Design Challenge: Late Star League Battleship.

[FastConcentrate8]

Another design for AU, still for House Hydros and the Eiconian Conglomerate.

In the late 2600s, with the SLDF/Hegemony commissioning the very modern McKenna and Texas Class combined with their existing Battleship fleet looking long in the tooth, the Eiconian Security Forces heavily considered a new Battleship class. While the budget council was only able to provide the funding for their next generation Battlecruiser program, eventually the Executive of Defense managed to convince the House Lord, the Grand Executive, to sign off on a new Battleship class in 2702.

However, the various mega-corporations of the Conglomerate see this new class of Capital Ship as a golden opportunity to be a cash cow tech-demonstrator. This caused the price to balloon to ridiculous levels though it did create the most technologically advanced Battleships in the Inner Sphere.

In addition, a special one-off ship of the class was constructed in 2728, the ECV/SLS Titan. The ship was constructed as yet an even greater technological demonstrator and as a gift to the SLDF with their technological input from the Hegemony and Bluenose Clipperships. The result was the most technologically advanced WarShip ever constructed at that point and was 200,000 tons heavier than the base models. However, when experimenting with using an advanced Ship-Board AI designed to assist the Captain and control the ship in emergencies, the Conglomerate learned why mixing quantum computers and KF physics is a really bad idea which resulted in the infamous ECV Titan Incident where most of the major navies of the Inner Sphere worked together to track down and try to shoot down the rogue, drone controlled Battleship.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

So you need a Battleship at approximately McKenna/Texas weight? And then one 200Kt larger that’s a drone?

[FastConcentrate8]

So you need a Battleship at approximately McKenna/Texas weight? And then one 200Kt larger that’s a drone?

Correct with as much needlessly advanced tech crammed on because a combination of design bloat, internal corruption, and profiteering by defense contractors.

[Vehrec]

Correct with as much needlessly advanced tech crammed on because a combination of design bloat, internal corruption, and profiteering by defense contractors.

A problem arises that it's hard to come up with needlessly advanced tech to cram onto a late star league ship.  Like, what can we do that is more expensive than a LF-battery?  Nothing, short of putting a half-dozen HPGs on this ship.

[FastConcentrate8]

A problem arises that it's hard to come up with needlessly advanced tech to cram onto a late star league ship.  Like, what can we do that is more expensive than a LF-battery?  Nothing, short of putting a half-dozen HPGs on this ship.

Yeah, in retrospect that one was more for flavor in the "Go big or go home" type.

Probably not the best one.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Long and short of the fiction surrounding the initial design: basically the lead scientist was a bit lazy and head the 'basics' of the designs of the new Texas and McKenna and took both and combined them with some of the Farragut's design aspects to design their new Battleship. He hadn't quite heard of all missile designs, or huge aerospace carriers, or even drone based systems but he did decide to put a LF Battery in it, as well as a mobile HPG (may or may not work as advertised). Cargo was a bit light (especially ammo) for such a large ship, but why would the biggest and meanest ship on the block not have cargo carriers with it? Point defenses? HA! thats what the little ships are for, and we have some highly advanced hangar bays for our full wing of fighters and support craft. Plus six full assault DropShips!

EDIT: Once again MML messes up the ammo weight for the Gauss and NAC/40's

Drone ship to follow (have to double check Drone rules)

Code: [Select]

Hydra-class Battleship
Mass: 1,860,000 tons
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Battle Value: 293,232
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-X-X
Cost: 21,508,668,000 C-bills

Weapons
- 48x Naval Laser 45's
- 48x Heavy Naval PPC's
- 12x Naval Autocannon 40's (20x Shots each)
- 6x AR-10 Capital Missile Launchers (10x Killer Whales and White Sharks each)
- 4x Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles (20x Shots each)

Fuel: 4,000 tons (10,000)
Safe Thrust: 3
Maximum Thrust: 5
Sail Integrity: 8
KF Drive Integrity: 36
Heat Sinks: 8,000 (16,000)
Structural Integrity: 100

Armor
    Nose: 636
    Fore Sides: 500/500
    Aft Sides: 500/500
    Aft: 400

Cargo
    Bay 1:  ARTS Fighter (54)       12 Doors 
    Bay 2:  ARTS Small Craft (18)   6 Doors   
    Bay 3:  Cargo (153,978 tons)   1 Door   

Ammunition:
    240 rounds of NAC/40 ammunition (14.4 tons),
    80 rounds of AR10 Killer Whale ammunition (4,000 tons),
    80 rounds of Heavy N-Gauss ammunition (1 tons),
    80 rounds of AR10 White Shark ammunition (3,200 tons)

Dropship Capacity: 6
Grav Decks: 4 (100 m, 100 m, 100 m, 100 m)
Escape Pods: 40
Life Boats: 40
Crew:  100 officers, 339 enlisted/non-rated, 118 gunners, 90 bay personnel, 100 marines

Notes: Equipped with
    1 Mobile Hyperpulse Generators (Mobile HPG)
    1 Lithium-Fusion Battery
    1 Naval Comm-Scanner Suite (Large)
    3,720 tons of ferro-carbide armor.

Weapons:                                        Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat)                                  Heat  SRV     MRV     LRV      ERV    Class       

Nose (2,142 Heat)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC
2 Naval Gauss (Heavy)                       36   60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital Gauss
    Heavy N-Gauss Ammo (40 shots)
2 Naval Gauss (Heavy)                       36   60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital Gauss
    Heavy N-Gauss Ammo (40 shots)

FRS/FLS (1,790 Heat)
3 Capital Missile Launcher (AR10 Launcher)  60   6(60)   6(60)   6(60)    6(60)   AR10       
    AR10 Killer Whale Ammo (30 shots)
    AR10 White Shark Ammo (30 shots)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
8 Naval Laser 45                            560  36(360) 36(360) 36(360) 36(360)  Capital Laser
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC

RBS/LBS (2,360 Heat)
8 Naval Laser 45                            560  36(360) 36(360) 36(360) 36(360)  Capital Laser
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC

ARS/ALS (1,865 Heat)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
1 Naval Autocannon (NAC/40)                 135  40(400) 40(400)  0(0)     0(0)   Capital AC 
    NAC/40 Ammo (20 shots)
8 Naval Laser 45                            560  36(360) 36(360) 36(360) 36(360)  Capital Laser
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC

Aft (1,800 Heat)
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC
4 Naval PPC (Heavy)                         900  60(600) 60(600) 60(600) 60(600)  Capital PPC

[FastConcentrate8]

Drone ship to follow (have to double check Drone rules)

Love the design and yes, I do know that drones with a KF Drive are technically rules illegal and in the AU legally illegal. They soon discover why because of the ECV Titan.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Love the design and yes, I do know that drones with a KF Drive are technically rules illegal and in the AU legally illegal. They soon discover why because of the ECV Titan.

Oh I know i just forget how to build Drones (and where the rules are lol). Thanks I do enjoy making silly things