Fuel Use 90% Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 33.3 billion km (154 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (10) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
LR Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Pebble Bed Reactor (16) Total Power Output 48 Armour 0 Exp 5%
LR-1 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 3600 Range 21.6m km Resolution 75Because the thick atmosphere of Titan protects it from laser fire, some form of missile attack would be necessary to destroy the NATO base. As Chinese missile technology is extremely limited, the Chinese strategists opted for simplicity and designed the Houjian class bombardment cruiser, the third element in the Chinese triad of major warship designs. The Houjian carries seventy-three Orbital Bombardment Devices (OBD), each of which is larger than the Soviet P-501 Garpun anti-ship missile. Unlike the sophisticated Garpun, the OBD has minimal engine power and fuel and lacks any internal sensors. Instead, its internal volume is dedicated almost entirely to the warhead. The Houjian is designed to enter orbit above Ganymede or Titan and rain down destruction from point blank range. In essence, the role of the Luhu and Jiangwei class ships is to protect the Houjians until they can carry out their mission and then escort them back to Earth. Without their extensive base facilities, the modern, expensive NATO and Soviet warships will begin to fall apart through lack of maintenance and will be unable to return to Earth to refuel, resupply or carry out overhauls, because of the beam-armed Chinese ships in orbit. As with the other two major Chinese warship classes, the Houjian is protected by a thick belt of armour.
Houjian class Bombardment Cruiser 12000 tons 1005 Crew 1266.8 BP TCS 240 TH 600 EM 0
2500 km/s Armour 8-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 45
Annual Failure Rate: 255% IFR: 3.6% Maint Capacity 297 MSP Max Repair 36 MSP Est Time: 2.07 Years
Magazine 660
Nuclear Pulse Engine (15) Power 40 Fuel Use 90% Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 33.3 billion km (154 days at full power)
Bomb Launcher (5) Missile Size 9 Rate of Fire 270
Bomb Fire Control (1) Range 288k km Resolution 1
Orbital Bombardment Device (73) Speed: 2,200 km/s End: 1.7m Range: 0.2m km WH: 17 Size: 9 TH: 7 / 4 / 2
SR-1 Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 32 Range 192k km Resolution 1The Jianghu class Corvette is a small, fast warship designed for commerce raiding. While the similar-sized Soviet 'Molniya' class is designed to attack enemy warships, it can do so because the range of its weapons exceeds the rage at which it is likely to be detected. Because of its short-ranged armament, the Jianghu has no such protection and would be quickly be destroyed by any opposing major warship. Instead, it is intended to use its speed to attack targets of opportunity that are detected by Chinese planetary-based sensors.
Jianghu class Corvette 750 tons 85 Crew 132.7 BP TCS 15 TH 80 EM 0
5333 km/s Armour 1-7 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 3
Annual Failure Rate: 18% IFR: 0.2% Maint Capacity 28 MSP Max Repair 38 MSP Est Time: 2.36 Years
GB Nuclear Pulse Engine (1) Power 80 Fuel Use 900% Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 13.3 billion km (28 days at full power)
10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 120,000km TS: 5333 km/s Power 3-3 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
R-64 Beam Fire Control (1) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Pebble Bed Reactor (1) Total Power Output 3 Armour 0 Exp 5%
CAS-1 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 320 Range 1.9m km Resolution 20Although the PLAN has no ships designed specifically for the planetary assault role, the Chinese do have a single Hegu class Troop Transport which they intend to use for transporting ground forces to new colonies. It could be used to deliver troops for an invasion but, as it would require two days in orbit to unload, it would only be able to operate where there was no threat from opposing naval forces.
Hegu class Troop Transport 22150 tons 259 Crew 505.2 BP TCS 443 TH 700 EM 0
1580 km/s Armour 1-70 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 14 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (7) Power 100 Fuel Use 9% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 45.1 billion km (330 days at full power)The People's Republic of China is the only power bloc to have designed and built a colony ship. One of the reasons for the Chinese disadvantage in military technology in that a substantial proportion of their research and development effort has been dedicated to biology and genetics. Their intention is to eventually develop a human hybrid that is capable of surviving in a cold, low gravity, low oxygen environment, which would enable them to colonise several bodies within the solar system that would be well outside of the normal range for homo sapiens, In the shorter term, they intend to colonise Mars and begin terraforming the planet. While Mars has not been of any strategic interest to NATO or the Soviet Union due to its lack of minerals, the Chinese see its as a potential safe haven for part of their population and eventually for their orbital shipyards and other key industry as well. While the NATO and Soviet fleets, plus their supporting maintenance facilities, are deployed at Titan and Ganymede, all of their industry, shipyards and population, except for some automated mines, is based on Earth and therefore vulnerable to immediate attack. With a Chinese population on Mars protected from missile attack by their fleet, the Chinese strategists envision a scenario where Earth could be rendered uninhabitable by a major war, leaving them as inheritors of the Sol system. The Luda class colony ship is the first step in that long term strategy. Only one ship has been built so far and is ready to begin its maiden voyage.
Luda class Colony Ship 13250 tons 163 Crew 504.8 BP TCS 265 TH 400 EM 0
1509 km/s Armour 1-49 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 24 MSP Max Repair 25 MSP
Colonists 30000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (4) Power 100 Fuel Use 9% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 75.5 billion km (578 days at full power)For the moment, Mars is a hostile world and any Chinese population will require suitable infrastructure to survive. That will be built by Chinese factories on Earth and delivered to Mars by Xian class freighters. Three are in service.
Xian class Freighter 34850 tons 233 Crew 374.8 BP TCS 697 TH 700 EM 0
1004 km/s Armour 1-95 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 7 MSP Max Repair 25 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (7) Power 100 Fuel Use 9% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 28.7 billion km (330 days at full power)The Chinese have recently completed construction of the first Yinchuan class Terraformer, an integral part of their long term strategy for Chinese hegemony over large areas of the Sol system. The first task of the Yinchuan and its planned sister ships will be to begin adding an atmosphere to Mars, an undertaking which will likely require several decades of effort.
Yinchuan class Terraformer 56400 tons 532 Crew 1305.8 BP TCS 1128 TH 400 EM 0
354 km/s Armour 1-131 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Capacity 14 MSP Max Repair 500 MSP
Terraformer: 2 module(s) producing 0.0024 atm per annum
Commercial Nuclear Pulse Engine (4) Power 100 Fuel Use 9% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 35.4 billion km (1157 days at full power)The PRC has two types of Planetary Defence Centre. The first is a huge, well-protected installation that can house a full division of ground forces. The second is a sensor installation with barracks for a brigade of troops. All the Chinese PDCs, eight Hainans and two Kaifengs, are constructed deep within mountains and are the best protected bases anywhere in the Sol system.
Hainan class Planetary Defence Centre 65950 tons 115 Crew 2049.6 BP TCS 1319 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 15-145 Sensors 1/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Troop Capacity: 21 Battalions Kaifeng class Planetary Defence Centre 21450 tons 286 Crew 1686.6 BP TCS 429 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 15-68 Sensors 1/400 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Troop Capacity: 5 Battalions
P-180 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 72000 Range 432.0m km Resolution 180
P-20 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 8000 Range 48.0m km Resolution 20
Chinese Order of Battle
The total Chinese strength is as follows:
12x Luda class Escort Cruiser
8x Jiangwei class Cruiser
4x Houjian class Bombardment Cruiser
24x Jianghu class Corvette
1x Hegu class Troop Transport
8x Hainan PDC
2x Kaifeng PDC
1x Yinchuan class Terraformer
3x Xian class Freighter
1x Luda class Colony Ship
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