NOVA DELTA

The Nova Delta class was a gap filler ship intended to quickly rebuild a fair number of effective battle units after the Drakh attack. It was not intended to replace the Omega, (It lacks either artificial or simulated gravity, and has poor endurance), but to be an unit less expensive and faster to build, and capable to bring and power up a weapon payload heavier than the one of the Omega Destroyers and more balanced than the Weapon system of the old Nova in a battle situation.

Operationally, the Nova Delta is a pure ship killer, with hers weapon system structured for covering long, medium and short range, with a devastating forward volley capability, and a good anti-fighter point defence.

The propulsion plant is a standard Omega Gamma block that, matched to a ship lighter than the original Omega, gives a decent acceleration. Plasma thrusters on the tips of the side sponsons (the "wings") and on the forward and back sections of the main hull improve roll and pitch/yaw control, enabling the ship, if not to out-maneuver, at least to quickly bring the front (and the big guns) against an enemy; In fact, this ship can use very effectively his weapons emplacements. To eliminate the problems of power shortage of the old Novas, and to insure a good rate of fire, two dedicated reactors, aimed only at the weapons feeding or at the jump engine recharge, have been added amidships in the center block section: these reactors are a standard product, and have been installed eliminating almost all the facilities for troop transport capability, and retaining only one shuttle. The propellant/fuel tanks in the hull have been partially moved to the wings to allow room for the two add-on reactors.

The weapon system is based on eight powerful Westinghouse HLPA 2011 twin turrets (the four amidships being able to aim a target on the whole solid horizon from directly forward to directly backward), four heavy particle/pulse OMEGA turrets on the tips of the Wings (the two rear turrets can cover the whole solid horizon), a long barrel railgun on the top of the hammer, with limited forward, up/down and side fire arc, and the first operational model of a pulsed spinal laser, with his habitual power and cooling problems strongly improved, but not yet totally eliminated. Standard MK 2 interceptor (12 Omega WRK 1005 Phalanx anti-fighter emplacements) provides the short-range defense. 32 starfuries and a standard missile payload of 24 Sandia Shillelag are carried, but the missile system is based upon six launching tubes with automatic reloading, that allows the launch of a ripple of six missiles every eight seconds, enabling an effective saturation anti-ship barrage.
The fire arcs of the weapons have been improved to compensate the reduction of emplacements; the weapons themselves are proven and effective designs, quick to produce and to integrate. The whole weapon system, integrated with sensors and fire control systems of the last generation, is structured to give good all-around covering and awesome frontal arc firepower, with the capability to quickly point the nose and release a devastating salvo against a target and "punch a hole" in almost every hull.

The first unit, E.A.S Hammer, (from this the nickname "Sledgehammer" was given to the class) was followed by the E.A.S. Battleaxe, Claymore, Martello, Katana and Brodsword, all in service, with the second batch units entering service or making the shakedown cruise and the third batch still in the yards. E.A.S Katana and E.A.S. Martello proved themselves instrumentals in repelling a Ch'lonas raid in the Vesta belt colony sector on October 31st 2267 (the battle of Halloween), showing the usual raw and effective firepower of all the Nova hull based ships, but coupled, finally, with a more than acceptable speed and a nimbleness absolutely surprising in such a ship.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Class: Nova Delta
Type: Dreadnoght
Length: 1,680.6 meters
Mass: 34.5 million metric tons
Crew: 225
Troop: None
Fighter: 32 Mitchell-Hyundane SA 26-A Thunderbolt Starfury.

Power/Propulsion:
4*Westinghouse "Vulcan-VII" Fusion Reactors.
2*General Electric RCKA 238 Fusion Reactors.
4*Lockheed-General Electric I-75GE110 plasma engines.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M51e6 Jump engines.

Weapons:
8*Westinghouse HLPA 2011 twin Heavy Plasma Cannon turrets.
4*Raytheon OMEGA Heavy Particle/Pulse turrets.
4*Raytheon OMEGA Heavy Particle cannons (rear firing)
1*A.M.S. QSL -2E 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*Walther-Raytheon WRK 1005 Light Pulse Cannon Turrets.
24*Sandia "Shillelagh" Missiles, 6*Launching tubes

Defense:
8 to 14 meter armored hull (Multi-layer CARBONAT 5 ™ composite armour).Anti Neutron ablative layer
16*Interceptor Mk. II Defense Grid Energy Projectors

E.A.S. MARTELLO - Nova Delta Class Dreadnought

E.A.S. KATANA -Nova Delta enlisted in the E.F.N.I. - Special Armour and EGAD sensor suite