Now, let's take a diametrically opposing course, and choose instead the way of the tiger. If we're prepared to spend enough resources, we can design a heavy raider that alleviates some of our more pressing concerns about the above layouts, starting with speed. We proceed by choosing a profile of raw killing power per mission, insist on a blueprint capable of fighting anything weaker than a cruiser, and therefore scale up the first design:
Direwolf class Raider 17,646 tons 543 Crew 6,694 BP (~7150 w/missiles) TCS 353 TH 4,800 EM 14,400
13600 km/s Armour 7-60 Shields 480-600 HTK 136 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 45 PPV 68
Maint Life 2.59 Years MSP 4,556 AFR 166% IFR 2.3% 1YR 953 5YR 14,292 Max Repair 1200.00 MSP
Magazine 120
Commander Control Rating 2 BRG AUX
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP2400.00 (2) Power 4800.0 Fuel Use 21.40% Signature 2400.00 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 1,747,000 Litres Range 83.3 billion km (70 days at full power)
Tyrian Shield 480 (1) Recharge Time 600 seconds (0.8 per second)
Spitfire 24 (6) Range 200,000km TS: 13,600 km/s Power 24-8 RM 50,000 km ROF 15 24 24 24 24 24 20 17 15 13 12
Spitfire BFC 10-200 (1) Max Range: 200,000 km TS: 10,000 km/s 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50
Power SCA 50 (1) Total Power Output 50.4 Exp 5%
Rapidfire Launcher 1 (8 ) Missile Size: 1 Rate of Fire 5
AMM Fire Control (50@31m, missile@2.8m) (1) Range 31.3m km Resolution 1
Harbinger AMM (120) Speed: 92,200 km/s End: 0.7m Range: 3.8m km WH: 1 Size: 1.0000 TH: 2182/1309/654
Eagle's Glittering Eye 10000 (511m) (1) GPS 120000 Range 511.1m km Resolution 200
Eagle's Keen Eye 400 (123m) (1) GPS 2400 Range 123.6m km Resolution 8
Eagle's Eye 50 (27.6m/2.48m) (1) GPS 60 Range 27.6m km MCR 2.5m km Resolution 1
ECCM-6 (1)
The Direwolf can, like the Fangwolf, be used in targeted strikes against carefully chosen targets. However, if the enemy is unprepared, this more powerful vessel is capable of a far more devastating tactic: The chevauchée along enemy shipping routes or within a system, destroying or dodging anything it meets, in a brutal sword-stroke at the enemy's lines of communication.
The Direwolf kills at short or medium beam weapon range, and has a moderate ability to attrite, shield, armour, or withstand incoming beam or missile fire. As in the Fangwolf, defences are multi-layered, include excellent internal repair, and take up a substantial fraction of the total vessel cost and size. The most important advantage here of the larger hull is the ability to mount a strength-480 shield, an important aid to survivability.
The sensor suite is optimized primarily for the detection of civilian ships and of warships likely to be capable of killing the Direwolf at great range, allowing for pursuit or retreat at need. A secondary sensor detects fighters at medium range, essential to safeguarding what would otherwise be a raider rather vulnerable to smallcraft. A tertiary sensor picks up missiles at sufficient range to be countered ... if AMMs remain to fire.
As with all these designs, trade-offs are made, and the Direwolf remains vulnerable to many enemy cruisers in the whole trifecta of battle - speed, killing power, and protection. It must rely on excellent vision and bold, yet prudent, captains to make up the difference.
For nations prepared to throw down the price of a battleship on a single raider (oh, how Mahan would glare!) a final design becomes possible. In exchange for losing the ability to wreck havoc at many places, it is feasible to approach the happy condition of being able to outfight anything you can't outrun, and to outrun anything you can't outfight.
Dreadwolf class Raider 36,000 tons 1,315 Crew 19,060.2 BP TCS 720 TH 13,824 EM 20,130
19200 km/s Armour 6-97 Shields 671-671 HTK 263 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 72 PPV 152
Maint Life 2.47 Years MSP 16,390 AFR 247% IFR 3.4% 1YR 3,713 5YR 55,697 Max Repair 3456.00 MSP
Magazine 732 Tractor Beam
Captain Control Rating 3 BRG AUX CIC
Intended Deployment Time: 10 months Morale Check Required
Inertial Fusion Drive EP6912.00 (2) Power 13824.0 Fuel Use 37.65% Signature 6912.00 Explosion 18%
Fuel Capacity 1,589,000 Litres Range 21.1 billion km (12 days at full power)
Tyrian Shield 671 (1) Recharge Time 671 seconds (1 per second)
Coruscation 32 (4) Range 640,000km TS: 19,200 km/s Power 100-10 ROF 50 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32
CIWS-400 (4x10) Range 1000 km TS: 40,000 km/s ROF 5 Base 50% to hit
Coruscation FC 20k (1) Max Range: 800,000 km TS: 19,200 km/s 99 98 96 95 94 92 91 90 89 88
Power SCA 40 (1) Total Power Output 40.3 Exp 5%
Rapidfire Launcher 4 (14) Missile Size: 4.0 Rate of Fire 10
AMM Fire Control (50@31m, missile@2.8m) (2) Range 31.3m km Resolution 1
Harmstrong ASM 4 (126) Speed: 81,600 km/s End: 1.3m Range: 6.3m km WH: 19 Size: 4.00 TH: 816/489/244
Harbinger AMM (228) Speed: 92,200 km/s End: 0.7m Range: 3.8m km WH: 1 Size: 1.0000 TH: 2182/1309/654
Eagle's Bright Eye 50 (39m/3.5m) (1) GPS 120 Range 39.1m km MCR 3.5m km Resolution 1
Eagle's Glittering Eye 250 (149.5m) (1) GPS 3000 Range 149.5m km Resolution 5
Eagle's Glittering Eye 10000 (511m) (1) GPS 120000 Range 511.1m km Resolution 200
ECCM-6 (1)
The Dreadwolf has a high purchase price (~21,750 with missiles), driven both by its souped up engines and by its primary armament. This major beam (+missile) combatant is intended to face down, or at least successfully flee from, most engagements, and therefore must:
a) weather heavy long and medium-range missile fire using a combination of AMMs, CIWS, and shields, before
b) killing fast incoming attack craft at short missile range, or at long beam range, before
c) killing soft or beam combatants at long or very long beam range, depending on target.
In all of these tasks, speed is extremely valuable, allowing the Dreadwolf to reduce smallcraft and missile closing speed, evade most major enemy warships, and run down many possible targets.
The four particle lances are poor at sustained damage per-second, so the Direwolf is very much not a brawler - unless it can kite - and will find heavily shielded ships to be a real nuisance. Preferred fights are, instead, against anything that is either unarmoured or only has armour, even if quite thick. If the penetration doesn't kill, the shock damage (91% chance of 0-32 internal damage, per hit, per weapon) just might. The small ship-killing missiles both give the Dreadwolf another way to choose its range, and greatly improve both damage per second and shield-dropping punch in a fight that might otherwise be lost.
Hostiles which the Dreadwolf itself dreads include: heavy missile salvos, flocks of FACs (even ones with quite small weapons, given the thinness of the armour), gate-guarding fortresses with high alpha strike, and flotillas of fast cruisers.
Fuel endurance is a major weakness for the Dreadwolf, so much so that it must suck on a nearby fuel depot. For a raider operating in hostile space, this is a bit of a problem. Therefore, each Dreadwolf is capable of towing a refueling station into each system it operates in. An 8000-ton design can be hidden in the depths of a solar system and contain enough go-go juice for five complete refuelings.
The sensor suite is optimized against small fighters (the ones with box launchers) and large ships, the first because they are dangerous, the second because they might be juicy ... or merely even more dangerous! You will notice a weakness against escort-sized missile-lobbers. In turn, this vessel is the most visible of all raiders. Yet, for any but the best prepared of enemies, seeing the Dreadwolf coming might do no good whatsoever.