Aegis (WarShip class)
Aegis | |
Production information | |
Manufacturer | Di Tron Heavy Industries |
Production Year | 2372[1] |
Use | Heavy Cruiser |
Tech Base | Star League |
Cost | 14,980,141,000 C-bills |
Technical specifications | |
Mass | 750,000 tons |
Length | 725 m |
Sail Diameter | 1.308 m |
Fuel | 1,000 tons |
Burn Rate | |
Safe Thrust | |
Top Thrust | 1.5 g |
Sail Integrity | 4 |
KF Drive Integrity | 16 |
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 | 597.5 tons of Grumman K5 Ferro-Carbide |
DropShip Capacity | 4 |
Small craft/ Aerospace fighters |
10/18 |
Crew | 180 |
Grav Decks | 2, both 90 meter diameter |
Escape Pods/Life Boats | 0/20 |
Heat Sinks | 2,046 |
Structural Integrity | 75 |
BV (1.0) | 84,526 |
BV (2.0) | ??? |
Contents
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 Terran 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.
The original Aegis class had bunk space for a crew of 768, whereas the upgraded vessels required only somewhat more than 180 crew members. The spare capacities make the Aegis notably well-suited for rescue and evacuation operations.[2]
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 its four docking collars.
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, 2 Stars, in line with Clan military structure. BV (1.0) = 167,790
- A unique, one-of-a-kind ship, the SLS Manassas was modified to carry an experimental jump drive with a pre-booster system that enabled the ship to jump up to 40 light-years per jump, 10 more than the usual 30 light-year upper limit on jump engines.[3]
Named Vessels
- Clan Wolf
- CWS Jade Wolf - formerly the CJF White Talon, served during the Falcon Incursion of 3064.
- Word of Blake
- WoBS Herald of Justice - The Herald of Justice was destroyed in the New Avalon system in 3068.[4]
- WoBS Herald of Retribution - The Herald of Retribution was destroyed in the Sian system in 3070.[4]
- WoBS Herald of Wisdom - The Herald of Wisdom was one of five Word of Blake vessels to be destroyed during CASE WHITE in 3068.[4]
- Wolf's Dragoons
- WDS Alexander - The Alexander was the flagship of Wolf's Dragoons' General Maeve Wolf. In December 3067, the vessel was at the forefront when Wolf returned to Outreach. The Alexander destroyed several Blakist DropShips and damaged two WarShips in the process. The Alexander was lost while covering the Dragoons' withdrawal from Outreach.[5][6]
See Also
Gallery
- Aegis.gif
Clan Refit Aegis
- Color-warship.png
Clan Refit Aegis cut-away
Aegis circa. 3068
References
- ↑ MUL online date for the Aegis (WarShip class)
- ↑ Living Legends, p. 61 (Decks 13-16)
- ↑ Living Legends
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 128, "Original Word Of Blake Fleet"
- ↑ Dawn of the Jihad & Blake Ascending, p. 35 "Outreach: A Survivor's Account"
- ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3070, p. 14 & Blake Ascending, p. 174, "Timeline of the Jihad"
- 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
Bibliography
- Blake Ascending
- Dawn of the Jihad
- Field Manual: Crusader Clans
- Field Manual: ComStar
- Field Manual: Free Worlds League
- Field Manual: Warden Clans
- Jihad: Final Reckoning
- Jihad Hot Spots: 3070
- Jihad Hot Spots: 3072
- Jihad Hot Spots: Terra
- Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers
- Technical Readout: 2750
- Technical Readout: 3057
- Technical Readout: 3057 Revised