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Raptor-class Heavy Space Destroyer (SDG)

Class History:

• 2,243 Total built by Albion Terran Yard (2052-2070)
• 12 Destroyed Transient War 2057
• 6 Destroyed Varauta War 2064
• 2,189 Destroyed 4^th Robotech War 2063-2068
• 11 Missing
• 63 Scrapped
• 54 In Service 2070

Ship's complement:

• Ships' crew (200 men)
• Space Naval air group (170 men)
• Space Marine unit (75 men)
• Life support limits are for a full combat complement and about 1,920 supernumeraries (2,000 men total).

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Dimensions:

• Length: 250 meters overall
• Height: 65.8 meters overall
• Width: 68.6 meters overall
• Fuel Mass: 20,000 metric tons
• Operational mass (typical): 160,000 metric tons

Propulsion systems:

• Main power system(1): RRD Mk11 anti-matter Reflex furnace. The powerplant of the Raptor-class vessel can deliver up to 250 Terawatts of power, and can operate for two hours at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering thrusters (28): Overtechnology MRT-06 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with steerable nozzles on the bow(10), stern(6), wings(3 each), dorsal hull(4), and ventral hull(2).
• Reaction-mass thrusters (2): Turbo Union MRE-18 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer in the rear of the main hull mounted behind and below the bridge.
• Emergency reaction thrusters (4): Turbo-Union ARE-9 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer. Mounted above the main engines(2) and behind the main engines in the wings(2).
• Anti-gravity system (1): 3 Europa Drive Hercules anti-gravity pods.
• Sublight drive (1): Shizuma Drive GDD-6 local monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion drive.
• Space fold (1): RRD Mk21 spacefold. This system is conformal to the vessels surface. The problem with the vast majority of the previous generation of fold systems was that the fold bubble weakened the state of the structure to the extent that they needed a refit after only five years of service. As such the RDF mandated the use of conformal systems similar to the old Zentraedi systems which also allows for much higher speeds.
• Planetary capabilities: The Raptor-class has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. However, the ship cannot land on solid ground due to the design of the hull without serious damage. A water landing is possible however.

Endurance and mobility limits:

• The dry stores endurance is two months maximum; after that, the Raptor needs to restock. Water stores are recycled almost totally, and many crews add small hydroponic plants to unused spaces, providing the crew with a smattering of fresh fruits, but this is insufficient to provide for the crew indefinitely.
• The mecha consumables supplies (mainly missiles) are limited; the Raptor is unable to sustain continuous combat operations for much more than six days.
  The missile magazines for the torpedo launchers are typically empty after three major space battles.
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 24 Giganewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 470 Meganewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Raptor-class can achieve a maximum delta-v of 677 kps at the cruising acceleration of 2.6 gees, a maximum delta-v of 135.4 kps at the battle acceleration of 4.9G, and a delta-v of at most 36.6 kps at the flank acceleration of 7.7G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• Sublight drive acceleration is 1500 g, but the vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .40c.
• The Mk21 fold systems are not designed to be used for folds of distances greater than approximately 5 kiloparsecs, for safety reasons. If longer voyages are required, the ships must conduct multiple fold jumps.
• The maximum atmospheric speed is Mach 3. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems is limited only by maintenance requirements.

Weapon systems:

• Krupp PC-12 plasma cannon (2): The main weapon systems destroyer are two plasma cannons, mounted on either side of the ship near the command tower facing forward. Despite the ship's small size these cannons pack quite a punch discharging 10.2 GJ of energy every five seconds at a range of 150,000 kilometers. Each cannon can fire separately or together, but can only fire at targets that are almost directly in front of the destroyer (lasers can aim 10 degrees off the ship's centerline).
• Europa RIC-12 reaper ion cannon (8): The reaper cannon delivers 4.5 GJ of energy with a range of around 75,000 km, but at a faster rate of fire of around once every second. The cannon delivers charged atomic particles that impact a target and release radiation and large amounts of heat melting the armor. This cannon is also very effective against shields because the radiation interferes with the harmonics of the shield by delivering EM pulses with the radiation.  The cannons are mounted in a fixed position behind movable panels on the bow facing forward (6) and the stern facing reward (2).
• Lockheed SLBM launchers (2): The missiles are specialized Lockheed SLBM-11 Archer (Space Launched Ballistic Missiles) with nuclear warheads in the 5 MT range. The delta-v capacity of the missiles is 351.6 kps, and the magazine can store 4 missiles per launcher. These launchers are mounted beside the plasma cannons.
• Bofors PL-7 point defense turrets (12): Mounted on the dorsal and ventral bow (3 each), near the bridge (2), and on either side of the engine (4). These standard RDF weapons can fire 53 MJ of particle energy four times per second at a range of 20 km.
• Raytheon Mk 267 Surface to Air Missile Launchers (6): A missile launcher mounted in a twelve tube pop-up turret, firing anti-mecha/missile missiles, though the projectiles can guide on point-blank enemy ships. When the missiles are released they are already on their intercept vectors, or very close to them.  The launcher is designed to fire the SA-12 Arrow medium range surface-to-air missile. Each turret has a reload time of 6 seconds and a magazine with a 72 round capacity.  These turrets are mounted behind armor plating and pop up when firing and are mounted on the ventral hull (2), dorsal hull (2), and rear dorsal hull (2).

Electronics Systems:

• Hughes DSP-6 pinpoint barrier defense system(1): Uses four movable disks of force field, conformal to the ship's surface, to repel light torpedo attacks, or particle beam fire.

Air group and mecha complement:

(Circa 2055)

• 30 VF-11 Thunderbolt Veritech fighter
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 1 EC-12 Eagle Airborne early warning and control aircraft
• 1 RGM-78 Gundam Platoon leader mobile suit
• 14 RGM-79 GM Mobile suit
• 50 VR-066 Hurricane Veritech cyclone

(Circa 2063)

• 30 VF-19 Excalibur Veritech fighter
• 15 VA-14 Falcon Veritech bomber
• 1 EC-15 Lynx Airborne early warning and control aircraft
• 1 MSZ-010 Double Zeta Gundam Platoon leader mobile suit
• 6 RGM-91 Refined Zeta Gundam Mobile suit
• 8 RGM-89 Jegan Mobile suit
• 50 VR-066 Hurricane Veritech cyclone

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number and type of mecha varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Design notes:

As the RDF Space Navy continued to expand following the 3^rd Robotech War the need for a small, inexpensive ship to protect the larger and much more expensive capital ships such as the new Yamato-class Space Battleship. At first the venerable Garfish-class was assigned to these duties and filled the gap for a time. But these ships were to small to carry a significant amount of firepower and where not as agile as one could hope for with the new technologies. As such, the RDF Space Navy announced its intention to acquire a new destroyer that was to have superior firepower and agility to the Garfish and carry a modest mecha complement. The design that was chosen was that of the new Albion Terran Yard and dubbed the Raptor-class Heavy Space Destroyer.

The new destroyer contains several features which makes it far superior to previous vessels in terms of speed, agility, and radar profile. The first distinguishing feature of the Raptor-class is its hull design. Similar in shape to an arrow, the hull was designed to reduce the radar cross-section of the vessel and coated with EM absorbing material giving it a passive stealth design similar to the VF-17 Nightmare veritech fighter. This has proven in combat to greatly increase the ships abilities by leaps and bounds allowing to perform many desks without being detected. The ship when provoked can fight and win. The ship's primary armament consists of a pair of plasma cannons with one mounted on each side of the hull beside the bridge. These cannons with their extreme long range and powerful punch provide the Raptor with more power than the Garfish-class. To supplement the plasma cannons the designers added eight reaper ion cannons designed to provide medium range fire support. An interesting feature is that there are a pair of these cannons on the stern facing rearward firing at targets behind the ship. All of the heavy armament is mounted recessed in the hull behind sliding panels that open only when the cannon fires. The ship also mounts a pair of SLBM launchers beside the plasma cannons and several point defense turrets behind moveable panels to retain the stealth nature of the ship.

The Raptor-class contains six decks along with the three decks of the command tower which are home to the almost 500 men that call these ships home. The top deck of the command tower is home to the bridge and the captains lounge and briefing room. The middle deck of the command tower houses the communications array and systems of the vessel and coding and decoding equipment. The bottom deck on the command tower is the tactical center of the ship home to large displays that show the position of ships and mecha in the fleet and co-ordinate all the actions of the mecha and relay that information to the bridge for further orders. The Raptor can also act as flagship having extensive command and control facilities and in that case the tactical room allows for that function as well.

The main hull houses all the living facilities for the crew along with the mecha hanger and engineering facilities. Deck one contains the officer's quarters and officer rooms such as the O-Club, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, the officer's mess, and a rec room. The captain's quarters are also on this deck along with rooms for the other officers and fighter pilots of the vessel.

Deck two is the crew's quarters with many rooms with six men per room. That not as roomy as other vessels, the rooms still offer quite a bit of space compared to older designs. This deck is very similar to deck one with a mess hall, rec room, lounge, and a PX Store which serves as the convenience store for the ship.

Deck three contains all the various things needed to sustain the crew such as a small hydroponic gardens, the infirmary, library, barber, laundry room, simulator rooms, briefing rooms, and various repair ships for servicing the crew and the ships equipment, and a large lounge for the crew.

Deck four is the main storage deck and is where the missiles, spare parts, food, and various other items are stored in several different types of storage rooms. This deck is also home to the main security office and the brig.

Deck five is the mecha hanger where mecha are stored, repaired, and serviced by the technicians of the ship. This deck has two heavy lift elevators for moving the veritechs to the launch bay for launch and one elevator leads to stores room bringing missiles, ammunition, and spare parts to the mecha deck. Their is also a drop tube leading from the pilots lounge to the mecha deck allowing pilots to man their craft in a matter of a few minutes increasing combat effectiveness.

Deck six is the launch deck where the veritechs are launched and recovered.

History:

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner
Copyright © 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998 Jeffrey R. Spillner

Page Last Updated on April 1, 2001 @ 14:00 GMT