Posted by: Michael Sandy
« on: March 13, 2009, 07:07:38 PM »Forcing the enemy to increase the MIRV range reduces the effectiveness of the missile, which is a good payoff.
Fire an EM drone at the inner system, to see if there is a population. Of course you don't wan to do this from right on top of the JP.I hope that is what the Raptor series of drones will allow the Commonwealth to do, although they have a combined thermal/EM sensor package so a purely EM drone would have slightly greater range.
I like the Starfish missile concept.I can see that happening once races start to encounter MIRVing missiles. Of course, then the sub-munitions could be designed with greater endurance to counter that and the guessing game begins.
Combined with firing a series of these high endurance missiles at a waypoint, you can get an enormous first strike capability.
A couple of possible counters:
For a solo ship closing on an unidentified contact, fire a recon drone that can keep pace with the target, with enough high resolution sensors on the drone to detect a missile wave passing by.
On a combat approach, have sensor platforms of some kind capable of detecting missiles capable of MIRVing before they would be able to effectively split, along with some long ranged antimissile capability.
I wonder what the best use of the geosurvey drones is. You could have a survey vessel simultaneously survey a gas giant and all of its moons, but you would probably have a lot of unused time on the drones doing that. Is it possible to recover and refurbish drones?No, the drones are one-use only. They are relatively cheap though. Unless you are carrying a lot of them, I think the best use of the drones will be to survey potentially habitable planets for minerals or ruins. Geosurvey ships can arrive later to cover all the smaller bodies.
Firing a geosurvey drone at a habitable planet would certainly be less risky than approaching with a manned survey vessel that lacks advanced sensors. It might make sense to have all capital missile ships to have a collection of various drones in their magazines. One case for going with larger missile launchers would be to have the capability of launching long endurance drones with various sensor capabilities instead of warheads.That's true. The Commonwealth has several sensor drones in its inventory now and since designing the Magellan I have been thinking about a scout with larger launchers and more capable drones
How much endurance could you pack into a missile/drone designed to go just slightly faster than the fleet, in order to maintain position at 2 million or 5 million or whatever distance from the fleet as it approached a target?It depends on the speed of the target fleet, the size of the drone, the division between sensor space and fuel capacity and the fuel efficiency technology of the designing race.
Incredible write up, very entertaining, yet I learned quite a bit from it that I can use. Your write ups are just like a very enjoyable tutorial.I certainly learnt something useful. I've been refitting my freighters with new engines instead of building new ones. I wonder how much wealth I've wasted........
Keep up the good work, and thanks.
Mark
SGS-1 Missile Detection Array
Active Sensor Strength: 126
Sensor Size: 6 HS Sensor HTK: 1
Primary Mode: Resolution: 1 Maximum Range: 1,260,000 km
Chance of destruction by electronic damage: 100%
Cost: 126 Crew: 30
Materials Required: 31.5x Duranium 94.5x Uridium
Development Cost for Project: 1260RP
SGM-2 Missile Fire Control
Active Sensor Strength: 42
Sensor Size: 2 HS Sensor HTK: 1
Primary Mode: Resolution: 1 Maximum Range: 1,260,000 km
Chance of destruction by electronic damage: 100%
Cost: 42 Crew: 10
Materials Required: 10.5x Duranium 31.5x Uridium
Development Cost for Project: 420RP
SGS-3 Area Search Sensor
Active Sensor Strength: 126
Sensor Size: 6 HS Sensor HTK: 1
Primary Mode: Resolution: 80 Maximum Range: 100,800,000 km
Chance of destruction by electronic damage: 100%
Cost: 126 Crew: 30
Materials Required: 31.5x Duranium 94.5x Uridium
Development Cost for Project: 1260RP
STP-10 Thermal Sensor Array
Thermal Sensor Sensitivity: 80
Sensor Size: 10 HS Sensor HTK: 1
Chance of destruction by electronic damage: 100%
Cost: 80 Crew: 50
Materials Required: 20x Duranium 60x Uridium
Development Cost for Project: 800RP
With the acquisition of Moravian laser technology, the long-standing Commonwealth need for an effective non-missile anti-ship weapon was finally resolved. The 15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser was a copy of the Moravian weapon and would become the primary Commonwealth energy weapon system once suitable fire controls were designed15cm C3 Near Ultraviolet Laser
Damage Output 6 Rate of Fire: 10 seconds Range Modifier: 3
Max Range 180,000 km Laser Size: 4 HS Laser HTK: 2
Power Requirement: 6 Power Recharge per 5 Secs: 3
Cost: 22 Crew: 40
Materials Required: 4.4x Duranium 4.4x Boronide 13.2x Corundium
Development Cost for Project: 220RP
One of the strategic lessons learned from the Angel War was the need for a dedicated planetary assault element within the Commonwealth Navy. If such forces had been available during the war then a huge quantity of installations could have been seized on Archangelsk III, the considerable environmental damage would have been avoided and the task of pacifying the planet made far easier. The four Tarawa II class ships were a start but they carried a maximum of twelve divisions in total and they were too slow and too fragile to operate with the battle fleet. There were also insufficient numbers of assault divisions to form a rapid deployment force while retaining sufficient heavy divisions for the defence of major worlds. The Commonwealth ground forces in October 2047 comprised the following divisions, with the current deployments listed separately.SS-N-4 Shadow
Missile Size: 4 MSP (0.2 HS) Warhead: 6 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 24000 km/s Endurance: 68 minutes Range: 97.5m km
Cost Per Missile: 3.1
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 240% 3k km/s 80% 5k km/s 48% 10k km/s 24%
Materials Required: 1.5x Tritanium 1.35x Gallicite Fuel x3250
Development Cost for Project: 310RP
The equivalent Commonwealth anti-missile was the SA-N-3 Gladius, which used a similar combination of speed and agility as the successful SA-N-2 Gauntlet. It was estimated to be a third more accurate than the Gauntlet, with a seventy-eight percent chance of hitting a target moving at 10,000 km/s.SA-N-3 Gladius
Missile Size: 1 MSP (0.05 HS) Warhead: 1 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 22
Speed: 35500 km/s Endurance: 1 minute Range: 1.5m km
Cost Per Missile: 1.142
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 781% 3k km/s 242% 5k km/s 156.2% 10k km/s 78.1%
Materials Required: 0.25x Tritanium 0.63x Gallicite Fuel x12.5
Development Cost for Project: 114RP
On March 24th, the tug Eos arrived at New London towing one of the smaller Angel shipyards, which had a single slipway with a capacity of 13,000 tons. By this time the population of New London had risen to two point six million and a dozen maintenance facilities were in place, allowing the maintenance of ships up to 2400 tons. The Second Corvette Flotilla, which had defended the system against the Moravians and was forced to pull back to Mars after the destruction of the colony, was back on station. There was a long way to go but a new colony and base was slowly rising out of the ashes. Athena class Battlestar 25000 tons 2105 Crew 3908.6 BP TCS 500 TH 2400 EM 1920
4800 km/s Armour 8-76 Shields 64-300 Sensors 24/24/0/0 Damage Control Rating 14 PPV 70
Annual Failure Rate: 357% IFR: 5% Maintenance Capacity 1362 MSP Max Repair 126 MSP
Magazine 1852
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (30) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 600,000 Litres Range 72.0 billion km (173 days at full power)
Gamma R300/12 Shields (32) Total Fuel Cost 384 Litres per day
10cm Advanced Rapid-Fire Railgun (6x5) Range 30,000km TS: 4800 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5
SGB-12 Railgun Tracking System (2) Max Range: 48,000 km TS: 6000 km/s 79 58 38 17 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (3) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Mk 3 Guided Missile Launch System (12) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Mk 1 Guided Missile Launch System (10) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 60
SGM-4 Long Range Fire Control (2) Range 100.8m km Resolution 80
SGM-2 Point Defence Fire Control (2) Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
SS-N-4 Shadow (260) Speed: 24,000 km/ Range: 97.5m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 80 / 48 / 24
SR-N-2 Raptor Recon Drone (8) Speed: 3,000 km/s Range: 226.5m km WH: 0 Size: 4 TH: 10 / 6 / 3
SA-N-3 Gladius (780) Speed: 35,500 km/s Range: 1.5m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 260 / 156 / 78
SGS-1 Missile Detection Array (1) GPS 126 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
SGS-3 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 10080 Range 100.8m km Resolution 80
STP-5 Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
SEP-6 EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
ECM 10
The design review also examined the problems of guarding colonies and decided that the Arleigh Burke V was not an ideal solution. While it had a reasonable offensive punch for its size, it could not provide its own anti-missile defences, making it very vulnerable to attack. In addition it was not sufficiently well-protected to compensate for its slow speed so it didn't fall within the new doctrine of survivability or the old doctrine of speed means life and it was unable to effectively operate with the Battle Fleet. Both the Arleigh Burke V and the Sentinel Missile Defence Base suffered from gradual systems failure when they were deployed at a planet without suitable maintenance facilities which, given the specialised nature of many Commonwealth colonies, was a common problem. A new approach was needed. The requirement was three-fold; sufficient defences for colonies to resist missile attack, a way to confront or investigate intruders within Commonwealth space and a low maintenance requirement.Spaceguard class Planetary Defence Centre 2450 tons 240 Crew 441 BP TCS 49 TH 0 EM 0
Armour 5-16 Sensors 1/126 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 15
Magazine 375
Mk 4 Guided Missile PDCLS (15) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 5
SGM-2 Point Defence Fire Control (2) Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
SA-N-3 Gladius (375) Speed: 35,500 km/s Range: 1.5m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 260 / 156 / 78
SGS-1 Missile Detection Array (1) GPS 126 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
The Molniya II class corvette was designed as the follow-up to the successful Molniya I and incorporated several improved features. A new missile, the SS-N-5 Scimitar, was developed specifically for the Molniya II and had a warhead fifty percent larger than the SS-N-4 Shadow at the expense of range. As the corvettes were capable of approaching far closer to enemy fleets without detection than the Commonwealth's larger warships, range was not as important. The speed of the Scimitar was matched to that of the Shadow so that if a larger ship choose to carry both types, they could be used within the same salvo if required. The CGM-8 Corvette Fire Control system was only half the size of its equivalent on the Molniya which allowed more fuel storage, doubling the corvette's range and providing the flexibility for both multi-system missions and ease of deployment. Finally, the new NPO Energomash Supercharged Magneto-Plasma Drive gave the Molniya II a top speed of 8800 km/s, allowing it to evade pursuit, rearm and return for multiple strikes against an intruder fleet.Molniya II class Corvette 1000 tons 47 Crew 147.2 BP TCS 20 TH 176 EM 0
8800 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 9.6
Annual Failure Rate: 8% IFR: 0.1% Maintenance Capacity 92 MSP Max Repair 44 MSP
Magazine 64
NPO Energomash Supercharged MPD (1) Power 176 Efficiency 7.20 Signature 176 Exp 30%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 25.0 billion km (32 days at full power)
Mk 2 Guided Missile VLS (16) Missile Size 4 Hangar Reload 30 minutes MF Reload 5 hours
CGM-8 Corvette Fire Control (1) Range 50.4m km Resolution 80
SS-N-5 Scimitar (16) Speed: 24,000 km/s Range: 52.5m km WH: 9 Size: 4 TH: 80 / 48 / 24
The third area covered by the review board was the survey operations of the Commonwealth, in particular the potential for future alien contact. Copenhagen, Newton and Kepler had all been lost during first contact situations. Although the circumstances of each loss were not known in detail, all three were investigating habitable worlds at the time of their disappearance and they had very limited sensors, leading to the obvious conclusion that they had been forced to get too close to the planets in question and had been spotted by alien sensors. Any intercepting forces would not have been detected until it was too late. One option considered by the review board was that all investigations of new systems should be carried out by specialised scout ships but that was eventually dismissed as impractical. Suspending survey operations until a scout could be called forward would be extremely time-consuming, especially as at least one survey ship would have to pull back to a system from which they could communicate with the rest of the Commonwealth. Keeping a scout close to the survey ships would be a waste as it would spend ninety-nine percent of its time with nothing to do. Therefore the board recommended that all gravitational survey ships should be equipped to handle scouting operations, in particular the investigation of habitable planets from a safe distance.Magellan class Scout Cruiser 8000 tons 789 Crew 1668 BP TCS 160 TH 400 EM 0
5000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 24/24/3/0 DCR 5 PPV 16
Annual Failure Rate: 102% IFR: 1.4% Maintenance Capacity 652 MSP Max Repair 126 MSP
Magazine 376
Rolls-Royce Merlin-8 Jump Drive Max Ship Size 8000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
NPO Energomash Low Emission MPD (10) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 40 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 550,000 Litres Range 206.3 billion km (477 days at full power)
Mk 5 Guided Missile Launch System (2) Missile Size 8 Rate of Fire 80
SGM-4 Long Range Fire Control (1) Range 100.8m km Resolution 80
SR-N-3 Raptor-L Recon Drone (15) Speed: 3,000 km/s End: 744.2m Range: 354m km WH: 0 Size: 8
SB-N-1 Geosurvey Buoy (16) Speed: 0 km/s End: 180d Range: 0m km Size: 8
SS-N-7 Starfish (16) Speed: 8,000 km/s End: 156.2m Range: 77.4m km WH: 0 Size: 8
SGS-3 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 10080 Range 100.8m km Resolution 80
STP-5 Thermal Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
SEP-6 EM Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 24m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points
The SR-N-3 Raptor-L was a normal SR-N-2 Raptor Recon Drone on top of a second stage that increased its range to over three hundred and fifty million kilometres, allowing the Magellan to launch sensor drones from well outside the range at which it was likely to be detected.SR-N-3 Raptor-L Recon Drone
Missile Size: 8 MSP (0.4 HS) Warhead: 0 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 3000 km/s Endurance: 744 minutes Range: 134.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 1.4053
Second Stage: SR-N-2 Raptor Recon Drone x1
Second Stage Separation Range: 220,000,000 km
Overall Endurance: 1 day Overall Range: 360.4m km
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 30% 3k km/s 10% 5k km/s 6% 10k km/s 3%
Materials Required: 0.3x Uridium 0.108x Gallicite Fuel x9050
Development Cost for Project: 141RP
The SB-N-1 Geosurvey Buoy was an entirely new piece of technology. When deployed in orbit of a planet or other system body, it could gather geological survey data in the same way as geological survey sensors on a ship. Although the sensor on the SB-N-1 had only seven percent of the power of a single ship-mounted geological survey sensor, it could remain in orbit for several months until sufficient data was gathered. If a habitable planet was discovered, the Magellan would able to visit the planet and launch one or more SB-N-1s which could survey for mineral deposits or ruins while the Magellan continued with its gravitational survey. In the past, such surveys had to be put on hold until a geological survey ship was available. In fact the review board had recommended a study to determine if all normal geological survey activity should be left to the private sector. With the Magellans investigating any interesting planets as they were discovered, the civilians could visit the system later and complete the survey. In this scenario, the existing geological survey ships would be sold to the civilian sector. Several officers in the Commonwealth Navy, particularly those serving on survey ships, were appalled at the idea of relinquishing the ability to conduct complete geological surveys of a system but the review board cited the potential savings in fuel, maintenance and administration.SB-N-1 Geosurvey Buoy
Buoy Size: 8 MSP (0.4 HS)
Reactor Endurance: 6 months
Geo Sensor Strength: 0.07 Maximum points: 302.4
Cost Per Buoy: 2.6
Materials Required: 1.2x Boronide 1.4x Uridium
Development Cost for Project: 260RP
In the past, Commonwealth scout ships and survey ships had been unable to defend themselves or even attack targets of opportunity. As the Magellan had two missile launchers, its designers were keen to provide it with a limited offensive capability. One option was simply to arm it with SS-N-4 Shadows or SS-N-5 Scimitars, which could still be fired from the larger launchers. An alternative was a new larger missile, perhaps with a large warhead to compensate for the lack of missiles in each salvo. Several missile designs along those lines were examined and ultimately discarded. Eventually, the designers decided on a radical new approach. The SS-N-7 Starfish had a creditable range of seventy-five million kilometres but was even slower than the Angel anti-ship missile used in the recent war. However, once it closed within two point four million kilometres of its target, the Starfish released four SS-N-6 Scorpion sub-munitions, each with a speed of 22,400 km/s and a strength-4 warhead. With two Mk 5 GMLS, the Magellan would be able to create salvos of eight missiles, giving the point defence of its foes a much more difficult task. The Commonwealth's warship designers were interested in the possibilities of the Starfish, although concerned about the tactical limitations of its slow first stage. Despite that it provided the Magellan with far more striking power than would be expected from a dedicated survey vessel.SS-N-7 Starfish
Missile Size: 8 MSP (0.4 HS) Warhead: 0 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 8000 km/s Endurance: 156 minutes Range: 75.0m km
Cost Per Missile: 6.9355
Second Stage: SS-N-6 Scorpion x4
Second Stage Separation Range: 2,400,000 km
Overall Endurance: 3 hours Overall Range: 77.8m km
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 80% 3k km/s 20% 5k km/s 16% 10k km/s 8%
Materials Required: 4x Tritanium 1.6855x Gallicite Fuel x5000
Development Cost for Project: 694RP
SS-N-6 Scorpion
Missile Size: 1.25 MSP (0.0625 HS) Warhead: 4 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 22400 km/s Endurance: 2 minutes Range: 2.9m km
Cost Per Missile: 1.4672
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 224% 3k km/s 70% 5k km/s 44.8% 10k km/s 22.4%
Materials Required: 1x Tritanium 0.2172x Gallicite Fuel x30
Development Cost for Project: 147RP
Design of the new assault transport for the Commonwealth Marine Corps was completed in May 2048. The Fearless class could carry six divisions, was well protected by both armour and point defence railguns and with a speed of 4800 km/s could operate with the battle fleet. In situations where taking out planetary defences would inflict too much collateral damage, the Fearless provided the capability to land troops in the face of hostile fire. With the new survivability doctrine of the Commonwealth Navy, its designers could envisage situations where Commonwealth fleets units would escort the Fearless into planetary orbit so its marines could capture defending planetary defences centres. Retooling began at the Utopia Planitia shipyard on Mars and construction of the first Fearless was expected to begin in August 2048.Fearless class Assault Transport 15000 tons 1116 Crew 1783.2 BP TCS 300 TH 1440 EM 0
4800 km/s Armour 5-54 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 7 PPV 24
Annual Failure Rate: 257% IFR: 3.6% Maintenance Capacity 515 MSP Max Repair 50 MSP
Troop Capacity 6 Divisions
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (18) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 350,000 Litres Range 70.0 billion km (168 days at full power)
10cm Advanced Rapid-Fire Railgun (8x5) Range 30,000km TS: 4800 km/s Power 3-3 RM 3 ROF 5
SGB-12 Railgun Tracking System (2) Max Range: 48,000 km TS: 6000 km/s 79 58 38 17 0
Stellarator Fusion Reactor (4) Total Power Output 24 Armour 0 Exp 5%
SGS-9 Missile Detection Array (1) GPS 21 Range 210k km Resolution 1
ECM 10
[attachment=0:1xakpztr]CoreSystemsJune2048.GIF[/attachment:1xakpztr]Redoutable class Missile Cruiser 12500 tons 1183 Crew 2047 BP TCS 250 TH 1120 EM 0
4480 km/s Armour 5-47 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/6/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 50
Annual Failure Rate: 156% IFR: 2.2% Maintenance Capacity 819 MSP Max Repair 126 MSP
Magazine 1094
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (14) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 61.7 billion km (159 days at full power)
Mk 3 Guided Missile Launch System (10) Missile Size 1 Rate of Fire 10
Angel Size 4 Missile Launcher (10) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 40
Missile Fire Control FC42-R95 (2) Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
SGM-2 Point Defence Fire Control (2) Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
SS-N-4 Shadow (170) Speed: 24,000 km/s Range: 97.5m km WH: 6 Size: 4 TH: 80 / 48 / 24
SR-N-2 Raptor Recon Drone (3) Speed: 3,000 km/s Range: 226.5m km WH: 0 Size: 4 TH: 10 / 6 / 3
SA-N-3 Gladius (440) Speed: 35,500 km/s Range: 1.5m km WH: 1 Size: 1 TH: 260 / 156 / 78
Active Search Sensor S126-R95 (1) GPS 11970 Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
SGS-1 Missile Detection Array (1) GPS 126 Range 1.3m km Resolution 1
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
With the major design projects resulting from the review all completed, attention turned to the workhorse classes of the Commonwealth, in particular the freighters and colony ships. New versions of both, featuring the magneto-plasma drive, were designed. The existing thirty-four Alaska III colony ships would be refitted by the Argos Shipyard at Sparta and the Hephaestus Shipyard at Xiamen-Kan. Because engines were the primary cost associated with building freighters, there would be no refits of the existing Atlas II and Atlas III classes as it would be cheaper to build new ships. Fifty Atlas IIs and fifteen Atlas IIIs were in service. As the former were capable of only 2000 km/s, they would be sold off to the civilian sector once sufficient quantities of the Atlas IV were available.Alaska IV class Colony Ship 4250 tons 211 Crew 788.2 BP TCS 85 TH 400 EM 0
4705 km/s Armour 1-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 144% IFR: 2% Maintenance Capacity 116 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP
Colonists 50000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (5) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 70.6 billion km (173 days at full power)
Atlas IV class Freighter 4250 tons 186 Crew 338.2 BP TCS 85 TH 400 EM 0
4705 km/s Armour 1-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 144% IFR: 2% Maintenance Capacity 50 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
NPO Energomash Magneto-plasma Drive (5) Power 80 Efficiency 0.60 Signature 80 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 70.6 billion km (173 days at full power)
By August 2048, the fuel problems suffered by the Commonwealth since its inception were finally being overcome. In small part this was due to the one hundred and twenty fuel refineries in operation on Hannover-B II and the one hundred and sixty-five operating on Xiamen-Kan. Most of the latter were scheduled to be moved to the Xiamen colony on Saratov III to free up manpower for the arrival of the major shipyard being towed very slowly to Xia from the Moravian home world. The real solution to the fuel crisis though was the fifty-one Jovian class fuel harvesters orbiting Warsaw VI. Each one was capable of extracting half a million litres of Sorium per annum from the atmosphere of the gas giant and with an experienced commander that could rise to more than six hundred thousand litres. Together they were producing thirty million litres of fuel per annum. The fuel harvesters represented a huge investment by the Commonwealth. Had the same wealth and materials been spent on warships, it would have paid for thirty-eight Peter the Great II battlecruisers or thirteen Athena class battlestars. Despite this investment and the importance of the Jovians they were totally undefended, a serious oversight that the Fleet Admirals finally corrected on August 18th with the assignment of the Arleigh Burke class destroyers McCampbell and Michael Murphy. Additional forces would be dispatched as new construction became available. Plans were also made for the establishment of a military outpost on the innermost moon of Warsaw VI, which would feature planetary sensors and Spaceguard class planetary defences centres.Covadonga class Missile Cruiser 12500 tons 1330 Crew 1894 BP TCS 250 TH 1120 EM 0
4480 km/s Armour 5-47 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/6/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 72
Annual Failure Rate: 156% IFR: 2.2% Maintenance Capacity 758 MSP Max Repair 126 MSP
Magazine 872
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (14) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 250,000 Litres Range 51.4 billion km (132 days at full power)
Size 4 Missile Launcher (18) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 40
Missile Fire Control FC42-R95 (2) Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
Active Search Sensor S126-R95 (1) GPS 11970 Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Colima class Jump Cruiser 12500 tons 1398 Crew 2130 BP TCS 250 TH 1120 EM 0
4480 km/s JR 4-50 Armour 1-47 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/6/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 56
Annual Failure Rate: 156% IFR: 2.2% Maintenance Capacity 852 MSP Max Repair 529 MSP
Magazine 706
J12600(4-50) Jump Drive Max Ship Size 12600 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 4
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (14) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 61.7 billion km (159 days at full power)
Size 4 Missile Launcher (14) Missile Size 4 Rate of Fire 40
Missile Fire Control FC42-R95 (2) Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
Active Search Sensor S126-R95 (1) GPS 11970 Range 119.7m km Resolution 95
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
EM Detection Sensor EM1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
The 10cm lasers on the renegade destroyer fired every five seconds and made short work of the jump cruiser, destroying it with two more devastating volleys, then she raced after the retreating Covadongas. Fortunately in the fifteen seconds it had taken the escort to wreck the Colima, the missile cruisers had moved outside the range of her lasers. With no speed advantage the destroyer could not catch her larger quarry as they headed for the safety of the Second Striking Force. It must have especially galling for the crews of the Angel cruisers to have to rely on a species that had just bombarded their home world for their own salvation.Tapajo class Geosurvey Ship 2150 tons 206 Crew 352.2 BP TCS 43 TH 240 EM 0
5581 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-14 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/1/0/1 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 36% IFR: 0.5% Maintenance Capacity 102 MSP Max Repair 100 MSP
J4500(3-50) Jump Drive Max Ship Size 4500 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (3) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 119.6 billion km (248 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Geological Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points
Zarco class Survey Ship 2950 tons 281 Crew 595.4 BP TCS 59 TH 320 EM 0
5423 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-18 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/1/3/0 Damage Control 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 180% IFR: 2.5% Maintenance Capacity 126 SP
J4500(3-50) Jump Drive Max Ship Size 4500 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (4) Power 80 Engine Efficiency 0.7 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Max Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 87.2 billion km (186 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Signature 1000: 6m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points
Angel Cargo class Freighter 4300 tons 191 Crew 344.2 BP TCS 86 TH 400 EM 0
4651 km/s Armour 1-23 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 147% IFR: 2.1% Maintenance Capacity 50 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (5) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 59.8 billion km (148 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
Angel Large Cargo class Freighter 8400 tons 362 Crew 652.8 BP TCS 168 TH 800 EM 0
4761 km/s Armour 1-36 Shields 0-0 Sensors 6/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Annual Failure Rate: 564% IFR: 7.8% Maintenance Capacity 49 MSP Max Repair 40 MSP
Cargo 50000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 10
Magneto-plasma Drive E7 (10) Power 80 Efficiency 0.70 Signature 80 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 200,000 Litres Range 61.2 billion km (148 days at full power)
Thermal Sensor TH1-6 (1) Sensitivity 6 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 6m km
The forty SS-N-2 Sunburns intercepted the rogue destroyer at 12:10pm. Point blank defensive fire by its laser turrets destroyed seven missiles and it evaded ten more. The other twenty-three hit in rapid succession and the last Angel warship exploded. Admiral Perti gave permission for the two Covadongas to pick up survivors from the destroyer and from the Colima class jump cruiser and ordered all five Covadongas, including the three in orbit of Archangel III, to rendezvous with the Second Striking Force so he could put prize crews aboard. The seven freighters were ordered to head back to the planet.