Ships of the Indian Navy
September 2024
The Indian Republic was in the same position as the African Confederation when trans-newtonian technology first burst onto the international scene. If it did not field a space navy built with the new technology, it would lose face and would not be taken seriously in the international community. India’s citizens desperately wanted their country to be taken seriously by the other nations, so the Indian government was under intense pressure to act. The government formed the Republic’s Space Navy in response to this pressure and began leaning on it to get something into space as soon as possible. The problem was that India’s technology and industry wasn’t capable of producing a first rank navy.
The officers of the new Indian Space Navy (ISN) held the politicians off for as long as possible, trying to gain time to develop adequate systems and construction capacity to field a force that was at least somewhat capable, but the government was under intense pressure to do something, anything, as quickly as possible. In the end the politicians won, and the ISN was forced to design and build a ship that was small enough to fit in the existing yards, which had a maximum capacity of 3,000 tons, with components designed using existing technology. The result of this was the Brahmaputra class cruisers. The “cruiser” designation was more a propaganda move than a realistic appreciation of the design’s ability or role. The design had minimal passive defenses, and for offensive and point defense roles the class relied on the new, controversial, meson technology developed by the Indian R&D community.
Meson technology had been briefly examined by other nations, but they had been unable to generate a particle packet powerful enough to do any actual damage (see author’s note below). The Indian researchers had successfully tested their 10cm cannon design in the point defense role, and had promised that they would shortly be able to resolve the focusing issues that prevented the weapon from being a ship-killer. The Indian Navy, under intense pressure to build anything that could move in space, still had hopes of fielding a force that would make the other nations sit up and take notice, and they banked on meson weaponry to be the differentiating factor. Unfortunately for the Navy, the R&D establishment was unable to crack the problem that limited meson weaponry to point defense roles. Meson weaponry worked by generating meson particle packets, which would then be launched at hostile targets. The mesons would pass through any regular matter, and, based on the energy pumped into them and the acceleration imparted to them by the cannon assembly, they would decay at a known rate, hopefully decaying into regular matter inside of the target, where they would interact with the matter of the target and generate a fairly energetic explosion. Unfortunately, all previous attempts ran into a problem that persisted in spite of all attempts to analyze it or mitigate it. Somehow, perhaps because of unforeseen problems focusing the meson packets, most of the mesons in each packet would ‘evaporate’ in between the launcher and the target, leaving just enough to do very limited damage. When these reduced particle packets hit a missile, with its tightly packed electronics, fuel, and warhead, the results were often catastrophic for the missile, but when the packets hit larger targets like ships or bases, the packets were too weak to do any appreciable damage.
While the R&D establishment struggled with the meson focusing problem, the Navy was forced to go ahead with its Brahmaputra class cruisers. Once it became clear that R&D was not going to be able to resolve the fundamental problems with the meson weaponry, the ISN was caught in a vise. The senior officers of the ISN had only agreed to go forward with the Brahmaputra class cruisers once the government agreed to provide funding and R&D support for the development of a better class of ships to replace the Brahmaputra class ships, which were seen as a placeholder at best. Unfortunately for everyone, the African Confederation attacked the ISN in the Battle of the Comet, destroying several cruisers and damaging the rest. The Brahmaputra class cruisers were revealed for what they were, marginal warships with no real defenses. The Indian Parliament circled their wagons and placed the blame squarely on the Admiralty, and several of India’s highest ranking officers were forced to resign. The results were not all bad for the ISN, though. The officers who succeeded those who lost their positions used the legislator’s complicity in the events that led to the loss of lives at the comet to force the Parliament to approve funds for a completely new, and much more expensive, cruiser class. This new class was the Raiput class cruiser.
The ISN has stayed much closer to home since the disaster at the comet. All of the surviving Brahmaputra class cruisers have been either scrapped or refitted to the Tabar class escort ship design, which is better protected and generally only utilized as an escort for larger ships.
In spite of increasingly strident requests for funding and support from the ISN, the newly established Republican Survey Service (RSS) has been the focus of India’s R&D and Parliament, due to the excitement and interest surrounding the exploration of other star systems. What R&D resources that weren’t absorbed by the RSS have been devoted to modernizing civilian industry and mining technology. All of that is due to change this year, as the Parliament has agreed to fund a multi-year, broad spectrum effort to improve the ISN’s defensive technologies, including shielding, damage control, and armor. The results of this effort will be years in the future, though.
Author’s Note: Unknown to me at the time that I set up the Six Powers Campaign, there is a significant bug in Aurora 3.1 relating to meson weaponry. This bug is related to damage allocation, and the result is that meson weapons can destroy missiles but will do no damage to ships. Unfortunately, as I said, I didn’t find this out until after I started the campaign. On the bright side, I found this out before I got too far along in the game. Rather than going back and trying to change everything, I decided that this could be handled “in-game” and that the Indian’s would evolve away from meson weaponry, at least for their ships.
Indian Space Navy
Rajput class Cruiser 5500 tons 486 Crew 774.2 BP TCS 110 TH 240 EM 600
2181 km/s Armour 3-27 Shields 20-200 Sensors 18/25/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 8
Annual Failure Rate: 242% IFR: 3.4% Maintenance Capacity 88 MSP
Magazine 54
Nuclear Pulse Engine (6) Power 40 Efficiency 0.80 Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 40.9 billion km (217 days at full power)
Alpha R200/8 Shields (20) Total Fuel Cost 160 Litres per day
15cm Plasma Carronade (1) Range 60,000km TS: 2400 km/s Power 6-3 RM 1 ROF 10 6 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Standard Fire Control (64k/3600) (1) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 3600 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 37 30 22
Pebble Bed Reactor (1) Total Power Output 6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
AM Missile Launcher 02 (2) Missile Size 2 Rate of Fire 30
AM Missile Fire Control (1) Range 1.4m km Resolution 1
AM Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 128 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
Hvy Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 1600 Range 16.0m km Resolution 20
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 25 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 25m km
The Raiput class arose out of the aftermath of the Battle of the Comet. The disastrous battle convinced the Admiralty and the government that India needed a larger and more capable warship, and the Raiput class resulted. The ship has much better protection than the older Brahmaputra class cruisers, and carries an extensive sensor suite, which was mandated by the Admiralty in the hope that no Indian fleet would be surprised by an attacker again.
The Raiput is not intended for long deployments, and as a result it has a small engineering compartment and carries only limited maintenance supplies.
All Raiput class ships were upgraded to the Raiput Mk 2 standard.
Raiput Mk 2 class Cruiser 5550 tons 489 Crew 893 BP TCS 111 TH 270 EM 600
3243 km/s Armour 3-27 Shields 20-200 Sensors 18/25/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 8
Annual Failure Rate: 246% IFR: 3.4% Maintenance Capacity 101 MSP
Magazine 54
Ion Engine (6) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 69.5 billion km (248 days at full power)
Alpha R200/8 Shields (20) Total Fuel Cost 160 Litres per day
15cm Plasma Carronade (1) Range 60,000km TS: 3243 km/s Power 6-3 RM 1 ROF 10 6 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Standard Fire Control (64k/3600) (1) Max Range: 128,000 km TS: 3600 km/s 92 84 77 69 61 53 45 37 30 22
Pebble Bed Reactor (1) Total Power Output 6 Armour 0 Exp 5%
AM Missile Launcher 02 (2) Missile Size 2 Rate of Fire 30
AM Missile Fire Control (1) Range 1.4m km Resolution 1
AM Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 128 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
Hvy Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 1600 Range 16.0m km Resolution 20
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
EM Detection Sensor (1) Sensitivity 25 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 25m km
The Mark 2 refit replaced the older nuclear pulse engines with the latest Ion engines, and increased the ship’s fuel supply by 50% to make up for the Ion engine’s greater fuel demands.
There are seven Raiput Mk 2’s in service as of September 2024.
Brahmaputra class Cruiser 3200 tons 308 Crew 276 BP TCS 58 TH 125 EM 0
2155 km/s Armour 1-18 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 12
Annual Failure Rate: 67% IFR: 0.9% Maintenance Capacity 59 MSP
Nuclear Thermal Engine (5) Power 25 Efficiency 0.90 Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 34.5 billion km (185 days at full power)
Triple R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon Turret (1x3) Range 15,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 9-9 RM 1.5 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 30,000 km TS: 9600 km/s 67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (1) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
The Brahmaputra class cruiser is the ISN original warship design. A compromise design, it was never popular with either the officers or the crews of the ships. The design was viewed more as a test-bed than an actual warship, but because of a lack of shipyard capacity, and political requirements, it was not superseded until its drawbacks became painfully obvious during the Battle of the Comet. After the fleet returned from the comet, this design was withdrawn from service. The remaining ships were either scrapped or refitted to the Tabar class.
Tabar class Escort 3500 tons 356 Crew 324.8 BP TCS 70 TH 125 EM 180
1785 km/s Armour 1-20 Shields 6-300 Sensors 18/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 12
Annual Failure Rate: 98% IFR: 1.4% Maintenance Capacity 58 MSP
Nuclear Thermal Engine (5) Power 25 Efficiency 0.90 Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 28.6 billion km (185 days at full power)
Alpha R300/9 Shields (6) Total Fuel Cost 54 Litres per day
Triple R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon Turret (1x3) Range 15,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 9-9 RM 1.5 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 30,000 km TS: 9600 km/s 67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (1) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
The Tabar class escort was intended as a replacement for the older Brahmaputra class cruiser. The Tabar class was seen as an improvement over the older cruiser class as it had some passive defenses. All existing units of this class have been upgraded to Mark 2’s.
Tabar Mk 2 class Escort 3500 tons 356 Crew 472.8 BP TCS 70 TH 225 EM 270
4285 km/s Armour 1-20 Shields 9-225 Sensors 18/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 12
Annual Failure Rate: 98% IFR: 1.4% Maintenance Capacity 84 MSP
Ion Engine (5) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 36.7 billion km (99 days at full power)
Beta R225/12 Shields (6) Total Fuel Cost 72 Litres per day
Triple R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon Turret (1x3) Range 15,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 9-9 RM 1.5 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PD Fire Control (1) Max Range: 30,000 km TS: 9600 km/s 67 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (1) Total Power Output 10 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
The addition of Ion engines and class beta shielding has improved the effectiveness of this ship significantly, however, the ISN continues to be less than enthusiastic about the class and it is unlikely that any additional units will be constructed.
Eight units of this class are currently in service.
Indian Planetary Defense Command
Nirbhik class Missile Base 7800 tons 460 Crew 565.4 BP TCS 156 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 12-35 Sensors 1/60 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 30
Troop Capacity 2 Divisions Magazine 180
PDC Missile Launcher 06-090 (5) Missile Size 6 Rate of Fire 90
Missile Fire Control FC60-R2/100 (1) Range 3.6m km Resolution 2
ICBM (30) Speed: 1000 km/s End: 0 minutes Range: 0m km Warhead: 12 MR: 10 Size: 6
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 16 sections
This is the primary planetary defense center for the Indian Republic. There are four units of this class in service.
Gomati class Planetary Defence Centre 7750 tons 513 Crew 852.8 BP TCS 155 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 20-34 Sensors 1/60 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 36
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range N/A
Triple R1.5/C3 Meson Cannon Turret (3x3) Range 15,000km TS: 10000 km/s Power 9-9 RM 1.5 ROF 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PDC Fire Control S08 30-9600 (3) Max Range: 60,000 km TS: 9600 km/s 83 67 50 33 17 0 0 0 0 0
Pressurised Water Reactor (3) Total Power Output 30 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 16 sections
The Indian Republic originally designed and built these missile defense stations just after trans-newtonian technology became available. Their intent was to provide a missile defense shield for the Republic, to defend against any aggression from the Japanese or the USSR. The leaders of the Republic are aware that they are treading on very thin ice with these bases, as they directly violate the policy of MAD held by the major powers and so their existence is a very closely held secret. India’s leaders felt these bases were necessary given India’s weaker military compared to the other two medium powers.
Currently, four units of this class exist.
Republican Survey Service
The RSS was established to take advantage of the new jump technology obtained from the ruined Ancient ship discovered on the Comet. While the ISN argued that it should control the new technology, the Parliament, which has traditionally acted to limit the power of the military within the Republic, was not interested in increasing the Navy’s power and influence. Currently, the RSS has control of all Ganga class jump ships, and thus controls interstellar travel. This will change once the Navy launches its own jump ship, but that will likely be at least several years from now.
Ganga Mk 2 class Jump Ship 6000 tons 507 Crew 1060.2 BP TCS 120 TH 225 EM 300
2500 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 2-29 Shields 10-200 Sensors 18/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 96% IFR: 1.3% Maintenance Capacity 2331 MSP
J6000(3-50) Jump Drive Max Ship Size 6000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Ion Engine (5) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 85.7 billion km (396 days at full power)
Alpha R200/8 Shields (10) Total Fuel Cost 80 Litres per day
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
AM Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 128 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
The Ganga was humanity’s first real starship. It is large enough to convey any Indian ship through a warp point, and has served primarily as a support unit for survey ships assigned to survey other systems.
There are five units of this class in service as of September 2024.
Trinkat Mk 2 class Science Vessel 3000 tons 263 Crew 526.6 BP TCS 60 TH 200 EM 0
3333 km/s Armour 1-18 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/15/3/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 72% IFR: 1% Maintenance Capacity 1110 MSP
Nuclear Pulse Engine (5) Power 40 Efficiency 0.80 Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 37.5 billion km (130 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
Electromagnetic Sensor EM15 (1) Sensitivity 15 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 15m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points
The Trinkat Mk 3 grav survey ship is the Republic’s only grav survey design. The RSS is currently considering a change of the design to increase the number of grav survey sensors the ship carries, as well as double or triple the fuel capacity.
The RSS has three ships of this class, and all are scheduled to be refitted to the Mk3 design, with Ion engines and expanded fuel and survey instruments.
Trinkat Mk 3(G) class Geosurvey Ship 3000 tons 263 Crew 576.6 BP TCS 60 TH 225 EM 0
5000 km/s Armour 1-18 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/15/0/2 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 72% IFR: 1% Maintenance Capacity 1120 MSP
Ion Engine (5) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 42.9 billion km (99 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor S60-R2/100 (1) GPS 120 Range 1.2m km Resolution 2
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
Electromagnetic Sensor EM15 (1) Sensitivity 15 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 15m km
Geological Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points
The RSS currently has one unit of this class, and three of the older Mark 2 class.
Non-Combatants
Colony Ship Mk 2 class Colony Ship 4400 tons 219 Crew 794 BP TCS 88 TH 225 EM 0
3409 km/s Armour 1-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 5/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 154% IFR: 2.2% Maintenance Capacity 113 MSP
Colonists 50000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Ion Engine (5) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 87.7 billion km (297 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH5 (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 5m km
This design is classed as a freighter for maintenance purposes
Freighter Mk 2 class Freighter 4400 tons 194 Crew 344 BP TCS 88 TH 225 EM 0
3409 km/s Armour 1-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 5/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 154% IFR: 2.2% Maintenance Capacity 49 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Ion Engine (5) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 87.7 billion km (297 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH5 (1) Sensitivity 5 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 5m km
This design is classed as a freighter for maintenance purposes
Nipat class Troop Transport 3900 tons 228 Crew 345.4 BP TCS 78 TH 240 EM 150
3076 km/s Armour 5-22 Shields 5-300 Sensors 1/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 121% IFR: 1.7% Maintenance Capacity 55 MSP
Troop Capacity 1 Divisions
Nuclear Pulse Engine (6) Power 40 Efficiency 0.80 Signature 40 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 28.8 billion km (108 days at full power)
Alpha R300/9 Shields (5) Total Fuel Cost 45 Litres per day
Bangalore class Terraformer 7000 tons 574 Crew 1114.8 BP TCS 140 TH 135 EM 0
1285 km/s Armour 1-32 Shields 0-0 Sensors 18/0/0/0 Damage Control Rating 5 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 78% IFR: 1.1% Maintenance Capacity 1498 MSP
Terraformer: 2 module(s) producing 0.003 atm per annum
Ion Engine (3) Power 60 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 45 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 55.1 billion km (496 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH3-18/100 (1) Sensitivity 18 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 18m km
After surveying the outer warp points, the Republic realized that Earth-like worlds were rare. The RSS did discover several worlds that could be colonized with investment in things like domed cities and massive air-exchangers. After studying the terraforming installations discovered by the Reich and the Alliance on Venus and Mars, the Indians decided to build mobile versions to begin converting at least one of the newly discovered planets to a more habitable form. The terraformer uses nano-technology to convert existing atmospheric gases and the surface of the planet to forms more useful for humanity.
Three units of this class are under construction at the current time.
[attachment=0:tai0ieou]Indian MSL.gif[/attachment:tai0ieou]
