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AAM Caspian-Class Frigate Mk. III

Caspian-Class Frigate Mk. III

Specifications
Manufacturer: Ardentrall Aerospace Manufacturing
Mass: 6,707,503 kg
Powerplant: 220 MW [44 Small Reactors]; 80 MW Reserve Power [20 Batteries]
Gyroscopes: 32 [Loaded], 22 [Unloaded]
Time to max velocity: 26.5 sec
Acceleration: 3.9 m/sec^2
Armament: 1 Mark I Tokugawa Gravitic Cannon [carries ten {10} ~58,000 kg rounds], 6 Rocket Launchers, 8 Rocket Turrets, 18 Gatling Turrets [all conveyor-serviced, w/dedicated magazines], 8 CIWS Turrets
Cargo Capacity: 62 Small Containers [32 Small Containers used by armament]
Refinery Facilities: None
Assembler Facilities: Yes [3]
Medical Facilities: Yes [1]
Artificial Gravity: Yes
Small Craft Complement: 1 Falcon Mk. II Interceptor
Length: 182.5 meters
Width: 82.5 meters
Height: 30 meters [40 meters w/antenna]

Admiral Yvette Zhou of the Joint Provincial Fleet is on record as having once said that if she had to take a ship into hell, it would be a Cascade destroyer. However, she then went on to say that if she was expected to actually return from the venture, she would take a Caspian -- and bloody the devil's nose into the bargain.* This anecdote manages to encapsulate the nature of the Caspian-class frigate: a fast, durable craft that is surprisingly well-armed for its size.

The Mark III has only minimal changes relative to the Mark II, and is largely a modernization of the older Mark II until the Mark IV is finished. Besides the obvious new paint scheme, the only real difference is the updated release system for the main gun to compensate for manufacturing changes. 8 small point defense turrets have also been added to the bow section to help intercept enemy fire.

As a frigate, the Caspian can fulfill a number of roles. It can serve as an escort for either convoys or larger military vessels, although when in the role of convoy escort it usually serves as the flagship of the escorting group. It can perform reconnaissance in force, taking advantage of its swift acceleration and sturdy construction to enter dangerous areas quickly and return intact. And finally, it can serve in a capital ship battle, racing along the periphery to strike at the enemy's flanks.

At close to three times the mass, the Caspian nonetheless manages to be only marginally slower than its smaller destroyer cousin (2 more seconds to maximum velocity); yet it boasts double the number of fixed rocket launchers, as well as a substantially increased number of turreted weapons. The greatest arrow in its quiver, however, is clearly Tokugawa gravitic cannon mounted in the forward hull. The weapon's presence demonstrates one critical difference between frigates and destroyers in the JPF: frigates are expected to be able to present a clear threat to larger vessels than themselves, while destroyers are not.

The Caspian also possesses another significant advantage over the Cascade: its fighter bay, or more accurately the Falcon Mk. II interceptor that resides therein. The Mk. III is a thoroughly upgraded version of the original, and features a docking adapter that lets it form a hard lock within the small hanger situated on the frigate's dorsal surface. Docking maneuvers should be performed with the main drive turned off; the fighter should line up "over" the bay, aft end "down", deactivate its dampers, and drift slowly into the bay. Launch maneuvers are performed similarly; the pilot gently moves his vessel away from the docking ring, then slowly accelerates forward, engaging his main drive once he has exited the bay.

The presence of a fighter allows the Caspian to cover a much wider range when scouting, as well as giving it one more pair of eyes to use when watching over a convoy -- not to mention assist in defending against other fighters. A number of captains, however, have found a more aggressive use for the fighter: marking targets. Pilots that have located large, stationary enemy vessels (or ones that, while moving, are not accelerating) will activate their beacons long enough for the frigate to acquire their location as a target; the frigate will fire its main gun from extreme range (beyond detection range), while the unsuspecting target is unaware of the danger bearing down upon it. Thus, with the assistance of its fighter, the frigate is capable of "sniping" enemy vessels, and although its limited ammunition for the main gun restricts the amount of damage it can inflict, it still manages to pose a threat to larger vessels.

The Caspian is not without drawbacks. As an unrated vessel, even with the upgrades the Mark III has received, it still lacks the layered armor necessary to protect itself against kinetic kill vehicles, and while its acceleration is generally considered sufficient defense against these, its size means that it still presents a larger, easier target. Furthermore, as swiftness was a major design qualification, the majority of the ship uses light armoring, and while the improved reinforced skeleton is distributed throughout the ship to give it greater resilience, it cannot expect to go toe-to-toe with line-rated vessels.

It can, however, expect to bloody their noses and get away with it.



*Alcohol is suspected to have played some role in this statement; Admiral Zhou declined to comment on the matter when asked.

(It occurs to me that I should probably include some directions with this on how to use the gravity gun. It's fairly simple:

Toggle the "Fire Control" group to on (starts the gravity generators, welders, and grinders). That will fire the first pair of rounds immediately.
To load the next pair, reverse the gun pistons (there's a button for that on most piloting consoles), and increase the maximum distance five [5] times; each time increases it by 0.5 meters, so you're increasing it by 2.5 meters, which is the height of one block, and thus one round. Again, there's a button for this on most forward-facing consoles, so all you have to do is tap it 5 times.
I strongly recommend that you toggle Fire Control OFF while loading each pair of rounds to reduce the risk of a round releasing before it is fully raised. This will eventually be upgraded to a more user-friendly timer based system (preferably one with no moving parts, like on the Gladius), but the current one is very reliable as long as you use it as it's intended. :) )