Aegis (WarShip class)

Aegis
Production information
Manufacturer	Di Tron Industries
Introduced	2372
Use	Heavy Cruiser
Tech Base	Star League
Cost	???
Technical specifications
Mass	750,000
Length	725
Sail Diameter
Fuel
Burn Rate
Safe Thrust
Top Thrust	???
Sail Integrity
KF Drive Integrity
LF Battery	Yes
Armament	18 x NAC/35s 8 x White Shark tubes 24 x NAC/20s 12 x NL55 4 x Barracuda tubes 4 x NL45s
Armor	Grumman K5 Ferro-Carbide
DropShip Capacity	4
Crew	180
Grav Decks	2, both 90 meter diameter
Escape Pods/Life Boats	???
Heat Sinks	2,046
Structural Integrity
BV (1.0)	???
BV (2.0)	???

Description

First launched in 2372, the Aegis-class Heavy Cruiser is one of the oldest WarShip designs still in common use, serving with distinction with the Terran Hegemony, Star League, ComStar and Clan fleets to this day.

Among the most sophisticated designs at the time of its creation, including many new features that would go on to become standard, the Aegis boasted excellent firepower and maneuverability, going on to serve with the Hegemony Armed Forces until 2531 when after a number of refits designed to keep pace with newer vessels the decision was made to retire the aging class in favor of the Avatar-class. However, Deborah Cameron, the cautious Director-General of the Teran Hegemony at the time, chose to send the 106 surviving ships to mothballs just in case. This was to prove a boon to the newly formed Star League who found a critical need for WarShips to serve in the Reunification War, with First Lord Ian Cameron ordering the return of the Aegis cruisers to active duty in 2582. One-third of the cruisers were turned over to the Council Lords to be added to their private fleets, with the rest went to Hegemony shipyards to be refitted for use in the Star League Navy.

Di Tron spent the next ten years transforming the relics into some of the most advanced warships of their time. The newer equipment was mostly smaller than the old, and there was enough room to add a few amenities, such as a Zero-G pool. One of the most important innovations was the Lithium-Fusion Battery System, the Aegis being among the first designs to receive it across the class. The archaic and age worn materials and construction techniques made the hull of the Aegis weaker than on later ships, also leaving the ship more easily detected by enemy sensors, but a surprising number survived the fall of the Star League and departed the Inner Sphere during the Exodus. A number of these craft have been observed in Clan toumans, the design highly favored by Clan Jade Falcon who use it to perform escort and transport duties.

Armament

The main firepower of the Aegis is its eighteen Armstrong II 35-Series naval autocannons, two each in the nose and each forward angle with four on each broadside and mounted aft, and eight White Shark missile tubes, three on each fore angle with two directly aft. The secondary large-caliber armament is intended to defend the fighter launch bays and consists of three Randall-55 NL55s and a single Barracuda tube on each broadside, a further three NL55s, Baracuda tube and six Imperator-20 NAC/20s on each rear angle, with four Magna-45 NL45s directly aft.

Cargo

The Star League era Aegis has a single 85,835 ton capacity cargo bay, with enough small craft bays to carry three squadrons of AeroSpace Fighters, eighteen fighters total, and ten Small Craft, alongside it's four docking collars.

File:Aegis.gif

Clan Refit Aegis

Variants

• Clan - The Clan version differs little from those used by the SLDF and ComStar, save a minor reduction in armor and cargo space to boost the fighter compliment to twenty, four Stars, in line with Clan military structure.

Named Vessels

• ISS Righteous Fury - Com Guard First Independent Squadron
• ISS Swift Justice - Com Guard First Independent Squadron
• ISS Avenging Sword - Com Guard Second Independent Squadron
• FWLS Olympic - Originally purchased by the Free Worlds League in the late twenty-sixth century, the vessel was lost to a Draconis Combine battle group during the ComStar War. The derelict was rediscovered and reconditioned in 3057, assigned to FWLM Secret Fleet.
• FWLS Nueva Badajoz - Formerly the SLS Impetuous, it was recovered with Blakist aid and entered service in 3060, assigned to FWLM Secret Fleet.
• SLS Blood Oath - Clan Nova Cat Vision Naval Star
• SLS Bond - Clan Nova Cat Vision Naval Star
• SLS Promise - Clan Nova Cat Vision Naval Star
• SLS Blade - Clan Nova Cat Transcendent Naval Star
• SLS Path of Honor - Clan Nova Cat Transcendent Naval Star
• SLS Vision Quest - Clan Nova Cat Transcendent Naval Star
• SLS Principle - Clan Nova Cat Mystic Naval Star
• SLS Chronicle - Clan Nova Cat Mystic Naval Star
• SLS Remembrance - Clan Nova Cat Mystic Naval Star
• WoBS Immortal Spirit - Word of Blake recovered ship, formerly SLS E Presley. The ship was extensively used during the 3060s in black ops against various opponents. It was later captured by the Jade Falcon Aegis Cruiser Red Talon.
• JF Red Talon - Former Star League vessel that accompanied General Kerensky in Exodus from Inner Sphere. The ship became part of Clan Jade Falcon.

References

• Technical Readout: 2750 - pp 132-133
• Technical Readout: 3057 - pp 144-145
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised - pp 142-143
• Field Manual: ComStar - pp 44, 110
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League - pp 119