Directorate Officer
Image Source: Modified image of Spartan Games Shadow-class Frigate
Affiliation: Directorate & its allies (by contract)
Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
Model: Delphin-class Frigate
Modularity: Cargo Hold
Production: Mass Produced
Material: Ceramasteel frame, duraplast plating
Classification: Assault Frigate / Armed Cargo Ship
Length: 300 meters
Width: 85 meters
Height: 60 meters
Armament:
1 Ventral turreted Double Hypervelocity Cannon
1 Bow-mounted LLT-12 Erebus Jamming Array
15 Rhongomyniad-class Mass Driver Cannons (5 Port; 5 Starboard; 5 Stern)
15 LLT-8 Triumph-class Light Quad Turbolasers (5 Bow; 5 Port; 5 Starboard)
10 TurretedGeneral Purpose Warhead Launchers (5 Ventral; 5 Dorsal)
12 LLT-15 Sentinel-class Point Defense Emplacements (3 Bow; 3 Port; 3 Starboard; 3 Stern)
Hangar: 0.5 Transport Squadron (~2-4 shuttles/dropships depending on size)
Special Features:
Communications Array
Encryption Network
Escape Pods
Holonet Transceiver
LLT-6 Zephyr-class Hyperdrive
MC1011 Delphus 2-class Shield System (3 projectors)
Standard Detention Cells
Standard Life Support Systems
Standard Navigational Systems
Standard Sensor Array
Standard Targeting Systems
Tractor Beam Projectors (3)
Can Enter Atmosphere and Land
Maneuverability Rating: 11
Speed Rating: 11
Hyperdrive Class: x0.8
Strengths:
Strong Defenses: The Delphin-class follows the Mon Calamari tradition of having redundant back-up shields and a heavily reinforced hull.
Packs a Punch: The Delphin-class, like most assault frigates, packs a heavy punch for its size.
Enhanced Hyperdrive: The Delphin sports an advanced hyperdrive that gives it exceptional speed and the ability to penetrate interdiction fields.
Weaknesses:
-Lack of starfighters & combat craft: The ship's tiny hangar bay only allows the ship to carry a minimal amount of support craft needed for basic shipborne operations.
-Low sublight speed and maneuverability: The Delphin is fairly slow and sluggish for its size due to its heavy armor and shielding.
Description: The Delphin is a hybrid Mon Calamari-Galactic standard starship designed to combine the durability and classic lines of mon calamari starships with the latest technology and production techniques of Lucerne Labs. The resulting frigate with its thick defenses and varied array of weapons is equally adept as a fleet raider in small border skirmishes or as a screening vessel in larger fleet battles.
The Delphin's ceramasteel frames, engines, and powerplant are identical to those of a traditional mon calamari cruise ship built on Hast. But after the installation of these components, the Delphin begins to diverge from its heritage. Most of the ship's innards are built in prefabricated compartments in factories. These inner comparments are then attached to the base frame of the Delphin before being wrapped in another framework of Ceramasteel before being covered in alternating layers of duraplast plating and empty space (vaccuum) to form a rudimentary whipple shield. This durable hull is then augmented by Mon Calamari Shipyards's newest shielding system, the MC1011 Delphus 2-class Shield System. These passive defenses are augmented by a number of equally spaced out Sentinel-class Point Defense Emplacements.
However, the most salient weapon of the Delphin-class is a ball-turreted double hypervelocity cannon grafted to the underside of the vessel. While it provides an impressive amount of firepower for the Delphin, it is relatively slow-tracking, leading many Delphin captains to use it as more of fore-fixed weapon to get a rough target picture, and using the turret to make minor adjustments to get an accurate firing solution. This same procedure is also used for its bow-mounted Erebus-class Jamming Array. Thankfully the ship's other weapons are far smaller and mostly arrayed in different fire arcs from these larger weapons. The dual-purpose of both the ship's mass drivers and light quad turbolasers make them equally effective at attacking small capital ships or clouds of strike craft, while the turreted warhead launchers provide the Delphin with some flexibility in delivering special mission payloads.
The original cruise ship that the Delphin is based on had an elaborate ball room and rec facilities in the middle of the ship. Since a warship has little need for such amenities, these rooms were converted into a modular cargo hold capable of transporting up to 5,000 metric tons of cargo. This allows the Delphin to securely transport and exchange valuable cargoes such as strategic metals. It is more common for Delphins in military service to convert the cargo hold to living space for extra troops, in which case it is capable of supporting up to 3 companies of troops and their equipment. While the ship usually has a few support craft that deploy these forces, it's not uncommon for a Delphin land on the world itself in order to quickly unload them.
As with any tool, the Delphin is better suited to perform certain tasks more than others. While it can operate independently as a fleet raider, it is probably best suited to screening and protecting larger vessels in pitched fleet battles between its durability and variety of weapons. With its low sublight speed and lack of combat craft, the Delphin is not well suited for fulfilling other roles in the fleet, such as a pursuit ship.
Development Thread:
-Back in the Wild (Initial construction and baptism of fire of the first Delphin-class Frigate)
-Directorate Foundations (Contract to acquire MCS shielding technology for the Delphin-class)
Intent: To provide a standard warship for the Directorate & its allies
Who Can Use This: Directorate, Lightside Factions, restricted marketplace customers
Primary Source: None
