United Kingdom
Following a national referendum, the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2018 and began to re-establish its global trading empire. Following the Sino-Indian War, the UK used the large merchant fleet it had built in the previous decade to bring aid to India, earning considerable gratitude from the populations of the shattered Indian states. In the decades after the war, the UK continued to expand its trade network and leased ports in many countries to build commercial hubs that generated significant revenue. The UK's major universities were well funded as the nation sought to develop new technologies from which new products could be developed. Scientists at Cambridge University made the breakthrough into Trans-Newtonian Physics in 2052 and the UK began a second industrial revolution as the government poured money into British companies converting to the new technology. The investment paid off and the UK led the world for several years in new technology, boosting its overall economy and population, until the other major nations caught up.
After the discovery of jump points, the United Kingdom elected not to create a colony on the ideal world in Alpha Centauri. Instead, a UK colony was established on Avalon, the second planet of Barnard's Star. Avalon had a breathable atmosphere, although the low temperatures meant that specialised infrastructure was required until terraforming could bring the planet into the ideal habitable range. Avalon did have aliens ruins as well, although smaller than in Alpha Centauri. There was some criticism of the British decision to colonise what most commentators believed was a less desirable option than Alpha Centauri and particularly of the open door policy that allowed extensive immigration from neutral, non-TN countries, in particular the Indian states. The UK's own colonial history, particularly in the Americas, plus the events on Mars had provided some valuable lessons however and the UK government was keen to put those lessons into practice. Even from its earliest days the Avalon colony was given direct representation in parliament and as its population grew rapidly the Avalon members of parliament become more and more important, until the point where the Earth-based MPs were in the minority. Supporting the huge flow of colonists from the neutral and non-TN nations who wanted a better life resulted in the United Kingdom having the largest fleet of colony ships among the major powers, with eight in service by the end of the 21st century. In addition, a benefit of the UK's mercantile success during the 21st century was that three separate civilian shipping lines had been formed by 2100, compared to just one in each of the other powers. Those other powers, seeing the incredible success of the Avalon colony and the resulting massive growth of the UK population, began adopting similar policies at the start of the 22nd century, welcoming colonists from all the neutral nations.
The United Kingdom has a secondary colony named Pendragon in Struve 2398, one jump further out beyond Barnard's Star, with a population of 20m, and has two small mining colonies, one in the same system as Pendragon and one four jumps from Sol in Kruger 60, the same system as the Brazilian colony of Novo Rio. In fact, the Brazilian colony was only possible because the UK built jump gates leading to Kruger 60. Australia also has a colony on Pendragon, while Canada has established a colony in Kuiper 75, adjacent to Barnard's Star. The three English-speaking nations are on friendly terms so the UK does not face the same potential problems as in Russo-Manchurian or Centauri Arms. There is still the possibility of tension with Brazil in the longer term and other powers may turn their attention to the Avalon Arm if their own explorations do not yield suitable results. For the moment though, the United Kingdom is content to build up its resources in relative peace.
The downside to the UK's concentration on commercial operations is that the Royal Navy at the start of the 22nd century is not as powerful as some of the other leading nations. The Royal Navy has the best laser technology in known space but does not use missiles at all, which makes it difficult to engage enemies in deep space. Strategic doctrine is to hold key jump points or force the enemy to engage by attacking important targets such as shipyards. The Dreadnought class battlecruiser, the Resolution class jump cruiser and the Tribal class destroyer are equipped with the most powerful energy weapon in service with any navy, the 25cm Ultraviolet Spinal Laser, plus several 20cm lasers. The Agincourt class escort cruiser provides missile defence using its six twin 10cm laser turrets and the Dreadnought uses two of the same turret design as a secondary armament. Military jump capability is provided by the Resolution class, built on a Dreadnought hull but with a jump drive replacing the 10cm turrets, part of the senior suite and two of the 20cm lasers, In total, the Royal Navy has thirteen major warships. As would be expected from a mercantile power, the United Kingdom has one of the largest commercial fleets including terraformers, fuel harvesters and construction ships. One unusual vessel is the River class Mobile Jump Gate, a slow moving vessel intended to hold station on jump points, effectively extending the jump gate network for commercial traffic.
The United Kingdom starts with a total population of 420m (300m on Avalon, 20m on Pendragon), six shipyards with a capacity of 54,000 naval and 330,000 commercial, twenty-two research facilities and 165,000 research points.
Warship and Survey Designs
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Dreadnought class Battlecruiser 12,000 tons 355 Crew 2075.6 BP TCS 240 TH 960 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 5-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/12/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 60.56
Maint Life 3.61 Years MSP 865 AFR 144% IFR 2% 1YR 103 5YR 1538 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 22 months Spare Berths 1
Rolls-Royce RR240 Ion Drive (4) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 760,000 Litres Range 20.4 billion km (58 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (6) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
25cm C4 Ultraviolet Spinal Laser (1) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 16-4 RM 4 ROF 20 16 16 16 16 12 10 9 8 7 6
Twin Point Defence Laser Turret (2x2) Range 120,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
Horton-Boyle Type 2 Point Defence Fire Control (1) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Horton-Boyle Type 1 Laser Fire Control (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (9) Total Power Output 40.5 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Finch-Macdonald FM-60 Active Sensor (1) GPS 10560 Range 60.4m km Resolution 110
Crawford-Fuller MDS-2 Missile Detection System (1) GPS 48 Range 2.9m km MCR 314k km Resolution 1
EM-12 Passive EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 12 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 12m km
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Resolution class Jump Cruiser 12,000 tons 355 Crew 1796.4 BP TCS 240 TH 960 EM 0
4000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 4-46 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 11 PPV 32
Maint Life 3.6 Years MSP 1029 AFR 104% IFR 1.5% 1YR 123 5YR 1839 Max Repair 266 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 23 months Spare Berths 0
MJD-120 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 12000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Rolls-Royce RR240 Ion Drive (4) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 750,000 Litres Range 20.1 billion km (58 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (4) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
25cm C4 Ultraviolet Spinal Laser (1) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 16-4 RM 4 ROF 20 16 16 16 16 12 10 9 8 7 6
Horton-Boyle Type 1 Laser Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Small Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (1) Total Power Output 2.25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (4) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Finch-Macdonald FM-30 Active Sensor (1) GPS 5280 Range 30.2m km Resolution 110
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Agincourt class Escort Cruiser 9,000 tons 249 Crew 1529.4 BP TCS 180 TH 720 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-38 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 49.68
Maint Life 3.62 Years MSP 637 AFR 108% IFR 1.5% 1YR 75 5YR 1128 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 17.5 months Spare Berths 1
Rolls-Royce RR240 Ion Drive (3) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 550,000 Litres Range 19.6 billion km (56 days at full power)
Twin Point Defence Laser Turret (6x2) Range 64,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0
Horton-Boyle Type 2 Point Defence Fire Control (3) Max Range: 64,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (8) Total Power Output 36 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Crawford-Fuller MDS-1 Missile Detection System (1) GPS 48 Range 2.9m km MCR 314k km Resolution 1
Finch-Macdonald FM-30 Active Sensor (1) GPS 5280 Range 30.2m km Resolution 110
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Tribal class Destroyer 6,000 tons 184 Crew 1026.6 BP TCS 120 TH 480 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 4 PPV 32
Maint Life 3.71 Years MSP 428 AFR 72% IFR 1% 1YR 48 5YR 726 Max Repair 120 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Spare Berths 1
Rolls-Royce RR240 Ion Drive (2) Power 240 Fuel Use 56% Signature 240 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 400,000 Litres Range 21.4 billion km (62 days at full power)
20cm C4 Ultraviolet Laser (4) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 10-4 RM 4 ROF 15 10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
25cm C4 Ultraviolet Spinal Laser (1) Range 256,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 16-4 RM 4 ROF 20 16 16 16 16 12 10 9 8 7 6
Horton-Boyle Type 1 Laser Fire Control (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 4000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Small Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (1) Total Power Output 2.25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (4) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Finch-Macdonald FM-30 Active Sensor (1) GPS 5280 Range 30.2m km Resolution 110
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Darwin class Geological Survey Vessel 6,000 tons 143 Crew 833.6 BP TCS 120 TH 360 EM 0
3000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/3 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.04 Years MSP 521 AFR 48% IFR 0.7% 1YR 25 5YR 368 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 46 months Spare Berths 0
MJD-60 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 6000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Rolls-Royce RR180E Ion Drive (2) Power 180 Fuel Use 27.28% Signature 180 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 110.0 billion km (424 days at full power)
Geological Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
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Galileo class Gravitational Survey Vessel 6,000 tons 143 Crew 833.6 BP TCS 120 TH 360 EM 0
3000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/3/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 0
Maint Life 6.04 Years MSP 521 AFR 48% IFR 0.7% 1YR 25 5YR 368 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 46 months Spare Berths 0
MJD-60 Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 6000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Rolls-Royce RR180E Ion Drive (2) Power 180 Fuel Use 27.28% Signature 180 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 1,000,000 Litres Range 110.0 billion km (424 days at full power)
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
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Order of Battle
2x Dreadnought class Battlecruiser
2x Resolution class Jump Cruiser
3x Agincourt class Escort Cruiser
6x Tribal class Destroyer
3x Darwin class Geological Survey Vessel
4x Galileo class Gravitational Survey Vessel
2x Flower class Tanker (15,600 tons)
8x Mayflower class Colony Ship (39,650 tons, 70,000 berths, 3026 km/s)
5x Ambrosia class Fuel Harvester (80,000 tons, 28 modules, 562 km/s)
5x Atlas class Freighter (47,000 tons, 1 cargo hold, 2553 km/s)
5x Avalon class Terraformer (69,600 tons, 2 modules, 1508 km/s)
2x Hephaestus class Construction Ship (72,300 tons, 180 days, 1659 km/s)
2x River class Mobile Jump Gate (80,000 tons, 2 cargo holds, 375 km/s)