Here is an example of how we might pull together the naval side of a KU TRO down the line.
To make sense of the discussion of the Lola III below, there are some initial notes about how naval technology in the KU works going forward - which does mean we'll need to do some updates to existing designs for the TRO.
KU WarShip Overview
Rules NotesKU naval technology has more variance to it than that of canon, making WarShip generations far more important than the case for canon. For example, certain armor and other technology only becomes available as technology advances. Also, capital weapon technology improves as well, making for far more effective vessels as technology advances.
The list below outlines what technologies are available at each level of naval technology.
- Inner Sphere Tech - Standard Capital and non-capital weapons, screen launchers, standard armour, grav decks
- Star League Tech - Improved Ferro-Aluminium armour, standard Capital weapons, Star League non-capital weapons, L-F Battery, HPGs
- Advanced IS / Golden Century Tech - Ferro-Carbide armour, KU Advanced Capital weapons, KU Advanced Tech non-capital weapons
- Clan Tech Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armour, KU Clan Capital weapons and Clan Tech non-capital weapons.
The following tach is available to the various powers.
Inner Sphere Tech All other nations
Star League Tech Federated Suns, Lyran Commonwealth, Capellan Confederation,
Advanced / Golden Century Tech Terran Hegemony
Clan Tech All Clans, Wolf’s Dragoons
In Universe Piece
General Wolf,
We have finally been able to penetrate the Terran’s naval databases and can finally make an assessment against the other realm’s and the Clan’s naval technology. We had wished to make this breakthrough sooner, however, since the return of Warships to the Inner Sphere a little more than a decade ago, every state has guarded its knowledge against outsiders, delaying our ability to analyse the true extent of naval advancement and technology. To provide an initial working overview of the differences in technology, we have undertaken a comparison of the Lola III-class destroyer, which is deployed by the Hegemony (Lola 33), Clans (Lola III-C) and ourselves (Lola III-W).
All of the Lola III variants mass 680,000 tons and are able to accelerate at a maximum of 3-g’s. The original vessel has an endurance of 76 days with 1,200 tons of fuel, which is retained by the Clan version, and increased to 152 days (2,400 tons) for the Hegemony vessel and 367 (5,800 tons) for the Wolf Dragoons variant.
Structurally, the original Lola III had been reenforced by a factor of 8.33, which enabled it to carry 680 tons of armor, though only 322 tons of Improved Ferro-Aluminium were installed. Again, the Clan version retains this approach, though the armour is upgraded to Lamellor Ferro-Carbide. The Lola 33 saw an increase in structural strength of 20% and a much heavier armor belt of 816 tons of Ferro-Carbide, due to the focus of the Hegemony’s Mark 3 program being on survivability. Our own version saw the retention of the original structure, but the upgrading and increasing of protection to 680 tons of Lamellor Ferro-Carbide.
Transport for each version varies as well, with the original Lola III carrying no DropShips, four small craft and six aerospace fighters. The Lola 33 and Lola III-W increase the fighter capacity to a full Wing, plus a command section (20 fighters), while the Clan version has ten small craft and a Star of ten fighters. The Lola 33 does not add DropShip collars, though in keeping with Clan naval doctrine, which places an emphasis on carrying capacity and DropShip support, eight docking collars are added. Our own W variant is influenced by Clan design philosophies, though to a lesser extent and carries only four DropShips.
The weapons load of the original Lola III is twelve NL/55, four NL/45, two White Shark and five Barracuda capital missile tubes, and sixteen NAC/10. The Lola III was not able to utilise its full firepower due to the heat system being only 89% effective.
The Hegemony Lola 33 upgrades the weaponry to the more advanced models produced by Terran yards, as well as doubling the entire weapons layout, providing for more than twice the capital firepower of the original vessel. For close in protection, the Lola 33 adds the standard ComStar designed anti-missile and anti-fighter defences, with thirty-two F-MIDS, sixteen Anti-Missile Systems, and eight quad mounted Large Pulse Laser batteries. The Lola 33 generates more than twice the heat burden of the Lola III, but a vastly expanded heat dissipation system is able to manage the load.
The Clan version of the Lola III also upgrades the weaponry. In this case four NL/55, four NL/45, and four NAC/10 are added, along with a full upgrade of all weapons to Clan capital grade models. Anti-Fighter defences are extensive, including thirty-two ER Large Laser, thirty-two Artemis equipped LRM-20’s, and eight of the Clan’s long range anti-fighter defence Arrow X SAM systems, which are designed to take our Clan strike fighters before they can deliver their short range Raptor anti-ship rockets. Like the Hegemony version, the Lola III-C can manage its heat load effectively.
Our own version of the ship, the Lola III-W, add nine Nl/55, four NL/45, eight NAC/10, and four Barracuda, as well as an upgrade to Clan standard capital weaponry. The close in defences consist of eight layered anti-missile networks, each with an Arrow X, F-MIDS, and a Clantech Anti-Missile System, the F-MIDS copied from the Hegemony. Making life difficult for fighter, shuttles and DropShips are sixty-four Clan spec Ultra AC/10’s. Running the hottest of all four models, the heat system was again upgraded to manage the load.
As can be seen, all three upgrades of the venerable Star League Lola III do away with the excessive cargo of the original model, focusing the additional mass to the priorities of each’s doctrine. In the case of the Hegemony, structure and armor are the highest priority, then weapons, where the Clans place a premium on transport capacity. Our own needs fall in between this, making for a more versatile variant of the ship.
