Sky Raider's Designs
Class: Chimera
Type: Carrier
Drives: 6 anti-matter reactors
Weapons: 2 twin heavy slicer cannons
2 twin medium slicer cannons
6 light lpa's
10 MKIV interceptors
12 AA guns
72 Thunderbolt drone fighters
2 missile launchers
Armor: 8 metered plasteel/polycrystalline armored hull
Length: 1,580 meters
Crew: 380+ 100 flight crew
Troop: 200
History:
Class Notes: The Chimera class is the Earth Force carrier entry
into the new type program. First constructed in 2332, the Chimera
is the accumulated knowledge of past carrier designs and New Type
technology rolled into one.
Past carrier designs had the flaw of lacking sufficient armament
to defend itself directly from an opposing capital ship, relying
almost solely on its fighters. To counter this, two twin slicer
cannons are used as the primary armament, which are capable of
inflicting significant damage on any ship used by the known races.
Two more medium slicer cannons provide further protection, along
with the older, but still useful lpa cannons.
The carrier houses seventy two fighters, double most Earth Force
cruisers. This allows easy delegation between search, recon and
attack missions while in battle. Rotation is also down, creating
less wear on the fighters themselves. This also allows for a very
efficient swarm attack on an enemy. The shear number of fighters
the Chimera can throw at an enemy overloads their defense web.
The fighters can not be ignored, especially when armed with anti-ship
missiles. The enemy is left with the choice of concentrating on
either the fighters or the carrier. Either decision is usually
fatal (though Ranger and Minbari advanced technology is able to
counter this attack).
The Chimera is very fast for a ship of its size, so is capable of
retreating quickly if need be. This is especially important if
the jump engines have been destroyed. Maneuverability is greatly
enhanced with two of the engines located on the sides of the ship.
Class: Crow
Type: Battleship
Drives: 8 anti-matter reactors
Weapons: 6 twin heavy slicer cannons
2 Twin fusion cannons
2 twin anti matter cannons
4 twin light slicer cannons
10 light lpa's
12 MKIV interceptors
16 AA guns
24 Thunderbolt drone fighters
4 missile launchers
Armor: 12 metered plasteel/polycrystalline armored hull
Length: 1,465 meters
Crew: 360
Troop: 200
Class Notes: The Crow class battleship is the replacement for the
Rapier battleships. Though the Rapiers have served Earth Force
with great distinction, refits of the class would be very costly,
so it has been opted by officials to create a New Type
equivalence. Ironically, the Crow class was developed by the same
designers of the Rapier.
First launched in 2345, the Crow currently (2350) has only
recently begun full production and has reached limited deployment.
The vessels deployed have replaced Rapiers in command groups
where heavier ships, such as the Onix and Griffon New Type are
not present.
Six twin slicer are the primary armament, and are complimented by
two twin anti-matter and fusion cannons. These weapons are highly
capable, with quick recharge times and long range and piercing
power. Eight anti-matter reactors provide power to the cannons.
Four twin light slicer cannons and ten light lpa's provide for
protection against smaller ships, such as corvettes, or fast
maneuverable ships. 12 interceptors and 16 highly efficient AA
guns create a defensive web that is extremely hard to penetrate
for most younger race ships.
The Crow is capable of outrunning most smaller ships who have
speed in mind, making getting away extremely difficult. Do to
their size their maneuverability is not nearly as great, though
still considerable.
One aspect of the Crow that is interesting is that it carries
only 24 fighters, opposed to 36 of past Earth Force vessels. The
designers felt the Thunderbolt drones are capable of doing their
missions so efficiently (AI has been increased to the point where
only sentience is above it) that 3 squadrons aren't needed. The
amount of firepower and power output for the main weapons provide
all the offensive firepower that is needed.
The Crow is expected to be the mainstay of the earth Force Navy
for an estimated sixty years (upgrades and service life
extensions have been factored into this number). The ship doesn't
have any significant weaknesses, and has been the talk among the
alliance members since it's christening.
Class: Griffon
Type: War cruiser
Drives: 10 anti-matter reactors
Weapons: 4 twin heavy anti matter cannons
4 heavy slicer cannons
2 twin fusion cannons
8 light lpa's
16 MKIV interceptors
20 AA guns
36 Thunderbolt drone fighters
4 missile launchers
Armor: 15 metered plasteel/polycrystalline armored hull
Length: 1,965 meters
Crew: 530
Troop: 500
Class Notes: The Griffon is the first of the Earth Force New Type
cruisers. In 2310, when it was becoming apparent that Earth
Technology was increasing at a rate which current ships would not
be able to keep up with advancements, officials decided that it
was time for a "new bread of Earth ships, one that shall
ensure the safety of our territories and to signal to our enemies
that to attack Earth would be flirting with death itself" as
one official put it. All military designs for warships were
cancelled, and funding shifted to new weapons and technology that
Earth had accumulated over the past forty years from the
Interstellar Alliance and technology recovered from destroyed
First One vessels.
Anti-Matter reactors (along with their weapon counter parts),
developed at the end of the 23rd century for the Onix, saw and
incredible leap in efficiency. The slicer beam, developed loosely
on Shadow technology, became the most important weapon under
development. The range, power and recharge time of these new
weapons were beyond what designers had hoped for. However, they
require significant maintenance and if damaged, are difficult to
replace.
The plasteel/ polycrystalline armor used on the Excalibur
destroyers were considered the only armor option, and anti matter
reactors, far more powerful than the fusion reactors the majority
of Earth ships used, shared the sentiment. New, more powerful
sensors were developed, along with the first stealth device (though
it is no where near as efficient as Minbari models). It is
believed all further New type vessels will carry the stealth
device.
Griffons carry a massive armament centered on the more efficient
anti-matter cannons. Though lacking extended range, their power
more than makes up for the loss. The new Mark IV Interceptors,
capable of intercepting both pulse and beam weapons, along with
exceptional real space speed also help the ship to close on the
enemy without suffering major damage. The newly developed slicer
cannons make up the secondary armament, and finally new highly
accurate AA's and light lpa's provide protection from smaller
ships.
As automation increases, less space is needed for crew quarters,
recreation and supply. This allows for a decrease in the overall
size of New Type ships. Greater speed, less resources and quicker
production are all benefits of this advancement, making them even
more ideal.
The first production type Griffons (2324) have taken command of
battle groups currently on patrols within Earth space, mainly to
give the crew shakedown time. Though not on par with Minbari or
Ranger technology, the New Type cruiser is easily the most
powerful Earth Force ship in existence.
Class: Alpha
Type: Cruiser
Drives: 4 gravitec enhanced fusion reactors
Weapons: 8 heavy lpa's
4 medium lpa's
4 standard particle cannons
8 mkII interceptors
2 fusion missile launchers
Multiple AA guns
12 Thunderbolts
Armor: 6-8 metered armored hull
Length: 1,159 meters
Crew: 180
Troop: 80
History: with the Hyperion reaching the end of its service life,
EF wanted a newer cruiser with relative size and firepower. The
sole purpose of the ship was to escort larger vessels such as the
Omega and Warlock classes. In 2272, the Alpha class cruiser began
production.
Class Notes: Based heavily on the proven Omega design, the Alpha
is slightly smaller than the Hyperion, but has greater speed and
artificial gravity. The shape of the ship allows for quick and
easy construction, a valuable asset for any ship. It was given
lpa's because the weapons allow for a greater variety of attack
and defensive capabilities. The hull is of standard armor as
plasteel is more expensive and takes longer to make. The Alpha is
not designed to engage the heavy ships of an opposing fleet.
Instead, their role is to attack medium sized ships (such as the
Vorchan) and corvettes. This allows the heavier ships to
concentrate on the bigger ships posing the greater threat.
Class: Nova mkII
Type: Dreadnaught
Drives: 4 gravitec enhanced fusion reactors
Weapons: 4 Heavy particle cannons
12 Super heavy twin lpa's
Multiple AA gun emplacements
16 AA missile boxes
8 mkII interceptors
36 thunderbolts
2 fusion missile launchers
Armor: 8-10 metered armor hull
Length: 1,624 meters
Crew: 300
Troop: 8,000
History: the original Nova designed was plagued with power
inefficiencies and poor crew accommodations. However, the Nova
was still seen as a design with potential. Upgrades, however,
would be too costly and time consuming for the existing ships.
There was still the need to bring large amounts of firepower to a
battle. Omega's only brought moderate amounts while Warlocks were
far and few and with the Rapier class still a few years away from
deployment, EF decided to make a newer version of the Nova.
Retrofitting Omega shipyards to accommodate the new Nova would
not be difficult, as many of the yards produced the original Nova
and the two share similar designs. The hull was to be extended,
to accommodate for the new gravitic reactors, and to enlarge crew
accommodations, but many internal systems were to remain the same.
Only 10 of the new Novas were produced when the Rapier began
deployment, upon which construction ceased (only one factory
produced the Nova mkII; 2 at a time being made).
Class Notes: Costs were the major concern in the program. EA did
not want to spend large amounts on what they referred as a "filler"
ship. Due to this, much of the internal structure remained the
same, as did the weapons systems and sensors. Standard armor was
kept in favor of plasteel. The new payload was chosen partly
because of ease of production and availability coupled with easy
maintenance. The lpa's would provide for versatility while the
particle cannons (not the ones found on the Warlock) would
provide for good direct assault on enemy ships. Troop compliment
remained the same. Performance in the Drakh war was admirable,
but there were not enough of the class made to make a significant
difference with the exception of a few battles. The Nova mkII
proved to be able to fill the role it was designed for. Only 4 of
the ships survived the war, all of which have been relegated to
patrolling EA's borders.
Class: Onix
Type: Advanced Warcruiser
Drives: 6 gravitic enhanced anti-matter reactors
Weapons: 2 heavy anti-matter cannons
8 twin heavy lpa units
14 light lpa units
4 twin particle cannons
2 twin molecular slicer cannons
4 fusion missile launchers
Multiple AA gun emplacements
24 mkIII interceptors
28 AA missile boxes (12 missiles each)
48 Thunderbolts
Armor: 12-16 metered plasteel armored hull
Length: 2,146 meters
Crew: 900
Troop: 6,000
History: For years, EF had been experimenting with anti-matter
reactors, but they were large and bulky and had trouble creating
a sufficiently safe storage unit for the fuel among with an
assortment of technical problems. Through ISA tech, EF was able
to finally produce efficient enough reactors to install into a
ship. The Warlock design was seen as a good place to start, as it
was the largest EF fighting ship. The designers decided on a more
streamline approach for ease of construction while incorporating
the same basics of the design. Plasteel was considered a definite,
as were the new anti-matter cannons developed at the same time as
the reactors. Troop compliment was considered secondary as the
Warlock and Omega could provide for the majority of planetary
assault needs. Funding was hard to come across as many EA
officials felt that with the recently ended Drakh War and the
search for a cure resources should be concentrated on existing
designs. Many officials pushed for more Warlock construction
ahead of funding for the Onix. In the end, Onix advocates won out
and funding was secured, though the budget held no room for cost
overruns. To help with funding, many of the Warlock's systems
were used, included the sensor suites, engine layout and even the
turrets.
Class Notes: As of the current date (2290), only the prototype
has rolled off the new assembly line, and is currently undergoing
testing and completion. The anti-matter cannons so far are
proving to be rather inefficient as they have a shorter range and
longer recharge time than anticipated. The idea was presented to
replace the anti-matter cannons with 2-4 G.O.D. particle cannons,
and replacing the existing heavy particle cannons with plasma
cannons. Fusion cannons under development are also another
possibility.
Much like the Rapier, the holographic and mental input system
will be used among the bridge crew. This has not been installed
on the prototype, but will be for the ships in the first
production run.
The anti-matter reactors are performing beyond expectations in
both efficiency and maintenance. Power output is greater than
that of even Babylon 5. Targeting has proven substantial, and
there are talks of replacing the current Warlock sensor suites
with new suites by the time full production is to begin. Testing
is expected to go on for at least another year followed by low
rate production of six ships to be deployed along the outskirts
of EA territory or defense of deep range bases for further
evaluation of performance. Full rate production, if decided on,
is expected by 2298 at 4 ships per at year at two facilities.
Class: Rapier
Type: Battleship
Drives: 4 gravitec enhanced fusion reactors
Weapons: 2 heavy G.O.D particle cannons
4 twin heavy lpa's
2 twin heavy plasma cannons
14 light lpa's
18 mkIII interceptors
Multiple AA gun emplacements
24 AA missile boxes (12 missiles each)
36 Thunderbolts
4 fusion missile launchers
Armor: 9-12 meter plasteel hull
Length: 1,866 meters
Crew: 620
Troop: 120 (self defense only)
History: The Rapier made its debut in 2270 soon after the battle
with the Drakh. In plans since 2261 when it was realized a fleet
of Warlocks would be very timely and expensive to construct, EF
commanders decided that a ship was needed that could be built
close to the rate of an Omega, though have better weaponry and
incorporate the new tech from the ISA. A competition for a major
contract was announced by EA for a new cruiser as such, and in
2266, the first Rapier rolled off the assembly line. After the
attack on Earth by the Drakh, remaining testing was rushed and
less than a year later, the OK was given for mass production.
Class Notes: The Rapier is a highly automated ship, allowing for
a smaller crew. The weapons mix allows for the versatility of the
Omega, while still bringing large amounts of firepower to the
battle. The missile boxes house anti-aircraft missiles (larger
and more advanced versions of those found on t-bolts to cut down
on production cost), which can track up to 12 targets using the
ship sensors, which use tech from the VCD sensors.
Also, a new addition is the use of holographs and mental input
features on the bridge. The holographs appear in an arc in front
of the bridge, much like on a Whitestar, but about 3 times the
size. The mental input feature is a special band the crew on the
bridge wears around their head. This reads the brainwaves of the
personnel and sends their thoughts directly to the intended
bridge member (this does not go beyond the bridge). The reaction
time of the bridge crew in sharing information and relaying
orders to one another is significantly decreased to the speed of
thought.
The guns were turreted and arranged like those on 20th century
earth battleships. This provided for larger firing arcs like
those on the Warlock. The lpa's were chosen for their
effectiveness shown on the Omega, the plasma and particle cannons
chosen for their strength. 14 light lpa's are arranged so that
any medium sized ship or bomber will have a difficult time
getting close to the ship (this concern arose with the Whitestars
evading an Omega's side guns so easily). These are normally not
used against large capital ships.
The Rapier is intended only for ship-to-ship combat, not
planetary assaults, or multitude of missions like an Omega. So
far, to date (2290) 22 have been produced (production was slowed
considerably from planned due to the Drakh plague), with 9
destroyed in battles against the Drakh. They are reported to have
performed extremely well in all battles with performing
devastating broadsides.
Class: Alexei
Type: Cutter
Drives: 4 fusion reactors
Weapons: 2 twin medium lpa's
4 medium pulse cannons
6 extra light pulse cannons
2 rail guns
2 mkII interceptors
12 AA guns
6 Thunderbolts
Armor: 2 metered armored hull
Length: 365 meters
Crew: 60
Troop: 60
History: Designed mainly for patrolling supply lanes, the Alexei
was commissioned in 2264 as an easy to build and maintain ship
that could defend cargo ships and convoys from the heaviest of
raider attacks. The Alexei is currently replacing many Olympus
corvettes in this duty.
Class Notes: The Alexei is an extremely fast ship, being able to
outrun many capital ships currently used by the ISA. However,
they are not used for combat against capital ships, but ships
more like the Raider battlewagon, which have light armor and poor
maneuverability.
Though it has multiple guns, the Alexei rarely uses more than a
few at a time. The turreted pulse cannons provide for the
majority of the protection against large ships, while the lpa's
and rail guns provide for ranged attack. Light pulse cannons are
used mainly for fighter defense as well as the AA cannons. The
Alexei carries 6 Thunderbolt fighters, a must for anti-raider
operations.
The Alexei does not have jump engines, so it must use the same
gates that other ships do. The ship is extremely fast in real
space being able to go faster than the Thunderbolts it carries.
There is a discussion of whether or not to produce the class with
jump engines, but this would require a substantial refit,
possibly the removal of the fighter bay.
No artificial gravity is present on the Alexei, except for the
gravity rings that take their design from those on Hyperion and
Nova class starships. To date, the Alexei has seen little combat
and has not been present in any major battles.
Hellfire Class Missile Cruiser
Class: Hellfire
Type: Missile Cruiser
Drives: 4 gravitec enhanced fusion reactors
Weapons: 6 twin light x-ray laser cannons
24 medium missile silos
36 small missile silos
multiple AA guns
Armor: 2 metered armored hull
Length: 324 meters
Crew: 68
Troop: 20
History: with the Battle against the Drakh, Earth was able to see
the weaknesses of its ships against a foe with a comparable level
of technology. Analyzing the Warlock's battle performance,
Earthforce decided that a missile cruiser in the fleet could make
significant contributions. In 2269 the first Hellfire class
missile cruiser rolled off a new assembly line around the orbit
of Jupiter.
Class Notes: The Hellfire class is one of the fastest ships in
the fleet and by far the most maneuverable in its class of size.
The Hellfire carries the missiles in four launchers on the rear
fuselage, and one small launcher below the nose.
The sensor suite was specially developed for the ship and
specializes in tracking targets and their possible trajectories
and less on analyzing energy patterns and composition. It is
currently the smallest Earth ship to have the new gravitec
reactors.
The only secondary weapons on the Hellfire are the 8 twin x-ray
laser turrets. Though not very powerful, they can provide for
enough of a defense to make many smaller capital ships be
cautious about attacking it. The fighter defense on the ship is
relatively poor compared to most Earth ships, as the designers
hoped the maneuverability would help to counter a fighter threat.
In order to make the ship fast and maneuverable, armor had to be
sacrificed. The goal was to have maneuverability comparable to
the Centauri Vorchan, though designers knew this would not be
possible because the level of technological difference was too
great. Though maneuverability is greater than any other Earth
ship of its size, it is still not as much as the Vorchan.
Henrik
Class Corvette
Class: Henrik
Type: Corvette
Drives: 4 fusion reactors
Weapons: 2 medium laser cannons
6 light pulse cannons
4 mkII interceptors
10 AA guns
Armor: 3-4 metered armored hull
Length: 512 meters
Crew: 104
Troop: 20
History: Soon after the Dilgar War, Earthforce officials wanted a
new corvette to replace the aging Olympus designs instead of
using a service life extension plan.
They were impressed with the Hyperion's performance in the war,
so wanted a model based upon the Hyperion.
Class Notes: The Henrik is only slightly bigger than an Olympus,
but has much greater firepower and better speed. Two prototypes
were constructed for a two-year test run.
During testing, the Minbari War broke out and effectively cut all
funding for the design. Earthforce geared all resources to
building ships instead of testing new designs. With its funding
cut and power consumption deficiencies, the Henrik never saw
active service with any ships being built beyond the prototypes.
The two that were built took place in the battle of the line,
both of which were destroyed. With testing cut short, and the two
prototypes destroyed, it will never be known how effective a
fighter the Henrik would have been.
Class: Phalanx
Type: Battleship
Drives: 4 gravitec enhanced fusion reactors
Weapons: 2 twin plasma cannons
4 medium lpa's
4 light pulse cannons
6 mkIII interceptors
Multiple AA gun emplacements
2 fusion missile launchers
Armor: 6 meter plasteel hull
Length: 1,452 meters
Crew: 380
Troop: 80 (self defense only)
Class Notes: The Phalanx is considered by Earth Force strategist
to be a pocket battleship. Though nearly the size of the Nova
Dreadnaught, the Phalanx is much faster and has artificial
gravity. It carries less armor than the Omega destroyer, but does
use the new plasteel type.
The Phalanx' main operation is to attack heavy cruisers and
battleships. Usually not forming the core of a battle group, the
main strategy for the Phalanx is to engage a heavy cruiser while
it is combating another capital ship. The enemy will be
concentrating on the heavier ship while the Phalanx quickly
sneaks in and lets loose a barrage with its plasma cannons. 6
mark 3 interceptor arrays aid in this action.
The Phalanx arsenal is not too varied, but is very capable. The
most significant weapon in its arsenal are the twin plasma arrays
on the sides of the fuselage. These are the same weapons found on
Babylon 5 and are capable of inflicting a massive amount of
damage. However, they consume a large portion of the ships power,
so the ship does not fire the other weapons simultaneously.
The most curious aspect of the ship is the lack of any fighter
capacity. Hanger bays where never intended for the ship from the
get go. It was seen that if a ship of this size was to carry such
heavy and power consuming weapons, than larger reactors would be
needed to fulfill the power requirement. The only way reactors
could be expanded without increasing the ships length was to have
no fighter bay. Though many believe lack of fighter capability
can be crippling, the Phalanx is not intended to travel alone,
but with heavier ships such as the Omega and Warlock, which have
large fighter complements. One interesting aspect are the
shuttles built into the bottom of the hull. These open through a
small bay that allow for transport of the command staff or
personal to repair parts of the ship.
Class: Thunderbolt
Type: Drone Fighter
Drives: 1 micro-fusion reactor, 2 fusion batteries
Weapons: 2 unidirectional linked 4 barrel pulse cannons
12 missile hard points (2 per wing 4 fuselage)
Armor: 5.6 centimeter armored hull
Length: 16.2 meters
Crew: 0
History: since the late 20th century the idea of unmanned
aircraft had been tinkered with, and by the beginning of the 21st
century they had become a regular part of may nations air forces.
When the first unmanned fighter made it's debut in the U.S.
Airforce in 2087, many though the age of manned craft was over.
However, in actual battle, the AI developed for the jets were too
predictable and not capable of making good decisions, leading to
many mission failures. It was not until the 2210's that the idea
was thought as feasible once more.
When experimenting in the 2210's began once again with unmanned
fighters, the fighters continued to lose in every scenario
compared to manned fighters with the exception of dogfights.
However, Earth Force still saw much promise in the design. As the
century continued, AI had improved to a point where it was
installed on exploration ships and large stations, though as a
back up system.
The Earth Minbari War showed that the Nial could outperform the
Starfuries in every aspect. In 2256, the first unmanned Starfury
was built and underwent testing. The newly developed AI performed
extremely well and was defeated manned fighters in every scenario.
With the contract for the Thunderbolt awarded, designers decided
instead to wait for the Thunderbolt to reach deployment and
develop and upgrade instead of producing unmanned Starfuries.
In 2270 after the Thunderbolt had reached full deployment and was
replacing most Starfury wings, the final Thunderbolt drone design,
with an improved AI over the original Starfury model was given
the go-ahead for production.
Class Notes: The Thunderbolt drone boasts little improvement on
speed and power than the original Thunderbolt. However, with no
pilot, maneuvers can be performed that would kill a normal human
being. With no life support system needed, more energy and space
is devoted to a second pulse cannon array and upgraded sensors.
The Weapons Avoidance System (WAS) was added so that a drone
could detect incoming energy fire and missiles and maneuver to
avoid the shot. Though this system is not highly successful, it
has managed to save a fair amount of fighters, proving much more
successful in dogfights and ranged combat.
So far, the AI has performed extremely well in combat and has not
proven predictable at all. If the ship from which the fighters
were launched is destroyed, any other friendly ship with the
proper IFF codes and command codes can take control. If all
command ships are destroyed, the fighters will fight until
destroyed.
In order to solve the problem of excess fighters (i.e. one
command ship is destroyed and another ship can not take on all of
the fighters), the drone has a magnetic lock system so it can
"hitch a ride" as the designers liked to call it on any
ship back to base.
Class: Tyr'Yn
Type: Command Carrier
Drives: 4 fusion reactors
Weapons: 4 ultra heavy particle lasers
6 energy mine launchers
20 plasma pulse cannons
6 heavy particle lasers
4 fusion missile launchers
72 Frazi heavy fighters
Armor: 18 metered armored hull
Length: 2,108 meters
Crew: 800
Troop: 1,000
History: The Tyr'Yn is the Narns first attempt at a true carrier.
Looking at the humans successes in military strategy, the Narn
applied their know how into building a command carrier to control
a fleet of ships. The actual design of the ship is based on the
Var'Nic destroyer, only built vertical instead of flat, very odd
for a Narn design.
Class Notes: The Tyr'Yn is even larger than the Bin'Tak
dreadnaught, which has been serving as the command ship for may
Narn fleets. Though heavily armed, the reactors are not powerful
enough to fire all weapons at once. However, such a heavy
armament usually is enough to deter many capital ships from a
direct assault.
The Tyr'Yn carries 72 Frazi fighters, usually keeping at least 6
nearby for defense of the ship. The pulse cannons and energy
mines provide for the rest of the small ship and fighter defense.
4 ultra heavy particle lasers will cause severe damage to any
ship, and the particle lasers provide cover for all angles of the
ship.
The Tyr'Yn is a very slow, and commanders do not like to take it
into the midst of a battle due to its limited numbers. Instead,
they prefer to stay on the outskirts of a system and send in the
fighter for support, and view the battle from afar to have a
better sense of how it is progressing. When they engaged in
direct combat, the Tyr'Yn is an extremely powerful foe that even
a Warlock cannot take lightly.
So far, only 4 Tyr'Yn have been produced. The ships are
complicated to build, and with the losses in the last Centauri
war, the Narn have devoted much of their resources to building G'Quan
cruisers, a much more flexible ship.
Omega
MkII Class Destroyer
Class: Omega
Type: Destroyer
Drives: 4 Fusion Reactors
Weapons:
2 Twin Heavy LPA Cannons
4 Medium LPA Cannons
12 Light LPA Cannons
6 Mk. II Interceptors
2 Missile Launchers
36 Thunderbolt Fighters
Armor: 8-10 Metered Armored Hull
Length: 1,646 Meters
Crew: 220
Troop: 12,000
History:
Even before the Earth Civil War a newer version of the Omega
destroyer was in the works. While some new technology had been
developed, the advanced and very expensive technologies were left
for the Warlock Project. But commanders wanted to be able to get
more out of the Omega class which had yet to receive an upgrade
in its near decade of service.
Class Notes:
When designers looked at the Omega they were given three main
premises: 1) to add more firepower 2) make the design more
streamlined to aid in repair and construction and 3) upgrade the
navigation, sensor and targeting systems.
To accomplish the first premise the original laser/pulse array
units on the forward section were removed in favor of stronger
twin units. The additional power needed to constantly fire these
units was aided with newer fusion reactors whose total output is
greater than the originals. Fighter and troop compliments were
both left untouched as they were deemed sufficient.
The call for more streamlining was due to the nightmare of
repairing the outer hull when damaged. The blocky and crevassed
hull proved timely and thus costly to repair. A more flat outer
layer was designed to aid in this. The complicated engine section
was completely redesigned to grant greater access and provide
better protection for the vulnerable components.
The rotating section also went through a drastic change. Instead
of one long two-pronged design, it was turned into a four pronged
design to alleviate the limited firing arc for the phalanx
defense pods. This retains the same mass so simulated gravity
amount remains the same.
The final premise was the easiest to solve. Newer systems were
installed in place of the old ones, along with a next generation
hyperspace probe. A smaller rear-facing sensor array was added on
the lower part of the forward section to cover a blind spot that
fighters and other small attack craft had been exploiting during
the civil war. Also to aid in protection from small craft, four
more phalanx pods were added: two on each the front and engine
sections.
The upgraded Omegas were not completed in time for the Civil War,
but were present in the battle of the Drakh. Here the versions
performed a fair amount better with their heavier forward weapons,
and met better success against the agile Drakh Raiders from the
improved targeting systems.
