The Federation Navy
Summary: Much like the Navies of other space-faring races the Navy of the United Terran Federation is tasked with defending Earth and her colonies from all threats be they external or internal. When compared to the Citadel races, it can be easily compared to the navies of the big three, in size and power. More accurately it is considered a heavy contender against the Turian Hierarchy as the strongest in the Galaxy.
The Federation Navy appears to be able to switch between a large variety of tactics. However, like the other members of the big three, they have settled into the use of a mainline tactic. Whereas the Asari primarily use powerful hit and run tactics, the Salarians use devastating surgical strikes, and Turian's employ swift and overwhelming firepower the ships of the Federation are highly defensive. Their ships have some of the strongest barriers ever recorded and have more armor than any other race in Citadel space, with exception of the Elcor. Furthermore the armor they utilize the A.R.C. Titanium is both lighter and more durable than any alloy utilized by the citadel races, as such despite use slightly less armor then the Elcor their vessels are more durable. Because of their powerful barriers and thick armor, the ships of the Federation Navy can endure monstrous amounts of damage before being destroyed.
This defensive orientation can be attributed to the so-called 3rd Dragon War in which the forces of the United Terran Federation were besieged by the Dragon Orphans. During its course, a single Federation vessel could be engaged against a dozen or more enemy ships, a squadron against hundreds, a fleet against several thousand. While a single Dragon vessel was vastly inferior to its Federation counterpart, a swarm of them where utterly deadly. As such the Federation had to design ships that could take up obscene amounts of battle damage from multiple angles while using powerful and highly accurate rapid-fire weapons.
Despite its specialization in combating a particular type of enemy, the Federation is still able to effectively combat more conventional forces such as the pirate forces of the Terminus systems.
Of interesting note is their employment of a unique ship type known as the Carrier. A large vessel similar in scale to a dreadnought, but instead of using a spinal mounted Mass Accelerated cannon, it uses large hangar bays to field massive amounts of strike craft into battle. They used to deadly effect in the Federation civil war. War simulations ran by the Citadel races showed much to their shocked, when used properly could a devastating force to be reckoned with, even against a dreadnought. However, Carriers saw a large decline during the 3rd Dragon War, being highly vulnerable to the swarm tactics of the Dragon Orphans. It is only in the last years of the war and decades that followed did they see a resurgence in their use, now being better designed to combat the Dragon orphans and better use of defensive strategies centered around them.
Affiliation: United Terran Federation
SIZE: 47000 combat vessels. 15000 support vessels.
Ships Used
The Panther Class Corvette
Length: 150 meters
Width: 65 meters
Height: 25 meters
Main Armament: 3 Light Mass Accelerated Cannons
Secondary: 4 Guardian Laser Turrets, 1 Missile pod able to fire five missiles. (Note: Each Panther has a standard complement of twenty missiles.)
Protection: .5 meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates
Strike Craft Capacity: 5 Fighter Drones.
Summary: A small starship, primarily used for scouting and patrol missions. They can often be found making up the bulk of small defense fleets around most minor colony words and stations. In battle, they act aw screens against fighters for larger ships.
Number in Service: 8000
The Valiant class frigate
Length: 400 meters
Width: 125 meters
Height: 70 meters
Main Armament: 10 light Mass Acceleratedcannons
Secondary Armament: 8 guardian laser turrets, two missile pods each able to fire ten missiles. (Note: Each Valiant has a standard complement of sixty missiles.)
Protection: 2 meters of A.R.C. Cell Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 20 fighter drones, 6 manned strike craft.
Summary: A highly maneuverable starship used for screening tactics against both fighters and enemy capital ships. When not engaging in this role they operate in wolf packs to take down enemy capital ships. They can found making up the bulk of a colony fleets firepower.
Number in Service: 12000
The Aries Class Destroyer
Length: 500 Meters
Width: 150 Meters
Height: 100 Meters
Main Armament: 4 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons, 8 light Mass Accelerated Cannons
Secondary Armament: 12 Guardian Laser turrets, four missile pods each able to fire ten missiles (Note: Each Aries has a standard complement of hundred missiles.)
Protection: 2.5 Meters of A.R.C Cell Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 3O Fighter drones, 6 manned strike craft.
Summary: A ship explicitly designed to hunt down and destroy enemy starships. While smaller ships such as Valiants act in screening roles and larger ships directly engaged enemy lines the Aries will operate in wolf packs to destroy smaller enemy ships or flank larger enemy capital ships.
Number in Service: 9000
The Rhode Island Class Light Cruiser
Length: 700 Meters
Width: 250 Meters
Height: 90 meters
Main Armament: 3 Heavy Mass Accelerated Cannons, 10 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons.
Secondary Armament: 10 Light Mass Accelerated Cannons, 24 Guardian Laser Turrets, Six Missile Pods each able to fire twenty missiles. (Note: Each Rhode Island has a standard complement of two hundred-forty missiles.)
Protection: 4 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 50 Fighter Drones, One squadron of manned strike craft.
Summary: The mainstay cruiser employed by the Federation, they can be seen engaging in the front lines. Furthermore, they are the workhorse of the Federation navy being used in a variety of roles, ranging from escort to border patrol. They can be used as the flagship for colony fleets if no Pegasus is available.
Number in Service: 5000
The Arizona Class Heavy Cruiser
Length: 800 Meters
Width: 250 Meters
Height: 120 Meters
Main Armament: A spinal mounted Mass Accelerated Cannon running the length of the ship, 7 Heavy Mass Accelerated Cannons, 10 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons.
Secondary Armament: 30 Guardian Laser Turrets, Six Missile Pods each able to fire twenty missiles. (Note: Each Arizona has a standard complement of two hundred-forty missiles.)
Protection: 5 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 50 Fighter Drones, One squadron of manned strike craft.
Summary: An upscale version of the Rhode Island class meant for heavy combat roles. They often work in conjuncture with Jupitar Class Battle Cruisers to unleash devastating amounts of concentrated fire on larger enemy capital ships. They are also often paired with Pegasus Class Escort Carriers or Hercules Class Carriers proving them with much-needed protection from enemy vessels and cover fire for their strike craft.
Number in Service: 3000
The Jupiter Class Battle Cruiser
Length: 900 Meters
Width: 400 Meters
Height: 150 Meters
Main Armament: A spinal Mounted Mass Accelerated Cannon running the length of the ship, 20 Heavy Mass Accelerated Cannons, 15 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons.
Secondary Armament: 45 Guardian Laser Turrets, eight Missile Pods each able to fire twenty missiles. (Note: Each Jupitar as a standard complement of two hundred-forty missiles.)
Protection: 6 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 70 Fighter Drones, One squadron of manned Strike Craft.
Summary: Made as a cheaper alternative to a dreadnought, the Jupitar class while smaller in size still boasts an impressive amount of firepower that enables it to engage small fleets and still come out in good condition. This line of ships along with larger ship classes is meant to directly engaged the few large scale ship that the Dragon orphans utilize, for accurately the ships that would be considered dreadnought.
Interestingly enough, when contact is made with the Citadel following the Battle of the Citadel, the Federation would learn that their Battle Cruisers occupied a similar niche as the Turians so-called Pocket Dreadnought, in that they are large warships that have near dreadnought levels of firepower but are not categorized as dreadnoughts.
Number in Service: 1540
The Grissom Class Dreadnought
Length: 1200 Meters
Width: 500 Meters
Height: 150 Meters
Main Armament: A spinal Mounted Accelerated Cannon running the length of the ship, 35 Heavy Mass Accelerated Cannons, 20 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons.
Secondary Armament: 60 guardian Laser Turrets, ten missile Pods each able to fire thirty missiles. (Note: Each Grissom as a standard complement of three hundred missiles.)
Protection: 7 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 100 Fighter Drones, Two Squadrons of manned Strike Craft.
Summary: Up until the introduction of the Kaneki class in 2483 and the Olympus class in 2481 the Grissom class dreadnought was considered to be the most powerful warship in the Federation. A single one with a proper escort fleet could destroy entire fleets with minimum damage, and could even annihilate entire dragon swarms albeit in a heavily damaged state.
As a dreadnought, it takes up the rear position in its assigned fleet, shells the enemy lines from afar. Two are always positioned near an Olympus class to protect other dreadnoughts.
Currently, it is being phased out in favor of the newer Kaneki class.
Number in Service: 201
The Kaneki Class Dreadnought
Length: 1200 Meters
Width: 650 Meters
Height: 150 meters
Main Armament: Two Spinal Mounted Accelerated Cannons running the length of the ship, 40 Heavy Mass Accelerated Cannons, 20 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons.
Secondary Armament: 60 Guardian Laser Turrets, Ten Missile pods each able to fire thirty missiles. (Note: Each Kaneki as a standard complement of three hundred missiles.)
Protection: 7 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 120 Fighter Drones, Two Squadrons of Manned Strike Craft.
Summary: Introduced in 2483 and named after the famed War Hero of the 2nd Dragon War and Ghoul rights activist, the Kaneki class was created to replace the aging Grissom class. Furthermore, it is the first line of ships to use the new Dual Interlocked Mass Effect Core, in which two M.E. cores would work in conjecture powerful and highly precise mass effect fields. As a result, the ship could be outfitted with two spinal mounted mass accelerated cannons, each able to accelerate a 20 kilogram, slug to 1.5 % of light speed. In addition, it is faster than any other dreadnought in the galaxy, except for the Asari, and bolsters barriers that as powerful as space stations. If the D.I.M.C. system proves its self, the Federation will research into ways of integrating it into the small ships classes.
Number in Service: 9
The Pegasus Class Escort Carrier
Length: 600 meters
Width: 200 Meters
Height: 90 meters
Main Armament: Strike craft deploy from its hanger
Secondary Armament: 7 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons, 12 Light Mass Accelerated Cannons, 30 Guardian Laser Turrets, 2 Missile Pods each able to fire fifteen missiles. (Note: Each Pegasus has a standard complement of ninety missiles.)
Protection: 4 Meters of A.R.C. Titanium armor plates
Strike Craft Capacity: 100 Fighter Drones, 4 Squadrons of Manned strike craft
Summary: As previously stated the carrier is a unique innovation from the Terran Federation. Unlike other ship types a carrier relies on its strike craft to inflict damage to its target, and not it's onboard weapons. Because of this, it not as well-armed as other ships of the same weight class. But despite its limited armament is still a highly effective ship type much to the surprise of the Citadel races.
The Pegasus class in of itself was designed to be a cheap mass-producible carrier, which could be deployed to all corners of the Federation. Unlike its larger cousins that could only be stationed within the main fleets of the Federation, or within important systems.
They are often seen as the flagships of colonial fleets or patrol groups. They would later, go on to be the bane of pirate and remnant Hegemony forces during and after the 4th Dragon war.
Number in Service: 7000
The Hercules Class Carrier
Length: 900 meters
Width: 400 meters
Height: 140 meters
Main Armament: Strike Craft deployed from its hanger.
Secondary Armament: 15 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons, 20 Light Mass Accelerated Cannons, 50 Guardian Laser Turrets, 6 Missiles pods each able to fire twenty missiles. (Note: Each Hercules has a standard complement of three hundred Missiles.)
Protection: 6 meters of A.R.C. Titanium Armor plates.
Strike Craft Capacity: 300 hundred fighter drones, ten squadrons of manned strike craft.
Summary: Whereas the Pegasus was a cheap carrier that could be deployed everywhere, the Hercules is the mainstay carrier designed field massive amounts of strike craft into battle, overwhelm the enemy. It was this ship class that convinced the Citadel races of the viability of a ship that operated in a carrier role, and to start looking into building their own. Like any carrier, these ships will often hang back from the front lines of battle, to deploy and support their strike craft from a safe distance.
They are assigned to important systems in the Federation, areas that likely to come under attack, and the main fleets. They can perform field repairs to other ship if the need arises.
Given the proper modifications, they can operate independently from supply lines.
Number in Service: 1250
The Olympus Class Fleet Carrier
Length: 1500 meters
Width: 750 meters
Height: 300 meters
Main Armament: Strike craft deployed from its hanger.
Secondary Armament: 20 Heavy Mass accelerated Cannons, 35 Medium Mass Accelerated Cannons, 80 Guardian Laser Turrets, 10 missile pods each able to fire twenty-five missiles. (Note: Each Olympus has a standard complement of 1000 missiles.)
Protection: 9 meters 0f A.R.C. Titanium armor plates
Strike Craft Capacity: 1000 Fighter Drones, 20 Manned Strike Craft.
Summary: As one naval officer would put it "The Olympus is a Hercules on steroids, and then some." The single largest vessel in the Federation fleet and one of the largest in the galaxy, only surpassed by the Asari Destiny Accession class Super Dreadnought and the Quarian live ships, this massive carrier can deploy over three times the strike craft of the Hercules. They are slated to be the Flagships of the main fleets, and three are stationed within the sole system.
Unlike its smaller cousins who need modifications, an Olympus is fully able to operate independently from the main supply lines of the Federation and even can manufacture any ship that is a frigate or smaller. Like all Carriers they do not engage the enemy line directly, instead, hang back at a safe distance and deploy it numerous strike craft into the fight. However, if the need does arise the Olympus as the Armament to engage and destroy any vessel that is not a Battle Cruiser or above, by itself.
Number in Service: 6
Strike Craft
The Falcon Class Attack Fighter
Armament: 3 Rapid-fire Mass Accelerated Cannons (one can rotate to a rear-firing arc.), 2 Missile pods each able to fire two missiles. (Note: Each Falcon as a standard complement of thirty missiles.)
Protection: 8 Centimeters of A.R.C. armor plating.
Summary: The Federation's mainstay space and air superiority fighter. Introduced almost a decade after the 3rd Dragon war ended in response to pirate activity on the outer edges of the Federation. A well-coordinated squadron of Falcons can engage and destroy vessels up to destroyer size. They are surprisingly effective against Dragon Orphan ships, this is due impart to the distinct lack of an equivalent to a fighter and inability to defend against such craft effectively.
The Hellfire Bomber
Armament: 4 Rapid Fire Mass Accelerated Cannons (two mounted in the forward position, and two in the rear position., four missile pods each able to fire six missiles. (Note: Each Hellfire has a standard complement of sixty missiles.)
Protection: 15 Centimeters of A.R.C. armor plating.
Summary: A strike craft designed to deliver large amounts of heavy ordinance to its target, be it be a ship, station, or any other target of interest. A single squadron of Hellfires can be devastating to any vessel regardless of size. They were used to great effect during the 3rd Dragon war, as each squadron could destroy several Dragon ships, before returning to their mother ship to restock and repeat the process.
The X3 Fighter Drone
Armament: 2 Rapid-fire Mass Accelerated Cannons, one missile pod able to fire two missiles. (Note: Each X9 has a standard complement of fifty missiles.)
Protection: 3 Centimeters of A.R.C. armor plating.
Summary: In response to the Dragon Orphans' lack of small strike craft and inability to effectively engage small strike craft, the Federation needed a craft that could swarm and destroy their target. The answer, the X series of fighter drones, smaller then most strike craft these attack drones are best described as engines with guns and missiles strapped to them. The beauty in them being that they could be cheaply mass-produced, furthermore they all could be controlled by their Motherships onboard A.I... As such the Fighter Drone makes up the vast majority of the Federation's Starfighter corp., being supplemented by a small core of high quality manned strike craft.
Lastly by lining the hull with a series of launch tubes, all ships of the Federation can quickly deploy swarms of Fighter Drones.
Deployments
The Federation Navy has eight main fleets, which are stationed at Relay nexuses to be able to rapidly deployed anywhere in the Federation, in response to an attack. The 1st is largest of the eight at 4501 ships and is the most combat-capable having more heavy combat vessels than any other fleet. The remaining seven have 3500 ships each and can act as a supplementary force to the 1st or each other depending on the situation and where they are being sent. The sol and Arcturus systems both have their own defense fleets of about 1000 each. The remaining 16000 ships are scattered throughout the Federation, being assigned to various colonies, stations, or patrol groups as needed pending on their population and strategic value.
Sol Defense Fleet: Valiant-300, Aries-190, Rhode Island-140, Pegasus-100, Arizona-110, Hercules-30, Jupitar- 100, Grissom- 27, Kaneki-3, Olympus-3
Arcturus Fleet: Valiant- 300, Aries-180, Rhode Island-150, Pegasus-80, Arizona-120, Hercules-50, Jupitar-100, Grissom-18, Kaneki-2, Olympus 1
1st Fleet: Valiant-1500, Aries-1500, Rhode Island-600, Pegasus-145, Arizona-350, Hercules-100, Jupitar-280, Grissom-23, Kaneki-2, Olympus-1
2nd Fleet: Panther-800, Valiant-1200, Aries-450, Rhode Island-400, Pegasus-145, Arizona-270, Hercules-100, Jupitar-120, Grissom-14, Kaneki-1, Olympus-1
3rd Fleet: Panther-800, Valiant-1200, Aries-450, Rhode Island-400, Pegasus-145, Arizona-270, Hercules-100, Jupitar-120, Grissom-14, Kaneki-1
4th – 8th Fleets: Panther-800, Valiant-1200, Aries-450, Rhode Island-400, Pegasus-145, Arizona-270, Hercules-100, Jupitar-120, Grissom-15
Before anyone accuses me of making the Federation to OP in the dreadnought department, I'll be giving the Citadel a boast in their dreadnought numbers as well. Never made sense to me that they built so few in a 2000 year time span, yes they had a treaty that limited dreadnought numbers, but still they should have been bigger.
Secondly, with the appearance of the Federation and the war against the Dragon Orphans, the Citadel is going get off of its ass and start innovating quit a bit. As their relationship grows, the Terrans will start to share some of their technologies with the Citadel. Granted it won't be the latest version of those technologies, they still want to maintain a certain edge over them.
I'll do the other Citadel Navies soon. Speaking of anyone know a good place to generate words for the races of Mass Effect? I would like to give their ship classes proper names, instead of saying Turian dreadnought or Asari frigate.