Note: The use of the term "power" in reference to the organizations using warships is due to the fact that warships were not only used by what could be considered governments. On the more ambiguous side, warlords and unrecognized states commonly used warships, some even as large as Dreadnoughts. Warships were also used by cooperations, mercenaries, pirates, groups who might as well be pirates, and many, many more.
Vessels used by in Human Space can be categorized into four major groups: Small Craft, Boats, Barges, and Ships.
VARIABLE CRAFT:
Variable Craft are types of Spacecraft that can vary between groups depending on the class.
YACHT:
Mass: Usually sub 50,000 tons
Vessels with a cabin or small number of cabins meant for multi-day stays without any other primary function. The first regulations and definitions for Space Yachts were created by the United Nations Space Authority in the late 21st century, with
them staying generally similar during the Golden Age, during the Age of War under the independent governments, and under the Systems Alliance, though with some changes to accommodate FTL.
Yachts can have no FTL, limited interplanetary FTL, or even full interstellar capabilities depending on the class or even ship, though most have FTL.
Personal Yachts are small yachts, usually between 20 and 150 tons, with no permanent crew besides the owner and perhaps some temporary crewmembers, and the capability of carrying a single person or small group of people for multiple days, usually no more than 5. They usually lack many of the luxuries seen on larger yachts. Some of these yachts are equipped with FTL Drives, and some even have interstellar-capable FTL Drives.
Personal Yachts without FTL Drives are classified as Type 1A Yachts under Systems Alliance regulations, while those with interplanetary FTL Drives (defined as an FTL drive unable to go a light year without discharging) are classified as a Type 1B Yacht and those with interstellar drives are classified as Type 1C Yachts.
Superyachts are defined by SA regulations as Yachts massing between 150 tons and 3,000 tons with a full-time crew. The majority of Superyachts are equipped with FTL Drives.
Superyachts without FTL Drives are classified as Type 2A Yachts under Systems Alliance regulations, while those with interplanetary FTL Drives (defined as a FTL drives unable to go a light year without discharging) are classified as a Type 2B Yacht and those with interstellar drives are classified as Type 2C Yachts.
Megayachts are defined as Yachts massing between 3,000 and 10,000 tons. This level sees a drastic level of regulation increase compared to Personal Yachts and even Superyachs.
Megayachts without FTL Drives are classified as Type 3A Yachts under Systems Alliance regulations, while those with interplanetary FTL Drives (defined as an FTL drive unable to go a light year without discharging) are classified as a Type 3B Yacht and those with interstellar drives are classified as Type 3C Yachts.
Gigayachts are defined as Yachts that mass over 15,000 tons. These massive vessels commonly have weapons for self-defense or are escorted by combat craft.
Gigayachts without FTL Drives are classified as Type 4A Yachts under Systems Alliance regulations, while those with interplanetary FTL Drives (defined as a FTL drive unable to go a light year without discharging) are classified as a Types 4B Yacht, and those with interstellar drives are classafied as Type 4C Yachts.
Dionysian Yacht is not an official designation but a common term for the largest and most expensive Yachts in Human Space. The term is derived from the SS Dionysis, a massive 50,000 ton Yacht constructed in the late 22nd century for Jack Hedone, the, at the time, third richest human alive. The Dionysis started what is known as the Great Yacht Race, an ever escalating show of oneupmenship where the richest humans alive began creating ludacrisly big, expensive, and impractical Gigayachts. This lasted until the end of the Golden age with the winner being the SS Maryland, a 250,000 ton Yacht that cost more than most warships of the time.
Maryland held its title for over three centuries until in 2605 the 300,000 SS Elysium was created, starting the Second Great Yacht Race, that is going on to this day in 2657, with the curent winner being the curently under construction SS Great Eastern at half a million tons, though the anounced but unstarted SS Atlantis surpasses it at 600,000 tons.
These vessles are extremely inpractical, with the focus being more on their size and price than any form of functunality. Many owners of these Yachts have strugles to find uses for them. Some have been used as a way to get good PR for their owners by helping with disaster relief, while others blure the line between Yachts and Cruise Ships with their use.
Only the absolute richest individuals can afford to buy these craft, and all are entirely unique.
COURIER:
Mass: Usually sub 5,000 tons
Couriers are vessels designed to transport information and/or small amounts of vauluable cargo quickly. Couriers are commonly used to send information in areas without developed FTL Communications infrastructure, or for highly sensitive information. whether a Courier is equipped with a Interstellar FTL Drive depends on the class, though most have interstellar FTL.
Information Couriers are used in lieu of FTL Comms, usually due to the lack of necessary infrastructure, or the sensitivity of the information being transported. Information Couriers used for standard information are usually unmanned drones to lower costs, but those carrying sensitive information are usually manned. Some of these are used to transport information within a system or between Relay SYstems, but most are used for interstellar distances.
The difference between a Cargo Ship and a Cargo Courier is speed. Cargo Couriers travel at high FTL cruiser speeds that are uneconomical for Cargo Ships, using that high speed to demand premium prices.
TUGBOAT:
Craft designed to push other objects in space, from asteroids, to space stations, to ships. Some Tugboats are equipped with FTL Drives, while others are not.
Docking Tugboats are unmanned Tugboats used to assist ships with docking. Some larger vessles lack small thrusters meant to assist in docking the the craft, leading to the need of these Tugboats to assist. These engines might also be destroyed, necessitating these Tugboats.
Mover Tugboats are used to move astroids, damaged ships, and space stations. It is a common cost saving measure for space stations not to be built with its own engines and just rent Mover Tugboats when they are needed.
Module Tugs are less ships and more a system of different modules meant to fulfill all the roles needed of a ship. Legally, a Module Tug is only its command module, with everything else regulated the same as external fuel tanks, something Module Tug users have been fighting for a long time to keep. Additional engine, reactor, fuel, passenger, eezo core, and cargo modules are added at the owner's discretion, after being approved by the Alliance Ministry of Transportation, of course.
Module Tugs will have different-sized eezo cores and different levels of mobility depending on what is needed; if a 'Tug is only, for instance, transporting passengers between Earth and Luna, it usually won't have an FTL Drive at all, while if it is transporting H3 from Arcturus to Terra Nova through the Relay, it will have short-range FTL, and if it were transporting people from Sol to Alpha Centauri, it would have long-range FTL.
A large amount of the commercial vessels in Human Space are Module Tugs, being more effective than most traditional types of Transport Ships
SMALL CRAFT:
The smallest of the categories, Small Craft are basically any non-interstellar capable spacecraft smaller than a Barge used by a military. From Drones to Fighters to Shuttles, Small Crafts are generally attached to something else as a supporting element.
The origins of the term can be traced back to the later years of the Bloody Ascension. During the late 21st century the term was created to be used for smaller orbital craft like Shuttles, non-interplanatary Yachts, and orbital Tug Boats (the translation of the word into space use causing the paradoxical designation of a Small Craft Boat), while the term Barge was used for larger orbital craft meant for transport between large bodies like planets and their moons.
As FTL was invented and later miniturized so that smaller vessels could also use it, Small Craft became the term used for all Spacecraft unable to use FTL. This ended up leding to the term Small Craft including many types of vessels, some of which are larger than Boats, or even Barges and Ships.
SHUTTLES:
Mass: Usually sub 5,000 tons
Shuttles are Small Craft meant to transport people or cargo between ships, space stations, moons, and planets.
Light Shuttles are only slightly bigger than most aircars and are usually only used for people or small cargo. They can only hold a few to a few dozen people due to their small size. They are favored by militaries for the insertion of small units due to their small size.
Heavy Lift Shuttles are used to carry large amounts of cargo or people, usually from the surface of an object to an orbiting ship or station, though they are sometimes used between stations and rarely very large ships.
COMBAT DRONES:
Mass: Usually sub 5,000 tons
Combat Drones are the smallest Spacecraft designed for combat. They are unpiloted and are usually slaved to a larger craft like a Boat or Ship.
Interceptors are Drones meant to act more like an extension of a vessel's point defense system than an independent craft. They operate in spheres or walls hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from their motherships, intercepting enemy missiles, torpedos, and strike craft.
Shield Drones are used to intercept enemy ballistic and energy weapons fire using a physical or generated shield to redirect hits.
Highly reflective surfaces are used to deflect lasers, while slanted surfaces can be used to redirect physical projectiles, though the guided nature of most MAC rounds limits this tactic's effectiveness.
Fighters are used to destroy enemy drones and damage the defensive systems of enemy Boats and Ships in preparation for attack by other units. They are also used to help Intercepters fend off enemy Fighters. Fighters are commonly attached to Drone Command Boats from Carriers.
Strike Drones are used to attack larger craft like Boats and Ships. They carry heavy munitions like Torpedoes.
Those dedicated to combat can be summarized into 9 main Warship types and several subtypes: Patrol Boats, Corvettes, Destroyers, Frigates, Cruisers, Dreadnoughts, Assault Ships, Carriers, and Relay Assault Ships.
BOATS:
Vessles of smaller size than Barges with FTL capabilities, but lackig the ability to travel interstellar distances withou the Relays.
PATROL BOATS:
Mass: Sub 5,000 Tons
Craft not meant for combat, Patrol Boats are primarily used for orbital patrol, search and rescue missions, anti-smuggling operations, and inspections. Most don't have a crew larger than a few dozen at most, and some don't have any crew at all. Patrol Boats usually don't have much armament, a small ballistic weapon, maybe some lasers or, in rare cases, a few missles. The main reson these craft are equiped with FTL Drives is for pursuit of other vessels.
Orbital Patrol Boats are usually on the smaller end of Patrol Boats, no more than a thousand tons and usually less than 500. Some models of OPBs don't have any crew accommodations, not expecting multi day operations, and those that due usually don't have the best accommodations, not having to deal with the crew moral damage done by such poor accommodations due to their short operation times. OPBs are usually atached to a naval base and will not stray far from the base.
Drone Patrol Boats are what unmanned Patrol Boats are usually called. Most have a complement of mechs for inspections and not much else. Drone Patrol Boats are very cheap, making them very popular. They do have problems with the signal to their controlling units of the ship being jammed, leaving it adrift or under the control of its VI, which usually is not good at handling situations independently. This has led to Drone Patrol Boats usually being limited to orbital patrol. The invention of the Quantum Entanglement Communicator in 2531 saw the idea of the deep space Drone Boat increase in popularity, like many other remotely operated systems, as QECs are impossible to jam or intercept, but the low bandwidth of QECs and their high const saw the idea become nothing more than a fantasy.
Deep Space Patrol Boats, also commonly called Belt Boats due to their common use for patrolling asteroid belts, are Patrol Boats designed for extended patrols or patrols in undeveloped areas where the support of additional facilities cant always be guaranteed. Thes craft are usually larger than their orbital counterparts, and have crew acomadations designed for long term habatation. Crewing these craft is commonly considered a punishment duty, unfavorable due to their isolations, still poor acomadations, and limited entertainment.
GUNBOATS:
Mass: Usually sub 5,000 tons, though Patrol Gunboats can reach up to 10,000 tons
Craft designs for limited combat, Gunboats hold an intresting position in space. While sometimes used as a suport unit for Patrol Boats, escorts for larger craft, or combatants in thier own right, their most common rose is anti piracy action and piracy. Gunboats are small enough to be produced in less than ideal conditions like small asteroid colonies and bases in the middle of nowhere, perfect for pirate use. They are also small enough for them to be quite easily smugled in larger vessles across Human Space, but large enough that they pose a substantion threate to smaller civilian ships and, with numbers, can be threats to larger civilian vessels. All this has led to the Gunboat being the most common pirate vessles in Human Space, and the bane of all civilized peoples.
Escort Gunboats, also called Parasite Gunboats due to their dependency on othe vessels for support, are used to protect larger craft, usually from other Boats or Small Craft, though they may be used to fight full Warships in desperete situations. They take advantage of their attachment to another, larger, vessel to strip many of the things required for long-term operation off of them, and place the burden on their mothership. Extra fuel, ammunition, spare parts, crew acomadations, many of these will be put on their motherships to increase the space avalable on the Gunboats for more combat focused additions. This makes the Gunboats entirely dependent on their motherships, ensuring their doom if their mothership is destroyed in an unihabated system. Many large civilian ships will have point where they can attach Escort Gunboats for interstellar traval.
Drone Gunboats are Gunboats that do not have crews onboarded, instead controled by either remotely or by a VI. Drone Gunboats are very cheap, making them very popular. They do have problems with the signal to their controlling units of the ship being jammed, leaving it adrift or under the control of its VI, which usually is not good at handling situations independently. This has led to Drone Gunboats usually being limited to orbital protection and escort. The invention of the Quantum Entanglement Communicator in 2531 saw the idea of the deep space Drone Boat increase in popularity, like many other remotely operated systems, as QECs are impossible to jam or intercept, but the low bandwidth of QECs and their high const saw the idea become nothing more than a fantasy.
Patrol Gunboats are designed for long range operations, commonly the protection of minor mining colonies. The craft are commonly dropped off by a ship into their assigned system and lack the capability of leaving. These craft usually reach the highr end of Gunboat masses, some nearing 10,000 tons, surpassing the size of many low end Corvettes and even some of the smaller combat varieties, though their lack of interstellar capability makes them less versatile than a Corvettle to any navies they serves in. Many Gunboat designs used by pirate are Patrol Gunboates, their high speeds and long operation times making themquit useful to pirates.
Orbital Defense Gunboats share many similarities with Escort Gunboats, though are usually larger.
TORPEDO BOATS:
Mass: Usually between 10,000 and 30,000 tons
Designed as the system defense version of Destroyers, Torpedo Boats lack the range of their larger siblings but make up for it in firepower. While being significantly smaller than all but low-end Destroyers, they can hold a significant fraction of their firepower by sacrificing versatility and range.
Torpedo Boats are used as protectors for planets and systems, so they rarely leave their systems.
There are no subtypes.
E-WAR BOATS:
Mass: Undefined, usually sub 30,000 tons.
E-war boats are designed for electronic warfare to support other craft like Monitors and Warships. They are more useful compared to the E-war systems on the larger crafts due to their ability to get closer to the enemy without being destroyed and the limited cost their destruction would bring. Most major military formations use E-war Corvettes due to their increased mobility and larger size.
Disruptor Boats are used to interfere with enemy communication and sensors.
Sensor Boats are used to cut through E-War interference and get information on the enemy.
Most E-War Corvettes have the capabilities of both subtypes, but E-war Boats lack the space to operate effectively with both capabilities.
BARGES:
Vessels of significant size but lacking interstellar capabilities, Barges used to be the backbone of much of human transportation, moving people, goods, and materials within systems and between Relay Systems. This was until the Module Tug took its place.
The term Barge was first used for Spacecraft in the late 21st century to describe large vessels used for transportation within a planetary orbit and moons. With the development of FTL, Barges became those craft with FTL Drives but lacked the capability to travel interstellar distances independently. Transportation Barges were phased out about halfway through the Age of War, though some independent human factions still use them.
MONITORS:
Mass: Usually over 100,000 tons
Combat vessels of notable size that lack interstellar capabilities, Monitors are commonly used for system defense. Monitors are designed for short-term assignments or permanent connection to supply lines, sacrificing much of the space and mass to increase their combat capabilities. Relay Assault Monitors are used for assaulting through relays.
System Defense Monitors are designed along the lines of normal warships but lacking the long-range capabilities of the craft.
Relay Assault Ships are vital in any attempt to secure a relay from the other side. Lacking in speed and long-term supplies, Relay Assault Ships are used to clear out craft beyond a relay. For relay defense, there are usually three layers: the minefield, the close-in swarm, and the firing line. After the minefield is cleared out, Relay Assault Ships are sent through to destroy the close-in swarm, the Combat Drones, Torpedo Boats, and other craft attempting to cut through E-War defenses and assaulting ships at close range. Most Relay Assault Ships are equipped with powerful point defense weapons, swarms or missiles and torpedos, and large, anti-ship lasers. Relay Assault Ships are equipped with powerful defensive systems to protect them from the firing line while they are clearing out the close-in craft.
Militaries do not expect Relay Assault Ships to survive for a long time, so they are designed to be able to dish out as much fire as possible in a short amount of time. This leads to rapid-fire munitions launchers and high power, long cooldown lasers being the most common weapons used for Relay Assault Ships. They are also cheaply made and are commonly unmanned. Most Relay Assault Ships are expected to be one-use ships, assaulting only a single relay before they are destroyed or damaged beyond what they are willing to repair.
Mosy Relay Assault Ships are the mass of a small Cruiser, but some are larger or smaller.
SHIPS:
Spacecraft with the ability to travel between star systems without assistance. The term ship in use for spacecraft first began in the 20th century, much like the analogs to the sea for space in general.
While Boats and Small Craft are usually not named, most Ships have their own names.
CORVETTES:
Mass: Undefined, usually sub 45,000 tons
The term Corvette is used for any small Warship that doe not fit into any other standees category. Corvettes are usually specalized craft with limited versatility or independence. Using a Corvette for anti-ship combat is inadvisable.
E-war Corvette is one of the most common Corvette subtypes in use. These craft are vital to any fleets electronic warfare efforts as their ability to close to shorter ranges with the enemy and decen amount of mass to carry equitment make them very effective at electronic warfare. Most E-war Corvettes are between 15,000 and 30,000 tons.
Systems Alliance Corvettes are named for Alliance military heroes.
Scout Corvettes are some of the smallest crafts considered Warships, most no more than a few thousand tons and some as small as a few hundred. They are used by fleets for scouting out systems. They usually work in Squadrons of 8 Scout Ships headed by a Frigate or a larger Scout Corvette. It is not uncommon for ships called Scout Corvettes or even formar military Scout Corvettes to be used for exploration.
Patrol Corvettes are relativly common in the forces smaller goverment that wish to exert power across multiple nearby systems on a bugit. Patrol Corvettes can operate in the same rose as Frigates, but are not as effective as the larger crafts.
DESTROYERS:
Mass: 25,000 to 80,000 tons
Destroyers are the smallest Warships used to fight other Warships. The primary weapon of the Destroyer is the torpedo, with lasers being used as the main secondary weapons. Destroyers rarly operate alone in the Alliance Navy, usually operating in a Squadron of six Destroyers and a Light Cruiser under the command of a Commodore. They are also commonly deployed in Strike Flotillas composed of four to six Destroyer Squadrons and an Escort Carrier acting as the Flotillas Flagships, under the command of a Rear Admeral.
Systems Alliance Destroyer clases all have a letter and all Destroyers' name's start with their clases letter.
FRIGATES:
Mass: 80,000 to 200,000 tons
Frigates are the primary patrol ships for frontier systems. Frigates are designed for long-range operations like patrols and commerce raiding. They also have sophisticated sensors and high speed, making them good scouts.
Systems Alliance Frigates are named after battles.
Patrol Frigates, usually just called Frigates, are the vast majority of Frigates in Human Space. During large fleet battles, Patrol Frigates move with their Squadrons and look for ships that are damaged and vulnerable, swooping in to take them out. They are commonly used in the rose of the Scout Frigate
Scout Frigates are relatively rare, their rose being done by Patrol Frigates. They are usually smaller than most Patrol Frigates but are equipped with substantial sensors, engines, and defenses to allow for exceptional reconnaissance, though they lack much in weaponry.
Scout Frigates operate in Squadrons with 8 Scout Corvettes and operate in Scout Flotillas of eight Scout Squadrons and a Light Cruiser as the Flagship.
During fleet battles, Scout Frigates help E-war Corvettes with electronic warfare by using their powerfull sensors to pierce enemy interference.
CRUISERS:
Mass: 200,000 to 1,200,000 tons
Cruisers are the most common command vessels used by human fleets. Cheaper than Dreadnoughts or Carriers, yet with good combat capabilities and enough mass to have specialized equipment necessary for Squadrons like E-war systems and complex computer systems. Most Squadrons are commanded by Cruisers.
Alliance Cruisers are named for cities on Earth.
Light Cruisers are Cruisers designed to operate as the command ships of Squadrons of smaller Warships like Frigates and Destroyers, carrying equipment that the smaller vessels can't due to their size. Light Cruisers are fast and carry similar armaments to their subordinate ships, leading to their being both Light Torpedo Cruisers for commanding Destroyers and Light Scout Cruisers for commanding Frigates. Most Light Cruisers mass between 200,000 and 350,000 tons, with Light Torpedo Cruisers usually being lower in mass.
Torpedo Cruisers were originally created as wonder weapons for smaller powers during the Age of War. Torpedo Cruisers are equipped with massive amounts of long-range Torpedos, allowing them to initiate a devastating alpha strike equal to or greater than any Dreadnought.
While they are formidable craft, they have major flaws; first, while the ships themselves are relatively cheap, with no MACs or powerful barriers to pay for, a single load of torpedos can cost the same amount as the ship. Any torpedo worth a damm is extremely expensive, making Torpedo Cruisers almost one-shot weapons. Second is that, after they fire, they are almost useless. Third, and most importantly, they are less effective than an equal price amount of Destroyers for torpedoes, and at long-range MACs are better.
The main reason that smaller, faster craft are used to deliver torpedoes and space battles are not ruled by massive torpedo-launching craft is that torpedoes, while far more powerful than MACs, are also far easier to intercept. A MAC round is a small projectile moving at fractional C speeds, designed to be hard to detect and even harder to hit. Torpedoes have to carry both fuel to accelerate and the fuel to alter trajectory to avoid projectiles and make it so that lasers only hit for a short time. The higher surface area per volume of MAC rounds allows for better dissipation of the heat from lasers. The forward cross-section of a MAC round is so small that its small engines can be used to more easily dodge than a torpedo. All of these reasons are why Destroyers and Torpedo Boats are used to deliver torpedoes at close range, it is an attempt to ensure that at least one torpedo makes it through by protecting them during most of the journey inside a ship that is large enough to be unaffected by GUARDIAN lasers, but small enough to dodge MAC rounds at mid and even close range, something a Torpedo Cruiser cant do effectively without becoming an oversized Destroyer that is inherently less effective at dodging MACs due to its larger size.
This means that while Torpedo Cruisers are useful in combat, they are not cost-effective. Torpedo Cruisers were used as a sort of mutually destroyed destruction by smaller powers. While they knew that the Torpedo Cruisers could not hope to effectively defend their territory from a truly dedicated attempt to take it by a significant power, they would at least do some damage to the enemy fleet and weaken the power. During the Age of War, the fighting was so fierce that any weakness created by the damage caused by the Torpedo Cruisers would make one of the larger powers focus on the weakened power when they were vulnerable. Knowing this, the powers would not attack the Torpedo Cruiser wielding power, understanding that even if they won, the damage sustained while doing it would leave them open. While in theory, this worked, in practice most groups that used Torpedo Cruisers were too small compared to their opponents that they could not do enough damage for the destruction to be mutually assured.
The Systems Alliance does not officially produce any Torpedo Cruisers, but many that were inherited from Alliance states' navies fulfill secondary roles and stay in the reserve fleet.
Heavy Cruisers are significantly larger than Light Cruisers, usually over half a million tons but under three-quarters of a million tons. They are also designed significantly differently from Light Cruiser, sharing more in common with Dreadnoughts, though still significantly different.
The Heavy Cruiser's role exists due to Dreadnoughts' ballooning costs and sizes. At the start of the Age of War, the average Dreadnought was between 400,000 and 600,000 tons, only a couple of times larger than the smaller warships. The latest Alliance Dreadnought class as of the First Contact War is three and a half million tons, many times larger. The increasing size of Dreadnoughts led to fewer, larger ships being produced. This left a gap for command vessels and made Dreadnoughts a strategic resource, During the Golden Age and the early Age of War, Dreadnoughts were the standard ship of the line; even minor systems usually had at least one Dreadnought as a command ship. Later into the Age of War, Dreadnoughts became so large that they were grouped together in a small number of formations, fiercely protected, and only sent out for the most important missions for fear of losing them. This left many postings without any type of capable command ship. Light Cruisers, then called Cruisers and Escort Carriers, could fill the role, but the former lacked command facilities of sufficient size and lacked the protection necessary for a fleet command ship. The latter was more promising, and many Fleets and Flotillas used them as flagships, but they lacked the fire support ability of Dreadnoughts and Heavy Cruisers.
Heavy Cruisers share much in common with their predecessors, containing a singel or pair of MACs running down the majority of the ship, but there are some differences; Heavy Cruiser usually had higher FTL speeds than Dreadnoughts, mostly to keep up with smaller ships, and a commensurately larger eezo core for their size. Modern Dreadnoughts have FTL speeds of around 8 LY/D (light years per day), while Heavy Cruisers and most other warships. This is due to the expanental increase in the amount of eezo needed for higher speeds, in order to make a Dreadnough go at 12 LY/D, it would require a eezo core 225% larger. The eezo decay rate also increases linearly with the amount of eezo in a core, meaning that, for instance, an Everest class Dreadnought designed to travel at 12 LY/D would only have a little over 22 years before its core would reach 25% decay and Alliance regulation would requize the cores replacement, an expensive process. This also means that Heavy Cruisers have more powerful Kenetic Barriers for their size than Dreadnoughts. They also usually have oversized E-war systems, commonly having the same E-war package or a striped down version of the one used on a Dreadnought designed at a similar times, giving Heavy Cruiser powerful E-war capabilities to use in support of their commands.
The origin of the space-born Battlecruisers can be traced to the German Navies Donner (Thunder) [all names obtained from Google Translate] class Dreadnoughts. In 2384 the German Navy was beginning a mid-life refit for the first of its two Donner class Dreadnoughts. During an inspection structruall damage was found, caused by a flaw in the design being exasperated by damage over the ships 50 years of service. The navy decided to inspect the other ship, Blitz (Lightning), and discoverd similar damage in it. While the damage was not immediately dangerous, the German Navy decides to not go through with the refits and shorten the ships' servace lives. There was a problem, the replacment eezo cores were already ordered, and the cancalation fees were almost as high as the cost for the core.
The German Navy was allredy building a new class of Dreadnoughts, but they allredy ordered the cores for those and the military did not have the funds to build two more Dreadnoughts, so there was nothing to due with the cores, until they got an idea. Using the funds saved by forgoing most of the refit on the Dreadnoughts, the navy expanded the size of a pair of Heavy Cruisers planned for construction, and placed the Dreadnought cores into them. These two ships, the Dresden and Bonn, were the first Battlecruiser, and proved themselves during the 24th century and even into the 25th. Several powers began to build similar ships, and the Battlecruiser became a common sight in larger navies.
Battlecruiser are usually nearing or at a million tons, a fair bit larger than most Heavy Cruisers, but only have slightly greater firepower. Ironically, Battlecruisers have the protection of a Dreadnought and firepower closer to Cruisers, the opposite of their seabound counterparts of the past.
Battlecruisers are used as heavy skirmishers, striking at enemy warships and runing away faster than thay can be followed, and as hunters, hunting down and destroying smaller ships.
DREADNOUGHTS:
Mass: Usually over 1,000,000 tons
The pinnacle os space warfare, Dreadnoughts are more mobile gun carriers for their massive MACs, usually running 70 to 90% of the length of the main hull. Most modern Dreadnoughts carry two MACs, though some carry one or rarly three MACs.
After the allmost complete absorption of humanity into the Systems Allience, all but a few Dreadnoughts are under the control of the Alliance.
Alliance Dreadnoughts are named after mountains. The Alliance operates 16 Dreadnoughts in its active fleet, four of them are Everest class, six of them are Saint Helena class, and two are older Denali class Dreadnoughts. Two more Everest class Dreadnoughts are under construction to replace the two remaining Danalis. The Alliance reserve fleet has far more Dreadnoughts than the active fleet. The active reserve consists of 16 Dreadnoughts, mostly older post-unification Alliance designs and a few of the best and largest pre-unification state and Alliance designs. The deep reserve consists of 57 Dreadnoughts, some almost a century old, all having had their cores removed to save costs on replacement. These were all produced before the Alliance Unification and are sub-par compared to more modern Dreadnoughts, almost all being less than two million tons.
Pocket Dreadnought is a term that was first attributed to the Irish Dublin class Dreadnought, a rather small Dreadnought for the early 25th century at 900,000 tons, when Dreadnoughts produced at similar times were reaching 1.2 to 1.4 million tons. The class saw a surprising amount of success, with its good capabilities for its size and relatively low cost for a Dreadnought, leading to 13 being produced, 4 for Ireland (two in 2420 and another two in 2435 to a modified design), and 9 for other nations. These ships served with distinction for a large part of the Age of War, and three still survive as museum ships, the Dublin herself, the Scottish Republics SRN (Scottish Republican Navy) Black Agnes, and the Io Confederations ICNS Defiant. Similar Pocket Dreadnoughts were produced for smaller powers throughout the Age of War, and some independent powers not part of the Alliance still produce what the Alliance considers Pocket Dreadnoughts.
The Systems Alliance Warbook, last updated in 2650, defines Pocket Dreadnoughts as "any warship carrying one or more MACs spinally mounted for over 60% of its main hull's length, and off a mass no less than 800,000 tons and not more than 2 million tons,".
The Alliance does not use any vessels categorized as Pocket Dreadnoughts, though a fair bit of the Alliance Battlecruisers fall into the size range of Pocket Dreadnoughts.
The term Second Class Dreadnought was used in mostly unofficial capacities starting in the Golden Age to connotate Dreadnoughts of a smaller mass than most Dreadnoughts used by major powers. Some people and powers even used three tiers for Dreadnoughts, with those crafts falling into the third class commonly being retroactively called Pocket Dreadnoughts even centuries before the term was first used.
Third Class Dreadnoughts
[Next one will not have civilian ships]