I have an MFC that is 15t. I can scale it down but I wanted to have the option to target fighters and keep a 1m range for it, it needs to be 15t, for now.
More room for it is in the fuel tank size. But the next engine size will reduce the range significantly.

That's just 1 ship that can disable 3 enemy ships. I can deploy more if required.

I was looking for a cheap and easy-to-implement way to protect my colonies and trade routes from raiders.
An idea that has worked quite well:

Kyriazis PD-12B "Wasp" class Pocket Carrier      15 000 tons       284 Crew       1 928.7 BP       TCS 300    TH 1 500    EM 0
5000 km/s      Armour 3-54       Shields 0-0       HTK 71      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 19      PPV 10.88
Maint Life 2.38 Years     MSP 1 223    AFR 200%    IFR 2.8%    1YR 296    5YR 4 434    Max Repair 250 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 3 000 tons     Magazine 360   
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 60    Morale Check Required   

Lessard Drives IP-2 EP-500 (3)    Power 1500    Fuel Use 40.0%    Signature 500    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 750 000 Litres    Range 22.5 billion km (52 days at full power)

Twin Lawrence Cannon Mk-II R200-67.00 Turret (1x6)    Range 20 000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 20 000 km    ROF 5       
Fiers-Bond Systems Targeting Computer R96-TS16000 (1)     Max Range: 96 000 km   TS: 16 000 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0

Lawrence Ordnance Torpedo SR-2 (4/0.9) "Scimitar" (180)    Speed: 36 600 km/s    End: 0.4m     Range: 0.9m km    WH: 4    Size: 2    TH: 122/73/36

Active Search Sensor AS5-R1 (1)     GPS 20     Range 5.6m km    MCR 507.8k km    Resolution 1
Fiers-Bond Systems Raider Detector AS38-R17 (1)     GPS 2040     Range 38.9m km    Resolution 17
Thermal Sensor TH1.0-5.0 (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

Strike Group
15x Kyriazis I-4 "Bates" Interceptor   Speed: 6265 km/s    Size: 3.99

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
This design is classed as a Carrier for auto-assignment purposes
Kyriazis I-4 "Bates" class Interceptor      200 tons       1 Crew       29.4 BP       TCS 4    TH 25    EM 0
6265 km/s      Armour 1-3       Shields 0-0       HTK 1      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 1.8
Maint Life 30.95 Years     MSP 34    AFR 3%    IFR 0.0%    1YR 0    5YR 1    Max Repair 12.5 MSP
Magazine 12   
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 2 days    Morale Check Required   

Ion Drive  EP25.00 (1)    Power 25    Fuel Use 1431.08%    Signature 25    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 16 000 Litres    Range 1.01 billion km (44 hours at full power)

Lawrence Ordnance Size 2.0 Torpedo Pod (6)     Missile Size: 2    Hangar Reload 70 minutes    MF Reload 11 hours
Lawrence MFC FC14-R20 (1)     Range 14.2m km    Resolution 20
Lawrence Ordnance Torpedo SR-2 (4/0.9) "Scimitar" (6)    Speed: 36 600 km/s    End: 0.4m     Range: 0.9m km    WH: 4    Size: 2    TH: 122/73/36

Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Fighter for auto-assignment purposes
One squadron of five interceptors can effectively neutralise a single raider.
The first use allowed a capture of an enemy ship.

The speed difference between this carrier and the enemy is ~600 km/s. Allows to maintain distance or close a gap for an attack.
Of course, Carrier provides an active lock for interceptors
And SR-2 (4/0.9) "Scimitar" Torpedo with a size of 2 (I can transport and produce a lot of them) with WH:4 have a nice punch...
Also, despite its short range, it allows attacking targets outside the range of the enemy's beam weapon.

I'm thinking of replacing the Gauss turret, with a single long-range laser (spinal mount). For finishing off cripled enemies.

What do you think?