VIGILANTE CUTTER

This ship design was the Outcome of a request, Made by the Earthforce, for an unit capable to carry on the duties of escort and anti-piracy patrol and pursuit.(see also this letter of presentation)
The Vigilante Cutter is a Fast pursuit polyvalent unit. The hull is the smallest one able to hold a jump engine, an auxiliary fusion reactor for enhanced weapon/vortex generator feeding, a fighter launching/recovery facility, and a q-spoiling pulsed spinal laser. The lenght of the ship must not confuse: even if the hull has the same nominal lenght of a Hyperion cruiser, the design is vastly sleeker and more compact. The frontal area is just slightly more than a half of the one of the classic cruiser.
The armour protection is based upon MK 3 (Carbonat XIV tm) multi-layer plasteel-polycristalline mesh composite standard modules, with good thickness, allowed without heavy weight penalties by the small overall surface of the hull.

The propulsion system is based upon three General Electric I-85GE12 plasma engines with Westinghouse "I-Vulcan" Fusion Reactors, the lightweight variant of the OMEGA engines, That powers the Lupo frigates. The Engine plant allows an acceleration of more than 8 g's, and a large energy production. An advanced Plasma Impeller maneuvre system, of the same family of the one of the Nova Delta and of the Lupo allows a nimbleness unmatched by any other ship of these dimensions, particularly in the "roll-and-pitch" maneuvre, and allows the Vigilante to outrun and outmaneuvre the Sunhawk Gunship. an add-on General Electric GRCK-122 gravitic enhanced fusion reactor provides either an addictional power source, that enables the continuous fire with all the weapons, and a gravitic field source for the inertial dampening cage, that protects the crew from the high accelerations.

The main long range offensive power, beyond the fighters, is given by an A.M.S. QSL-4S Q-spoiling Spinal Laser, well able to penetrate the hull even of a Stribe raider, or of a cruiser, from side to side. A battery of 12 missiles, with four launching tubes, completes the main long range arsenal.
The medium range firepower is given by four HP-08 plasma pulse mortars and two Super Rapido II railgun twin turrets.
The short range anti-fighter defense is provided by 20 WRX 1028 light particle-pulse turrets, a defensive barrier unmatched by any ship of class lesser than a destroyer/heavy cruiser.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Class: Vigilante
Type: Cutter
Lenght: 1250 (1075w/o antennas) meters.
Mass: 10.8 millions metric tons
Acceleration: 8.05 g
Crew: 52
Troops: accommodations for a 42 units fully equipped Marines Boarding Platoon.
Fighters: 8*Mitchell-Hyundane SA-26A Thunderbolt Starfury.
Other: 2*Lockheed-Coronado G-27 light Hexoatmospheric shuttle.

Power/Propulsion:
3*Westinghouse "I-Vulcan" Fusion Reactors.
3*General Electric I-85GE12 plasma engines.
2*Lockheed-Mitchell M47e2 Jump engines.
1*General Electric GRCK-122 gravitic enhanced fusion reactor.

Weapons:
1*Selenia-Marconi QSL-4S Q-spoiling Spinal Laser.
4*Westhinghouse-O.T.O. Melara HP-08 Plasma Pulse Mortars.
2*O.T.O.Melara 127/762 "Super Rapido II" Heavy railgun turrets.
20*Walther-Raytheon WRX 1028 Light Particle/Pulse Turrets.
12*Sandia"Shillelagh" Missiles,4*launching tubes with automatic loading.

Defense:
4.5 to 11 meter armored hull Carbonat VI (Multi-layer composite armour), anti-neutron ablative armour .
12*Interceptor Mk.III Defense Grid Projectors.

E.A.S. VIGILANTE CLASS CUTTER