Bright Warrior program Upgrades - Part I |
The
classic units of the fleet:
Warlock, Omega, Poseidon, Tillman, Nova, Nova Delta, Lupo |
An important branch of the Bright Warrior program was centered on
the upgrading of the existing classes of warships.
A first selection of the effectively utilizable ships in an
eventual confrontation with an intrusion of the the Thirdspace
Aliens led to some preliminary conclusions: first of all, a ship
must be conceived from the origin to use a gravitic drive system;
the only operational E.A.units with such a propulsion are the
Nike battlecruisers, while the Warlock Destroyers and the
Centurion and Gladium heavy combat ships were designed to accept
and use a gravitic drive. This leaves the bulk of the Earth
alliance ships out of the possibility of a mobility improvement.
So, the available options left for improvements are related to
sensors, weapons, and passive defence (Armors). In these fields,
much was possible to do, and much has been done.
The technical specifications include only the relevant variants, not all the data.
NOTE: THE DIFFERENCES IN THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ARE EVIDENCED - SEE THE LINKS FOR THE UNMODIFIED SHIPS AND FOR THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION OF THE WEAPON AND ARMOR SYSTEMS.
1-WARLOCK CLASS HEAVY DESTROYERS |
Actually, the edge of the Earthforce
Navy, in terms of operative capability, versatility, and number
(485 units availables at 01/01/2278, 1 of them enlisted in the
EFNI).
The armor (Carbonat VI-A or VIII-A) is adequate, and doesn't need
an upgrade.(the series VI-A and VIII-A of armor have an
intermediate nantechnologychal layer)
Among the main weapons, missile launchers and G.O.D. heavy
particle cannons are "state of the art", and very
effectives, so they are good at the state.
The Pulse cannons (Raytheon M111) are subject to an improvement
that, retaining the original mount, turret, and energy feeding
systems replaces each M111 weapon with a Raytheon MI190 Ion
cannon, each WRX1028 particle/pulse turret is replaced with a WRI
2028 Ion repeater, and the railguns are relocated to improve the
firearcs and the fire concentration in the frontal arc, taking
account of the fact that the original emplacement has been one of
the most criticized aspects of this excellent ship; A fourth
railgun turret is added on a sponson to cover the rear superior
sector, amnd so actually the Railguns have no more blind spots
and allow lager superpositions of the firearcs.
The dorsal Ion cannons emplacements (turrets n°2,3,4,5) are
modified to allow better firearcs.
All the weapons have the I.O.W.T. Tracking and Fire conrol
system.
The sensors have been upgraded to the "Warlock Beta"
standard with the installation of the I.L.S.S. "Argo
1", and of the EGAD.
The actual combination of Engines(2*Lockheed-General Electric
I-79LGE12 gravitic enhanced plasma engines and 4*Lockheed-General
Electric I-75GE110 plasma engines) is
upgraded to six I-79LGE12 gravitic enhanced plasma engines and is
added the "Waverider 2-A" gravitic drive. The more
powerful reactors and the new propulsion system allows a vastly
superior range, an improved mobility and a larger energy
production, with a near double rate of fire of the G.O.D.
Cannons.
The transformation requires five weeks of work for each ship for
the assembly, 14 specialized shipyards for this task were opened
in the orbital facilities of Earth, Proxima III and Flinn.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Warlock Beta
Type: Heavy Destroyer
Length: 1,992.4 meters
Mass: 74.8 million
metric tons
Acceleration: 3.75 G
Crew: 480
Fighters: 48 Lockheed SA 32 Thunderbolt Starfury.
Other: 6* Lockheed-Coronado C27N space assault shuttle, or
12*Hades-N atmospheric assault shuttles.
Power/Propulsion:
6*Westinghouse
"Event Horizon" Gravitic Enhanced Fusion Reactors.
6*Lockheed-General
Electric I-79LGE12 Gravitic Enhanced Plasma Engines.
1*Lockheed-Mitchell
"Waverider 2 - W" Gravitic Drive.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump engines.
Weapons:
2*Earthforce Arsenals Mk V
Heavy Particle G.O.D. cannons
8*Raytheon MI190
Heavy Ion Cannon turrets.
2*Westinghouse-O.T.O.Melara HPM1 "Mjolnir" Heavy
Plasma Mortars.
4*O.T.O.Melara 406/240 Vulcano
Heavy railgun turrets.
24*Raytheon"Blue Phoenix" Missiles.12*Launching tubes.
32*Sandia"Shillelagh" missiles.16*Launching tubes with automatic
reloading.
16*Walther-Raytheon WRI 2028 Ion Repeater Turrets.
Defense:
16 to 22 meter armored hull CARBONAT
-VI (Multi-layer
plasteel/Polycristalline composite armour), anti-neutron ablative
armour. Additional
layers of nanotechnologychal armor.
25*Interceptor Mk. III
Defense Grid Projectors with E-Web
Mk.III
E.A.S.SORCERESS - Warlock Beta Class heavy Destroyer
2-OMEGA CLASS DESTROYERS |
Still today, the backbone of the fleet, available in 1290 units.
The Omega upgrading project was the most demanding activity of
the Bright Warrior program, and took five years from the
beginning to the conclusion. It was driven by three main
considerations:
I- The Omega class is too much
important, in terms of effectiveness and sheer number, to not be
upgraded at the best of our possibilities -
II- The structure of the Omega, thanks to his modular
construction, eases the interventions. The shipyards for the
Omega building and repairs are numerous and well distributed.
III- The informations collected in the "Damocles"
investigation allowed an aimed activity, to improve the weak
points without waste of time and resources.
So, was taken the decision to upgrade the Omega in the following
way:
The armor (Carbonat IV or V) is upgraded with an outer
nanotechnologychal layer, in a way similar to the one applied to
the Nova Delta of the EFNI. The trasformation is expensive, but
not difficult thanks to the precedent experiences and the still
existing facilities and fixtures.
Among the main weapons, the pulse/particle Omega cannons are
replaced wiht the Ion pulse/antimatter beam streamer Raytheon
SUPEROMEGA cannons, placed on the same rear mounts and turrets of
the original Omega particle/pulse weapons. The FWD turrets are
relocated, and two other turrets are added on the sides of the
forward hammer, in a configuration similar to the Novas.
the WM203 Ion cannons are placed in substitution of the WRK1005
pulse/particle weapons. Are added even a Q-pulse spinally installed
laser, just below the hangar, and a railgun twin turret.
All the weapons are equipped with the I.O.W.T. Tracker. The
I.L.S.S. "Argo 2" is a standard equipment, the EGAD
Mk.5 is installed.
The whole Engine/reactor block, either the Beagle-Bryant BB9-K,
or the Lockheed-General Electric I-75 GE110 with Westinghouse
"Vulcan-VII" Fusion Reactors, is removed, and
replaced by the powerful Lockheed-General Electric I-75
BEW10-XN engines with Westinghouse "Vulcan-XI" reactors, improving the
acceleration and more than compensatinng the addictional weight
and power requirements of the new armor and weapons.**
After this transformation, the Omega-epsilon (official
designation of the new standard) is a combat unit more powerful
in terms of weapons and armor, and much better equipped in terms
of sensors than the "Shadomegas" (Omega-X advanced
destroyers), utilized in the last days of the Earth civil war.
The Omega Epsilon is comparable in terms of raw firepower and
probably superior in terms of armor, to a Sharlin Warcuiser.*
The transformation requires seven/eight weeks of work for each
ship for the assembly, 8 specialized shipyards for this task were
opened in the orbital facilities of Earth, and Proxima III.
(*Sharlin,
that is still superior in terms of mobility, sensor systems,
electronic warfare, targeting systems, hyperspace navigation,
energy production and distribution. Anyway, in a theoretical
confrontation, a Sharlin must face an Omega Epsilon with great
prudence: the main antiship weapon of the Sharlin is the
"Bow Cannon", a continuous beam Neutron projector with
a power of 5000 Terawatts and a core diameter of abot 6 meters,
and the side turrets cannons, both with a power output of 3000
Terawatts and a core diameter of 6 meters.
Clearly the power output is enormous, but the terminal effect on
the target of the actual weapon system of the Omega Epsilon is at
least at the same level: the four SUPEROMEGA antimatter
streamers, rated at 700 Terawatts on less than two meters of core
diameter, have a power density on the target of 220
Terawatts/square meter, while the Sharlin cannons have
respectively 176 (main bow beam) and 106 (side turrets beams)
Terawatts/square meter.
The theoretical penetration of the SUPEROMEGA cannon is, so,
slightly superior, even if the overall power output of the four
cannons of the Omega is about the 80% of the power output of the
"Bow Cannon" of the Sharlin (and an half of the power
output of the Shargoti's one)
- As a reference, the power density of the OMEGA heavy particle
cannons (320 Terawatts) is 98 Terawatts/square meter, the power
density of the GN-155 G'Quan particle beam cannons is 81
Terawatts/square meter.
Must be added that the battery of SUPEROMEGA cannons and WM203
twin turrets are all Ion-Bolt capables, and so the short range
firepower of the Omega Epsilon (backed even by the railgun
turret) is something impressive, as it is the
antifighter/interceptor covering.
Overall, actually, at close range the only warships that can
match the Omega Epsilon are other Earth Alliance units, heavy
destroyers or dreadnoughts.
**
A feature applied on the Omega Epsilon is the rotating section
interlock system: the shaft and the rotor have never been a structural
weak spot of the Omegas: they are built so structurally sound, and the
bearings of the rotor are so sturdy and heavily armoured, that even in
combat the seizure of the rotating section was never a particularly
significant concern (at worst, this meant a loss of the gravity,
without the real risk of a structural damge of the ship).
The real handicap is that the lobes of the rotor strongly interfere
with the firearcs of the side cannons: this can be tolerated for the
classic Omegas, whose secondary cannons are essentially defensive
weapons, but the battery of twelve WM 203 twin ion cannons of the
Superomega is an enormously powerful weapon system, and it must be
exploited at 100%.
Even the acceleration allowed by the new engines is superior, and
enhances the problems causated by the vectorial sum of the centripetal
and linear accelerations, so, in combat, the Omega Epsilons lock their
rotor in horizontal (flat) position.
The cardanic mounting of the command deck is used to give to the crew
an orientation coherent with the axes of the ship (psychologically, the
crew of a warship operates better when its own position is in
accordance with the perception of the ship's position and reactions).
The interlock is obtained through eight clamps, four forward and four
rear mounted hydraulic jacks that are held and locked in eight positive
lock receptacles. The dimensions and the materials used make of this
configuration a virtual single block frame.
The horizontal position of the lobes means that in large parte of the
superior and inferior hemisphere of the ship, a target will be under
the fire of six WM 203 ion cannons and four SUPEROMEGA Antimatter/ion
projectors (and eventually even the interceptors fire ), and even the
broadsides have totally free firearcs.
A further advantage is that is totally eliminated the Gyroscopic effect
- In fact, the couterrotating flywheels on the main rotor bearings
compensate the inertial effects, so the manoeuverability is not
hampered, but the mechanical stresses on some parts of the the
structure and on the bearings are not eliminated, so the locking of the
rotating section allows to totally exploit the benefits of the upgraded
plasma thrusters manoeuvre system, giving to the Omega an unexpected
nimbleness.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Omega Epsilon
Type: Destroyer
Length: 1,754.2 meters
Mass: 39.2 million
metric tons
Acceleration: 2.48 g
Fighter: 36 Lockheed SA 32 Thunderbolt Starfury.
Power/Propulsion:
4*Westinghouse
"Vulcan-X" Fusion Reactors.
4*Lockheed-General Electric I-75 BEW10-XN plasma engines.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump engines.
Weapons:
4*Raytheon SUPEROMEGA Antimatter beam streamers/Heavy
IonPulse turrets.
4*Raytheon SUPEROMEGA Antimatter beam streamers (rear firing)
2*Westinghouse-O.T.O.Melara HPM1 "Mjolnir" Heavy
Plasma Mortars.
1*O.T.O.Melara 127/748 "COMPACT" railgun turret
12*Westinghouse-OTO Melara WM 203
Ion pulse twin turrets.
1*A.M.S. QSL -3E
Q-spoiling Hard-Ray Spinal Laser
24*Sandia "Shillelagh"missiles,
2*launching tubes.
Defense:
9 to 14 meter armored hull (Multi-layer CARBONAT
5 ™ composite armour, nanotechnolgychal layer).
16*Interceptor Mk. II
Defense Grid Projectors with E-Web
Mk.II
E.A.S.CRIO - Omega Epsilon Class Destroyer
3-POSEIDON CLASS HEAVY CARRIERS |
(6 units available at 01/01/2279)
The armor (Carbonat IV or V) is upgraded with an outer
nanotechnologychal layer, the pulse/particle Omega cannons are
substituted wiht the Ion pulse/antimatter beam streamer Raytheon
SUPEROMEGA cannons, installed on the same mounts and turrets of
the original Omega particle/pulse weapons. the WM203 Ion cannons
are placed in replacement of the WRK1005 pulse/particle weapons,
and eight more WM203 cannons are added. The engines have been
upgraded, but not replaced.
4-TILLMAN CLASS HEAVY DREADNOUGHTS |
In service in four units, (E.A.S.
Tillman, E.A.S. Texas, E.A.S. New York, E.A.S. Roma), the Tillman
class, even if small in number, was worthwile of an upgrade,
given the extreme effectiveness shown against the Drakhs in the
attack of 2266 and in the "Sudden Nemesis" operations
of 2271 - From the technical and historical point of view, these
enormous and powerful battleships are the real ancestors of both
the Centurions
Heavy Dreadnoughts and of the Nova II
Dreadnoughts, and are still
today extremely powerful and deadly (even if slow) warships.
The armor (Carbonat VI-A) is more than adequate, given the
thickness and the intermediate naonotechnologycal layer, and
doesn't need an upgrade.
Among the main weapons, the most important variant is the
addiction of the Twin Mk.X G.O.D. heavy particle cannons; the
long hull of the Tillmans was designed with such a configuration
to hold this weapon, from wich derivated the Mk.XIII G.O.D.
cannon of the Centurions.
The Pulse/Particle cannons (Raytheon M111) are replaced with the
Raytheon MI190 Ion cannon, while the point defence system,
originally based on eight WRX1028 particle/pulse turrets has been
totally redesigned, and is actually centered upon 18
Westinghouse-Oto Melara WM 203 Twin Ion cannons.
The weapons have the I.O.W.T. Tracking and Fire conrol system,
centralized for the M190 turrets, local for the WM 203 Ion
Cannons and the QSL - 2T Q-spoiling lasers.
The Fifteen Heavy Q-Spoiling pulse Lasers are a so powerful
weapon system that, instead to need an upgrade, is the real
reason of the overall effectiveness of these warships.
The sensors have been upgraded with the installation of the
I.L.S.S. "Argo 1", and of the EGAD.
The actual combination of engines and reactors (6*Beagle-Bryant
BB-16-G Fast Feeding Plasma Engines,
6*Westinghouse "Titan 4025" Fusion Reactors, and
2*Westinghouse GRCK-1000 Gravitic Enhanced Fusion Reactors,
doesn't allows great accelerations and speed, but gives power
well in excess to allow an almost unmatched firepower.
The transformation required one year of work for the four ships,
and has been relatively unexpensive: a good surprise, for the
four most expensive ships in the Earthforce history.
(*Note: Tillman Design based on an Idea of Grand
Inquisitor Dask)
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Tillman (Brightwarrior upgrade)
Type: Dreadnought
Lenght: 2905 meters
Mass: 228 millions metric tons
Acceleration: 2.05 g
Power/Propulsion:
6*Westinghouse "Titan 4025" Fusion Reactors.
2*Westinghouse GRCK-1000 Gravitic Enhanced Fusion Reactors.
6*Beagle-Bryant BB-16-G Fast Feeding
Ion Engines.
4*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump
engines.
Weapons:
2*Earthforce Arsenals Mk X
"Aegis" Heavy Particle G.O.D. cannons.
15*Marconi-Selenia QSL - 2T "Long Lance"
Q-spoiling Hard-Ray Heavy Pulse Lasers.
12*Raytheon MI190
Heavy Ion Cannon turrets.
4*Westinghouse-O.T.O.Melara HPM1 "Mjolnir" Heavy
Plasma Mortars.
18*Westinghouse-OTO
Melara WM 203
Ion pulse twin turrets.
48*"Blue Phoenix"
Missiles,6*launching tubes with automatic
loading.
Defense:
DEFENSE:
16 to 38 meter armored hull (Multi-layer composite armour),CARBONAT
VI-A series with intermediate nanotechnologycal
layer, anti-neutron ablative
armour.
20*Interceptor Mk. III
Defense Grid Projectors with E-Web
Mk.III
( For more informations about the Tillmann class See also Maximum
Battleships )
E.A.S.TEXAS - Tillman
Class Heavy Dreadnought - Brightwarrior upgrade
5-NOVA DELTA CLASS DREADNOUGHTS |
A gapfiller ship that was able to become
one of the most popular and well liked presences in the fleet,
available in 248 units, 12 of them enlisted in the EFNI.
The Nova Delta upgrade was one of the simplest of the Bright
Warrior program, and the whole program took two years in two
yards in the Earth Orbit.
It was eased by the large power availability of the Nova Delta,
and by the yet existing facilities, designs and tooling for the
armor and sensor improvements, developed at his given time by the
EFNI for his own Nova Delta Upgrading.
The armor (Carbonat V) is upgraded with an outer
nanotechnologychal layer, exactly as was done for the Nova Delta
of the EFNI.
The Westhinghouse L 2011 Heavy Plasma/Laser cannons are left as
they are, given the well known power and effectiveness of these
weapons, the eight pulse/particle Omega cannons are substituted
wiht the Ion pulse/antimatter beam streamer Raytheon SUPEROMEGA.
the WM203 Ion cannons are placed in substitution of the WRK1005
pulse/particle weapons.
The railgun and the spinal laser are left at the state.
All the weapons are equipped with the I.O.W.T. Tracker. The
I.L.S.S. "Argo 2" is a standard equipment, the EGAD
Mk.5 is installed.
The engines and reactor are left as they are.
The transformation requires three weeks of work for each ship for
the assembly, 4 specialized shipyards for this task were opened
in the orbital facilities of Earth and Proxima III, and, at the
completion of the program, were utilized for the Omega Epsilon
upgrade.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Nova Delta
Type: Dreadnought
Length: 1,680.6 meters
Mass: 39.5 million
metric tons
Acceleration: 3.08 g
Fighter: 36 Mitchell-Hyundane SA 32-A Thunderbolt Starfury
Power/Propulsion:
4*Westinghouse
"Vulcan-VII" Fusion Reactors.
2*General Electric RCKA 238 Fusion Reactors.
4*Lockheed-General
Electric I-75 BEW10 plasma engines.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump engines.
Weapons:
8*Westinghouse HLPA2011 twin
Heavy Plasma Pulse Cannon turrets.
4*Raytheon SUPEROMEGA Antimatter beam streamers/Heavy
Ion Pulse turrets.
4*Raytheon SUPEROMEGA Antimatter beam streamers/Heavy Ion Pulse
cannons (rear firing)
1*A.M.S. QSL -3E
Q-spoiling Hard-Ray Spinal Laser
2*Westinghouse-O.T.O.Melara HPM1 "Mjolnir" Heavy
Plasma Mortars.
1*O.T.O.Melara 127/748 "Compact"
railgun turret
12*Westinghouse-OTO
Melara WM 203 Ion pulse twin turrets
24*Sandia "Shillelagh" Missiles, 6*launching tubes.
Defense:
8 to 14 meter armored hull (Multi-layer CARBONAT 5
™ composite armour, nanotechnolgychal layer).
16*Interceptor Mk. II Defense Grid Energy Projectors
( For the original specifications , see NOVA DELTA )
E.A.S.MARTELLO - Nova Delta BW
Class Dreadnought.
6-NOVA CLASS DREADNOUGHTS |
There are still 122 of these old
Dreadnoughts in the fleet, 62 of them are survivors of the
Minbari war, and 38 of them are veterans of both the Dilgar and
the Minbari war. These ships were in fairly good conditions, even
if many of them passed through the fires of two or three wars
(Minbari war, Earth Civil War and Drakh War). The history of one of
them deserves to be presented.
|
The turrets n° 11 and 12 (on the sides of
the hull) have been
removed, and replaced by two structures that holds four WM203
twin ion cannons - the q-spoiling lasers does have anti-fighter
and anti missile capability, so the point defence problem is not
too much urgent. The sensors were upgraded with the I.O.W.T.
Trackers for all the weapons, and was added The I.L.S.S.
"Argo 2" and the EGAD Mk.6-C.
The armor (Carbonat IV for the latters units, and AEGIS-N for the
olders ships) is upgraded with an outer nanotechnologychal layer.
The hangar and catapult installations are upgraded to enable the
operations of the Thunderbolt Starfury. In this configuration,
the "Nova Gamma" are still a valid ship, and can be
used in anti ship engagements that don't require high speed or
long endurance. The acceleration and maneuverability are on the
same level of the actual (epsilon) Omegas, and there are no
problems of power shortage and weapons feeding. Considered the
number, the power, and the rate of fire of the weapons, and the
upgrades in terms of armor and power/propulsion, the I-Nova
Dreadnoughts are actually a formidable defensive/space denial
unit: even if lacking in terms of endurance and speed, they are
able to make quick work of almost any adversary that comes in the
range of their weapons.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Nova BWX
Type: Dreadnought
Mass: 35.8 million
metric tons
Acceleration: 2.68 g
Fighter: 32 Lockheed SA 32 Thunderbolt Starfury..
Power/Propulsion:
4*Westinghouse
"Vulcan-X" Fusion Reactors.
4*Lockheed-General Electric I-75 BEW10 plasma engines.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump engines.
Weapons:
16*Westinghouse-A.M.S.QSL
8-T twin
Q-spoiling Heavy Lasers turrets.
2*Raytheon BETA Particle beam cannons (forward firing)
4*Raytheon BETA Particle beam cannons cannons (rear firing)
4*Westinghouse-OTO
Melara WM 203
Ion pulse twin turrets.
2*Westinghouse-O.T.O.Melara HPM1 "Mjolnir" Heavy
Plasma Mortars.
24*Sandia "Shillelagh"Missiles.2*launching
tubes.
Defense:
8 to 14 meter armored hull (Multi-layer CARBONAT 5
™ composite armour, nanotechnolgychal layer)
16*Interceptor Mk. II Defense Grid Energy Projectors
E.A.S. SUNSTORM - Nova BWX Class Dreadnought - "1000 Fires"
7-LUPO CLASS FRIGATES |
The most utilized escort ship,(1126
units available at 01/01/2279, 56 enlisted in the EFNI) and an
extremely important part of the fleet. Luckily, the upgrades
needed are minimal: essentially, the adoption of the WM203 Ion
cannons in substitution of the WRK1005 pulse/particle weapons,
and the addiction of the I.O.W.T. Tracker on the few units of the
class that weren't yet equipped with this system. The HP-01
plasma mortars have a power more than adequate, the I.L.S.S.
"Argo 2" and the "Lightweight" EGAD Mk.12 or
Mk.12-A. are standard equipment, introduced in the general
overhaul and upgrade of the class in 2272.
The upgrade requires one week of work for each ship for the
assembly, 6 specialized shipyards for this task were opened in
the orbital facilities of the Earth. ( For the original
specifications , see LUPO
)
E.A.S. HAWK- Lupo Beta Brightwarrior Class Frigate - 14° Naval Division, VI Fleet.
E.A.S. WOLVERINE - Lupo-N Brightwarrior Class Frigate - enlisted in the E.F.N.I.