A proposal for a late SW1 FS/TR gunboat intended to fulfill intercept, strike and escort missions. Intended to be faster than the Okha and tougher than the Ryerson while still being affordable.
EDIT: Adding a bit of fluff for the Standard...
Standard Class gunboat
Overview:
The development process of the Standard class started a few years into the new century when the Federated Suns became increasingly aware of the superiority of the Combine's new Okha class gunboats over the Federal gunboat types then in service. Even though both the Impala and Pendragon were good ships they both had disadvantages that became more and more obvious as the Combine began to deploy their more advanced gunboats in greater numbers. The lack of a proper third generation gunboat was increasingly putting the Federal flotillas at a disadvantage along the Combine front.
A decision was made to design a new "standard" gunboat that would be able to fulfill both the fast strike/interception mission of the Pendragon and the escort/heavy strike mission of the Impala. Unfortunately it soon became evident that the design requirement to both outgun and outrun the Okha would be most difficult to accomplish due to the state of the Federal ship building industry. The primary obstacle being the need to build a new fusion power-plant production line for the proposed main drives. The Federated Suns turned to the Terran Republic to inquire about the possibility of buying reactors and drive units from the Republic but the proposals were rejected by the Republic.
That could have been the end of the Standard, but across the border the Terran Republic had similar problems not just with the Okha but also the Free Worlds League superb Ryerson gunboats which were produced in numbers dwarfing those of the Okha. The TRN had the same dilemma as the FSNS in that it's primary gunboats were just not up to the task of dealing with the latest generation of Combine and League ships. The Gepard was swift but weaker than the enemies, as well as limited in numbers due to shortages of components it had in common with the Cheetha. The Piranha was too slow to be an effective counter and while it was a powerful ship it was still generally inferior to both the Ryerson and the Okha. The Federal feelers strongly hinted that the FSNS and the TRN were both looking at a similar ship type but that the Federation was further along in the design process.
Regardless of common interests without the Thetis affair, where Kresters sold warships to the Lyran Commonwealth, it is unlikely that the Standard would have advanced beyond a paper design. However the diplomatic repercussions of the Thetis matter and the demands of the Federated Suns and Capellan Confederation to be given equal treatment to the Lyran Commonwealth, under the Republic's own stated neutrality acts, brought the joint Standard Gunboat project forward as a form of appeasement towards New Avalon.
Capabilities:
The Standard is designed to perform all the normal missions that can be assigned to a gunboat. With over five g maximum thrust the Standard is an able interceptor as well as a fast heavy strike craft. For it's heavy punch the Standard carries four bow mounted heavy missile tubes. These heavies are backed up by three triple mounted banks of regular long range missile-15 racks and an all-round array of various sized lasers designed for anti-aerospace and anti-missile defense. The standard carries 270 tons of standard grade armor, making it one of the best protected dropships ever built. Although the AAS defenses might seem a bit light for a ship of this size the combination of high thrust and thick armor makes it a hard target for fighters which either tend to have the thrust to chase the Standard or the firepower to take it on but very few fighters have both.
If the Standard has any weak spot it is the close escort mission with relatively light AAS weaponry.
Variants:
There are three known variants of the Standard. Both of the navies that field this ship usually uses their own domestically produced weapons systems on a common basic frame. There is also a Terran "Super Standard" version which carries much more advanced weapons and targeting systems as well as double heatsinks and ferro-aluminium armor plating. So far this version only exists as two prototypes undergoing testing at Titan but it might well become the TRN gunboat of the future if it preforms well in those tests.
Deployment:
The Standard is so far only deployed in small numbers in each state due to the bottleneck of the Terran manufactured drive units that are used in all ships.
The Federated Suns have two under strength squadrons deployed along the Combine frontier close to the Terran border where it is easier to maintain them and from where they can also threaten the Capellan Confederation. There is also a third training/security squadron at Galax where the space frames for the Standard is manufactured.
The Terran Republic had the notion to use the Standard to cut down the large number of increasingly difficult to maintain gunboat types currently in service in the TRN. Unfortunately the older types seem reluctant to yield as the pressures of the war economy doesn't allow for a large scale retooling of several yards to produce the Standard as was originally intended. About half the TRN ships are built on frames imported from the Federated Suns rather than on locally produced frames. As a result the Standard is only available in limited numbers and has added to the TRN's maintenance issues rather than solving them. Currently the two TRN Standard squadrons are deployed with the fleet's rapid reaction forces.
STANDARD CLASS GUNBOAT
Type: Military Spheroid
Tech: Standard
Introduced: 2815
Mass: 12,400 tons
Dimensions
Length: 89.00 meters
Width: 96.00 meters
Height: 152.00 meters
Fuel: 400.00 tons (12,000)
Tons/Burn-day: 1.84 tons
Safe Thrust: 7
Max Thrust: 11
Heatsinks:(195 free) 281 single [281]
Structural Integrity: 75
Armor: 270 tons standard
Nose: 2020 (202)
R/L Sides: 800 (80)
Aft: 1000 (100)
Weapons:
Arc (Heat) Type Short Medium Long Xtreme
Nose(102 Heat)
4 KW (40 rounds) 16 16 16 16
2 Large Laser 2(16) 2(16) - -
6 small Laser 2*(18*) - - -
LF/RF(82 Heat)
3 LRM15 (120 rounds) 3(27) 3(27) 3(27) -
2 Large Laser 3(26) 2(16) - -
2 medium Laser
4 small Laser 1*(12*) - - -
AL/AR(56 Heat)
2 Large Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
4 medium Laser
Aft(41 Heat)
3 LRM15 (120 rounds) 3(27) 3(27) 3(27) -
2 Large Laser 3(26) 2(16) - -
2 medium Laser
4 small Laser 1*(12*) - - -
Cargo:
Bay 1: SC, Cargo ( 343.0 tons ) 1 Door
Escape Pods: 6
Life Boats: 6
Crew: 50, 10 Officers, 13 gunners, 5 Bay, 20 Marines
Ammunition:
40 Killer Whale Missiles (2000 tons)
360 rounds of LRM 15 ammunition (45 tons)
Note:
Equipped with 270 tons of standard armor.
Cost:
628 million C-bills.
