OBT Forum

...So, I was having a talk on the CBT board with a new poster about Monitors (WarShips without K-F Drives) and the Mods deleted it, then told me I had posted in a topic that broke one of the forum's rules by PM.  They wouldn't tell me which rule, but whatever.

But it got me re-interested in the possible Naval side of my AU.  So, here it is.  Because I found the canon ships to focus on Short- to Medium-range killing power, I decided it was more realistic to say "Bigger is Longer Ranged."  Oh, and the Hun ASF I have permission to use - it will be renamed, but attributed to him.  Comments?

Naval Roles

A navy is a major undertaking for anybody - let alone the survivors of the Wolverine Annihilation!  Nearly a hundred years after, a concerted effort is underway to create a credible navy to defend the Legacy Cluster (See my sig?  ) - this is where you come in.

There are certain guidelines to designing the fleet - movement, fighter complement, DropShip collars, ideal weapons ranges, and anti-fighter defenses.  By class, these are;

                  MOVE      ASF/SC         DS        PREF. RANGE      STRENGTH OF       TONNAGE
                                                                         BRACKET              AA FIRE            (in millions)
Corvette      6/9       6 ASF/2 SC    1 DS          S/M                      M/H               0 - .25   (250,000 tons)
Frigate        5/8      20 ASF/6 SC   4 DS          M/L                       M/H             .5 - .75
Destroyer    5/8     10 ASF/2 SC    3 DS           M/L                       M/H             1.0 - 1.2
Cruiser        4/6     10 ASF/4 SC    6 DS           L/E                      M/H             1.3 - 1.5
Battle Cr.     5/8     30 ASF/8 SC    4 DS             L/E                   M/H             1.3 - 1.5
Battleship    4/6     20 ASF/8 SC    8 DS          L/E                        L/M              1.6 - 1.9
DN              3/5     30 ASF/12 SC  10 DS        L/E                       L/M             2.35 - 2.5
DN(Carrier)3/5   150 ASF/24 SC  12 DS        L/E                       M/H             2.35 - 2.5


There are a couple notes on appropriate roles; for instance, this is a Navy, not a collection of unrelated ships - uniformity in weapons is necessary as production and ammo is expensive.  Only the Corvettes and Destroyers are in production, with a single design each.  A single BC exists as the flagship.  The remainder are still in design phase; it is uncertain they will ever see production.  Fiction is already outlined for these ships as part of the AU; if you want to take a swing at it, PM me for the details.

These ships also use some weapons and equipment unique to them, like N-Gauss (Repeaters), Naval P(Pulse)-Lasers, and Naval ER-Lasers.  There may be more coming along later, depending if the mood and inspiration strikes me.

Roles

The Corvette (COR) is not considered appropriate for law enforcement in this AU; as the smallest (and most affordable) WarShip class, its design requirements call for extended endurance to raid in advance of stronger fleets, speed, medium-strength AA defenses, and a single Extreme-ranged weapon or bay to destroy enemy DropShips at range or spar with larger WarShips as it retreats.  (It must be in the Nose arc, and be the longest-ranged weapon in the game.  Light N-Gauss, preferably.)  A single DropShip collar is used to ferry either a support vessel (Assault or Carrier DS) or a troop carrier for a raid with a ground factor.

Frigates (FF) are ships dedicated to the protection of other ships, notably JumpShips.  They maintain a larger number of collars to act as either support in a navel battle or to carry troops and supplies in a major raid.  Intended to fight their way into orbit and deliver their cargo, 2 Stars of ASF and 6 FighterShips are intended to gain local AS superiority.  Design requirements call for good endurance, decent cargo, and heavy-strength AA defenses, with Extreme-ranged Naval weapons in the Broadside arcs, again with a single weapon or bay in the Nose arc.

Destroyers (DD) are considered the first ‘Flagship’ class – designed to accompany or lead the Corvette and Frigate classes, the Destroyer is the first dedicated anti-Ship class.  When leading small squadrons, the Corvette remains with the Frigate and while the Destroyer attacks fixed- or mobile defenses at Long ranges with their supporting ASF and DS.  Accompanying larger ships, the Destroyer remains within range of the longer-ranged guns of its group, protected from enemy DS and WarShips while keeping the range open and maintaining a defensive perimeter (and possible using Naval C3 and EW).  Design requirements are 5/8 movement, endurance, Long-ranged Naval weapons (or better), possibly C3 or Naval-EW.

The Heavy Cruiser (CA) is the preferred WarShip class (although none exist so far).  They combine average movement, large ASF/FS and DS complement, and are the final class that offers heavy-strength AA fire, reflecting its role as escort to still larger WarShips or lone raider.  Design requirements call for 4/6 movement with medium-level endurance, 10/4 ASF/FS,  6 or so DS (support or Troop carriers), with Long/Extreme range Naval weapons in all arcs and heavy AA defenses.

The Battlecruser (BC) combines speed, endurance, and supporting units to create the second ‘Flagship’ class, suitable for commanding small fleets.  It is also the first class to support a HPG, allowing independent action on a large scale, and dedicated nuclear-tipped Capital missiles.  (FS carried on all classes of WarShip may use FS-launched Cap missiles.)  Because of its (proposed) expense the class is fairly rare (only one exists currently, and for the foreseeable future), acting as scout or flanker for a larger fleet and as flagship and communications link for smaller and remote groups.

The Battleship (BB) is the (planned) standard fleet ship, escorts for the proposed Dreadnaught class and capable of single-turn kills of any ship smaller than a CA (but including some canon BCs).  It fights the Naval battle at Extreme range, with strong close-in defenses from its ASF/FS/DS and smaller Escort WarShips.  The Battleship is nuclear armed. 

The theoretical Dreadnaught class is the New Clan equivalent of the canon Ghost Bear Leviathan WarShips.  Like the Battleship, it fights at Extreme range, capable of 1-Turn kills of most WarShips.  The carrier version of the design calls for more ASF than any single member of the New Clans can supply.  Both versions are nuclear armed.

Hun

Overview:

The massive 95-ton Hun is a brand-new Goliath Scorpion design that debuted just four years ago, in 3039. This heavy fighter is capable of less raw thrust than more modern Clan heavy units, but is equipped with thick armor, multiple hard-hitting weapon systems, and an Electronic-Countermeasures Suite. Exclusively produced by the Scorpions, the Hun is rapidly becoming the assault fighter of choice among the Pilots of that Clan. The lack of maneuverability has made employing this fighter tactically challenging, but the sheer concentrated and highly accurate firepower the Hun can project more than makes up for that deficit.

Capabilities:

One of the heaviest Clan aeospace fighters (only the 100-ton Kirghiz outmasses this bird), the Hun is rather limited in the amount of thrust its engines can produce: even with a 285XL fusion drive, this fighter can only reach a maximum acceleration of 4-g's . . . while carrying no external fuel tanks or ordnance pods on its nineteen retractable hardpoints. Fifteen and a half tons of ferro-aluminum armor plating has been provided to the design, however, which somewhat offsets the slower thrust capabilities. The nose is sheathed in sufficient armor to absorb the damage from no fewer than six Clan ER PPC bolts or Gauss Rifle slugs and resists thresholding by Clan ER Large Lasers, IS PPCs and ER PPCs, Large Pulse Lasers (both IS and Clan), and all models of AC-10 autocannons. The wings are slightly weaker, but even they carry sufficient armor to stop the thresholding ability of IS Large Lasers, and can absorb the damage from nine such hits before suffering penetration! The tail is the weakest section of these design; even here, however, the Hun is immune to thresholding from Clan ER Medium Lasers and can sustain up to eight direct hits without suffering internal damage.

Fuel tankage is five tons . . . slightly less than what Scorpion pilots would have preferred, but seen as adequete. Long-range missions typically deploy with ten external fuel tanks on the hardpoints (reducing maximum thrust to 2.5-g's!), but doubling the fuel load. Few Scorpion commanders will utilize the Hun in the bombing role because of the severe cramp that a sizeable load places upon the available thrust; a full load of ninteen pods, bombs, or fuel tanks will result in a safe acceleration of one-half G and a maximum acceleration of 1 G! The design is normally limited to the use of fifteen hardpoints with accelerations of 1-G and 1.5-G's (ten is far more common), although this is still enough to carry three Arrow IV stand-off munitions (two in the higher thrust configuration).

As with the majority of Scorpion designed OmniMechs, BattleMechs, Aerospace Fighters, and Combat Vehicles, the Hun is equipped with an integral targeting computer . . . a seven-ton targeting computer in this case! This piece of equipment increases accuracy for all of the weapon systems carried aboard the Hun providing Scorpion Pilots with better targeting solutions at long-range. The primary armament is concentrated in the nose, and consists of a four-gun battery of Clan ER PPCs! This incredible amount of concentrated firepower can literally shatter many aerospace fighters in existence and poses a major threat to even the heaviest WarShips when Stars of Huns are deployed in an anti-shipping strike role! Thirty double-strength heat sinks were added to the engine and fuselage, eating up twenty tons of available space but providing sufficient cooling capabilities to utilize the quad ER PPC battery without generating any excess overheat.

But that is only the primary weapon system aboard the Hun! For closer range encounters, this aerospace fighter is equipped with eleven Clan ER Medium Lasers: four in each wing, one in the nose, and two set in the tail to fire astern. Against lighter opponents who get too close to the Hun, Scorpion pilots can fire all nine forward mounted ER Mediums and one ER PPC while remaining heat neutral! These weapons are also used extensively on strafing runs when these fighters are called upon to deliver close air support. The two tail guns serve to discourage hostile fighters from getting too close to this relatively vulnerable position, and to make them pay the cost if they do. Finally, the Hun is outfitted with an ECM Suite to sow confusion and electronic chaos amongst the opponents of Clan Goliath Scorpion.

Variants:

To date there have been no variants of the Hun introduced. The fighter's configuration of systems is so finely-tuned that changing out even a single weapon for another has proven to be technically challenging. Besides, the Scorpions see no need to alter the design; it accomplishes all that they desire in a heavy-weight aerospace fighter.

Deployment:

With fewer than one hundred currently in service, the Hun currently serves only in the Knife Dance Keshik and the clusters of Alpha and Beta Galaxy (10 fighters per cluster, for a total of 90). The next delivery of Huns is scheduled for the Scorpion Fleet, which has a larger priority on these new heavy fighters than the remaining Scorpion ground formations within the Homeworlds. Of the remaining ten production and prototype fighters of this class, four are assigned as trainers at the Scorpion's aerospace Sibco on Roche. The rest were given to Clans Ghost Bear, Hell's Horses, Jade Falcon, Snow Raven, Star Adder, and Wolf so that these Clans might evaluate the design and decide on whether or not to Trial or barter for the rights to produce their own. Operation Revival has put such active Trials on hold, but there are rumors that Clan Snow Raven has recently offered the Scorpions a sizeable bounty in exchange for production rights.

AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name: Hun
Tech: Clan / 3049
Vessel Type: Aerospace Fighter
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
Rules Set: AeroTech2

Mass: 95 tons
Length: 22 meters
Power Plant: 285 XL Fusion
Safe Thrust: 5
Maximum Thrust: 8
Armor Type: Ferro-aluminum
Armament:
4 ER PPC
11 ER Medium Laser
1 ECM Suite
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name: Hun
Mass: 95 tons

Equipment: Mass
Power Plant: 285 XL Fusion 8.50
Thrust: Safe Thrust: 5
Maximum Thrust: 8
Structural Integrity: 9 .00
Total Heat Sinks: 30 Double 20.00
Fuel: 5.00
Cockpit & Attitude Thrusters: 3.00
Armor Type: Ferro-aluminum (297 total armor pts) 15.50
Standard Scale Armor Pts
Location: L / R
Nose: 92
Left/Right Wings: 72/72
Aft: 61

Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 ER PPC Nose 15 15 15 -- 60 24.00
1 ER Medium Laser Nose 7 7 -- -- 5 1.00
4 ER Medium Laser RW 7 7 -- -- 20 4.00
4 ER Medium Laser LW 7 7 -- -- 20 4.00
2 ER Medium Laser Aft 7 7 -- -- 10 2.00
1 ECM Suite Aft -- -- -- -- 0 1.00
1 Targeting Computer 7.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS: Heat: 115 95.00
Tons Left: .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 16,191,001 C-Bills
Battle Value: 4,156
Cost per BV: 3,895.81
Weapon Value: 4,753 (Ratio = 1.14)
Damage Factors: SRV = 69; MRV = 60; LRV = 12; ERV = 0
BattleForce2: MP: 5, Armor/Structure: 7 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 8/8/4, Overheat: 4
Class: FH; Point Value: 42
Specials: ecm