In FY 3401, the Technocracy of Umeria continues its "Fleet 3410" construction program, building new ship types known collectively as the "Century Fleet."
The lead waves of screening vessels of the latest type have already been completed under the program. Frigate and cutter-tender designs have received only incremental upgrades. The most noteworthy advances found among the Fleet 3410 construction are in the new
Renata Fields-class destroyers, which are greatly superior to the older classes in energy-efficiency and component service life. While closely equivalent to the older
Scheele and
du Chatelet classes in gross measures of firepower and reactor output, their greater endurance and lower operating costs increase their multirole capability. Analysts predict that the
Renatas will begin to intrude on the interdiction, patrol, and reconnaissance missions, traditionally the province of the lighter but higher-endurance Umerian frigates.
In addition, the latest Flight III
Hero-class light cruisers are updated to carry electronic warfare and C3I systems noticeably in advance over what was practical on the older hulls of the class. Upgrades to the
Hero-class show a significant improvement, though not a sea change compared to the Flight I and II designs.
Most foreign observers believe that once an adequate number of
Hero Flight III's are in service, SpaceSec will begin retiring the
Conductor-class cruisers. These older ships are at best mediocre in the light cruiser mission by current Umerian standards. However, this process may not begin for several years, as there are an enormous number of
Conductors among the system control forces. Since all current cruiser construction is devoted to escorts for new capital ships, replacing the
Conductors is simply not an option for the next several years, barring an increase to the already liberal construction budget.
Improvements to the
FF-7000 and
AGP-3700 series frigates and cutter tenders are unremarkable- mostly of interest to the Umerians themselves, rumors of new enhanced-yield missile and torpedo warheads deployed during the Zebes campaign in mid-3400 notwithstanding.
Meanwhile, most popular attention regarding the "Century Fleet" focuses on the capital ships: the
Vindicator-class dreadnought and
Aurora-class battlecruiser. Both classes are equipped with the Mk XV Block 5 ion cannon, which offers roughly a 50% increase in firepower over the older Mk XIV proton guns. The
Vindicators enjoy similar increases in shielding, electronic warfare capabilities, and broadside armament, at the price of greatly increased tonnage and considerably increased design complexity.
The
Auroras are less changed structurally, representing a predictable scaling up and rearming of the
Patriot-class heavy cruiser, in the same way that the
Explorer and
Tornado-classes evolved from the older
Bombardier cruisers. Foreign analysts believe that the
Auroras will benefit less from upgrading to the Mark Fifteen, as Umerian battlecruisers are already 'glass hammers,' greatly overgunned for their tonnage and defensive armament; further increasing their firepower out of proportion to the rest of their systems is unlikely to make them all that much more effective in combat. Some have already predicted that the
Auroras are going to prove a disappointment.
Possibly in light of this, the Umerian government has ordered a hold on completion of the initial wave of six
Auroras. This appears odd, as the ships' structure was almost entirely complete by December 3400. Normally, they would be starting commissioning trials shortly.
Some speculate that they may be spending extra time on internal refits, though security around the
Auroras' building slips is even tighter than usual and no one has gotten close enough to be sure exactly what's going on.
This year Umeria is laying down another six
Auroras and two
Vindicators, with the third
Vindicator being delayed on account of disruptions to shipyard schedules because of the delays in completing the lead wave of
Auroras. In addition, the Space Security Force will be laying down screen elements for three new capital ship squadrons, along with a number of additional units to replace ships destroyed in action during the Zebes campaign.
For detailed descriptions of all Umerian warship designations, see
the following data.
Umerian GDP: 59,000 terastarbucks ($)
Fleet construction budget: ~5900 terastarbucks ($)
Capital ship construction:
x2 FY 3401 $650
Vindicator-class ion dreadnoughts:
Laid down January 3401, due to leave yards July 3403, due to commission March 3404.
x3 FY 3400 $650
Vindicator-class ion dreadnoughts:
Laid down January 3400, due to leave yards July 3402, due to commission March 3403.
x6 FY 3401 $250
Aurora-class ion battlecruisers
Laid down January 3401, due to leave yards January 3402, due to commission July 3402.
[Analysts predict that like the FY 3400 wave, these ships will be delayed for further systems installation, which would take place in FY 3402]
x6 FY 3400 $250 Aurora-class ion battlecruisers- DELAYED:
Originally due to leave yards January 3401; an additional six months has been scheduled for installation of
[CLASSIFIED BURN BEFORE READING], also known as "internal upgrades to electronics fit," at additional cost of $100 each. Build plan thus revised to:
x6 FY 3400 $350
Aurora-class ion battlecruisers:
Laid down January 3400, due to leave yards July 3401, due to commission January 3402
Capital ship cost: 2(650)+6(250)+6(100) = $3400
Screen element construction:
RECEIVED FROM LAST YEAR: 3 CV, 4 CL, 13 DD, 10 AGP, 10 FF
x3 FY 3401 $150
Aviary-class
fleet carriers
Laid January 3401, due to leave yards September 3401, due to commission December 3401
x2 FY 3400 $60
Hero-class light cruisers
Third wave of two laid September 3400, due to leave yards January 3400, due to commission March 3401
x6 FY 3401 $60
Hero-class light cruisers
First wave of two laid January 3401, due to leave yards May 3401, due to commission July 3401
Second wave of two laid May 3401, due to leave yards September 3401, due to commission November 3401
Third wave of two laid September 3401, due to leave yards January 3402, due to commission March 3402
x5 FY 3400 $40
Renata Fields-class destroyers
Fourth wave of five laid October 3400, due to leave yards January 3401, due to commission February 3401
x18 FY 3401 $40
Renata Fields-class destroyers
First wave of four laid January 3401, due to leave yards April 3401, due to commission May 3401
Second wave of four laid April 3401, due to leave yards July 3401, due to commission August 3401
Third wave of five laid July 3401, due to leave yards October 3401, due to commission November 3401
Fourth wave of five laid October 3401, due to leave yards January 3402, due to commission February 3402
x2 FY 3400 $20
AGP-3700-series
cutter tenders
Last two hulls laid down in 3400 commission in months of January and February 3401.
x12 FY 3401 $20
AGP-3700-series
cutter tenders
Continuous series production: one new keel laid down per month; one tender commissions every month from February 3400 on to January 3401.
Screen element cost
for keels laid in 3401: 3(150)+6(60)+18(40)+12(20) = $1770
Small craft construction:
x260 $0.5 cutters, various types (small craft complement of thirteen
AGP-3700-series tenders), constructed at a rate of ~22/month
x2250 $0.1 AI drone fighters, various types (fighter complement of three
Aviary-class carriers), constructed at a rate of ~200/month
Small craft cost: 260(0.5)+2250(0.1) = $355, or $6.83/week
Supplementary construction:
Replacement of Losses in Zebes Campaign:
x1 FY 3401 80$
Hibernia-class strike cruiser
One laid down January 3401, leaves yards May 3401, commissions July 3401
x2 FY 3401 40$
Renata Fields-class destroyer
One laid down January 3401, leaves yards April 3401, commissions May 3401
One laid down April 3401, leaves yards July 3401, commissions August 3401
x2 FY 3401 30$
FF-7000 series frigates
One laid down July 3401, leaves yards October 3401, commissions November 3401
One laid down October 3401, leaves yards January 3402, commissions February 3402
x1 FY 3401 $20
AGP-3700-series
cutter tenders
Laid down January 3401, leaves yards March 3401, commissions April 3401
Program cost: 200$
Additional Supplementary Construction
x4 FY 3401 $30
FF-7000 series frigates
One laid down January 3401, due to leave yards March 3401, due to commission April 3401
One laid down April 3401, due to leave yards June 3401, due to commission July 3401
One laid down July 3401, due to leave yards September 3401, due to commission October 3401
One laid down October 3400, due to leave yards December 3401, due to commission January 3402
Program cost: 120$
Total fleet cost: 3400+1770+355+200+120 = $5845
(additional $55 of fleet procurement budget vanishes into the black budget and/or someone's pants, never to be seen again by the civilized galaxy)
- PeZook
