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Defiance Class Cruiser
In Service:  2592
Number in Service: 8 + 2 building
Mass: 880,000 tons
KF Integrity: 17
Sail Integrity: 5
Thrust: 4/6
Fuel: 5000 tons
SI: 75
Armor: 1320 tons Ferro-Carbide Armor (Nose: 184 Fore Sides: 184 Aft Sides: 184 Aft: 184)
Heatsinks: 3800 (7600)
Docking Collars: 4
Fighters: 24
Small Craft: 10
Crew: 140 officers, 486 enlisted, 62 gunners, 300 2nd class passengers
Lifeboats: 120
Escape Pods: 100
Grav Deck: 2 (200 meters)
Cargo: 23,975 tons
Bays:
   Bay 1: 24 Fighters      4 doors
   Bay 2: 10 Small Craft      2 doors
    Bay 3: Cargo         2 doors
Weapons:
Nose:
8 Heavy Naval PPCs
4 Large Lasers
6 Medium Lasers
2 LRM 15s

FL/FR
7 NAC-30
4 Large Lasers
6 Medium Lasers
3 LRM 15s

LBS/RBS
4 Heavy Naval PPCs
4 Large Lasers
6 Medium Lasers
4 LRM 15s

AL/AR
6 NAC-30
4 Large Lasers
6 Medium Lasers
4 LRM 15s

Aft
2 NAC-30
4 Large Lasers
6 Medium Lasers
4 LRM 15s

Ammo:
2800 Rounds NAC Ammo
200 tons LRM 15 Ammo

Overview:
The Defiance is the first new warship developed by the Taurian Concordat since the end of the Reunification War.  During the war, the Concordat Navy suffered tremendous losses, while inflicting even worse ones on the Star League Navy.  Some of the worst losses were suffered by the Concordat's aging Winchester and Dart class cruisers.  While Taurian production during the war was able to replace some of their losses, the Concordat did not produce any replacement cruisers.  Instead those losses were replaced with Wagon Wheel Frigates or captured SLDF vessels.  When the war ended, Marshal Santos, Chief of Staff of the TDF and former commander of the Concordat Navy, launched an ambitious effort to rebuild the Concordat Navy.  One of the highest priority programs was a new cruiser to replace the Winchester and Darts.  In trying to rebuild the Taurian fleet, Marshal Santos was faced with the classic problem of too many needs and not enough resources.  Rather then being tied to conventional thinking, the Marshal began looking for unique solutions that would let him stretch his resources as much as possible.  When it came to the Defiance Cruiser, he noticed that many of the ships specifications matched those of the Lexington class carrier.  The Marshal then proposed that the new cruiser be based on the hull of the Lexington, sharing as many components as possible in an effort to reduce development cost.  There was some initial opposition to the proposal from senior officers in the Concordat Navy who felt that by using the hull of the Lexington the designers would compromise the performance of the new cruiser.  However Taurian engineers were soon presenting designs for the new cruiser that exceeded the wildest dreams of the Concordat Navy.  With the opposition to the design removed, the Defiance entered production at the Taurus Shipyards in the Hyades Cluster.

Capabilities:
The Defiance Cruiser is designed to serve as the backbone of the Concordat Navy.  She is expected to be able to easily handle smaller vessels, while at the same time being able to successfully take on larger battleships. 

Based on the Lexington class carrier, the Defiance shares many specifications with her cousin ship.  The two vessels share the same basic hull and engineering systems.  These provide the Defiance with a tough hull and power engines which make the large ship very nimble.

The biggest difference between the 2 ships is the removal of 4 flight decks and their replacement with a powerful array of weapons.  While the Lexington can carry 5 Air Divisions, the Defiance only carries a single Air Division for self defense.  The ship also carries bays for 10 small craft, these are usually boarding shuttles for the Defiance's Marines. 

The Defiance's weapons are built around a powerful array of Naval PPCs and Naval Autocannons.  Eight nose mounted Heavy Naval PPCs provide the ship with a strong punch as it closes in with the enemy, while a turret of 4 Heavy Naval PPCs is mounted along the ships side.   The main guns of the Defiance are it's 28 Vandenberg Arm's God's Wrath class 30 Naval Autocannons.  The bulk of these weapons are mounted along the fore and aft sides of the ships, rather then on the ship's broadsides.  While this is an unusual layout, Taurian engineers concluded that for typical firing ranges, this would allow the ship to concentrate the fire of all of its side mounted weaponry, while still providing significant firepower to the fore and aft of the ship.  At the optimum firing range, a broadside from the Defiance can unleash 4 Heavy Naval PPCs and 13 Naval Autocannons on an enemy vessel, more then enough firepower to destroy even a battleship. 

For defense against enemy aerospace fighters, the Defiance uses almost the same arrangement of conventional lasers and missiles as the Lexington.  However due to the placement of some of the Naval PPCs and Autocannons, the design team was forced to remove a few of the missile launchers. 

Deployment:
The Defiance Cruisers are typically deployed as the heart of a Taurian fleet.  With only limited numbers of these vessels currently available, there are only 2 assigned to each fleet.  As more ships are produced, the Concordat hopes to deploy at least 5 of these vessels to each fleet.