Corvette

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The Corvette is a small, long-endurance ship designed for reconnaissance and patrol. They carry enough supplies and equipment to remain in the field for three months. However, conditions aboard ship are extremly cramped, and whenever possible, crews are rotated off.

The main armament of the corvette is a single large charged particle cannon built into the nose. Corvettes are designed to be extremly manuverable as this cannon can only fire in a single direction. Defensive armaments include quad beam turrets mounted above and below the ship, which each provide a 360/180 field of fire. The corvette is also armed for anti-capital-ship combat, with two torpedoes and six N2 mines.

History

Corvettes have been in use since the days of the original Gudersnipe Army. There have been hundreds of classes and models over the millennia, and unlike fighters, most corvette designs do not last much longer than their design lifespan. In other words, a corvette designed to last for 50 years will do so, then a new unit will be designed to replace. As opposed to fighters, whose design classes can last up to 1150 years (such as the Condor-class).

Falcon Class

In A.Y. 6899, the new Falcon-class corvette was introduced, and completed basic proofing the following year. The Falcon is often described as a Harpy-inspired spacecraft, and comes complete with numerous design inovations built around the goal of making a class able to remain in production as long as the Harpy.

Engines

The Falcon's engine is a dual-type Ion vacuum drive and Bussard Ramjet. The main cannon at the nose of the ship doubles as an active magnet ramsoop, drawing in particles either to be burned in the ion-vacuum or compressed in the ramjet.

The ramjet offers a lower acceleration curve but uses essentially no fuel, only electrical power, allowing for longer-duration operations. The Ion-vacuum gives it high speed and manuverability, though still not as great as the Harpy, since the Falcon's engines are mono-directional.

Power

Power for the spacecraft is provided by a pair of UZH Reactors similar to the one used on the Gargoyle mid-range bomber. The power plants are designed to operate fully independantly of each other, allowing for seperate pulse-cycles. One can power the entire ship, however a pulse can be used to fire the main cannon at much higher intensity.

Weapons

The Falcon is equiped with a high-intensity beam cannon mounted in the nose.