Spacecraft Design

Vessels of the UNC

Naval Corps vessels can be broadly separated into two groups based on the time period of their commissioning, each with a radically different design style:
Modern Naval Corps vessels present a streamlined, semi-organic shape, typically tapering from a rounded point out to a cylindrical or rounded-square body. The drive section is separated internally but covered by the same armor, and typically uses a closed-cycle gas core fission rocket for propulsion, though fusion drives are coming into use on prototype designs. Propellant tanks are armored-over bulges in the hull and radiator mass is reduced by the use of droplet radiators, making modern vessels the most resilient to damage overall. However, these vessels are correspondingly massive, and a higher reliance on automation opens up vulnerabilities to electronic warfare. Modern vessels make up the majority of extrasolar fleets and are slowly replacing Contact War ships for Solar patrol. Contact War ships date from the eponymous Contact Wars and the following decades. Many early Contact War ships are refitted civilian or industrial ships, using lower-thrust engines designed for endurance and retrofitted guns. Gray Drives are often not present on these vessels, and if they are, are typically slow and unreliable if not replaced. Their structure is more open and skeletal, focused around efficiency rather than durability; as a result, Contact War ships are often relegated to patrol duty and other low-intensity tasks. These ships have a proportionally higher crew requirement than newer designs in most cases, owing to the lack of developed artificial intelligence; however, their more rugged, “analog” design is less prone to failure.
Ships from both eras are typically left unpainted.
The Naval Corps divides its ships along broad types, with various classes present in each.

Battleship

Battleships lie at the heart of any full-sized fleet. These craft act as the anchors to a fleet, and are at the core of Union offensive tactics. Heavily armed and armored, and with roaring drives at their aft, battleships are the “apex predator” of space. However, they are hardly invulnerable; no battleship would operate without a complete escort of smaller ships.

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers are the long-range sisters of battleships, trading defensive ability for mission endurance. Battlecruisers are not chained to the supply train of the fleet, capable of years of operation away from supply lines as needed. As a result, single battlecruisers often lead larger cruiser flotillas, lending their anti-capital ship firepower to the smaller ships in exchange for protection. Battlecruisers often incorporate elements of specialty cruisers, such as drone bays, troop garrisons and transports, or expanded electronic warfare hardware.

Carrier

Carriers ferry a complement of drone fighters and/or manned scouts across long distances. Carriers are also put into use by the Union Army as troop transports, ferrying dropships instead of drones and repurposing storage bays as living quarters.

Cruiser

Cruisers are the Solar Union's most numerous ships, and often the platform for specialized variants. Cruisers are designed to operate equally well as part of a fleet formation or as a solo or small-group operator on long-distance patrols. These are typically the smallest self-sufficient vessels in the Naval Corps, though special-purpose vessels of lower tonnage do appear for specific missions.

Destroyer

Destroyers' main purpose is to serve as an escort ship within fleets. This typically comes in the form of proportionally huge point-defense arrays and correspondingly close ties to fleet support vessels.

Frigate

Frigates are the smallest “full” type of ship, and the only type including ships capable of entering and exiting an atmosphere. Frigates rarely leave the proximity of larger vessels, as they are incapable of operating on their own.

Courier

Typical courier vessels are small autonomous craft, little more than a guidance system, data storage, and oversized sublight and Gray drives with requisite fuel reserves. These craft's sole form of self-defense is their excessive acceleration and tiny profile; however, they usually are defended by the larger craft they service. These couriers dock to designated ports on other vessels to download and upload data, flitting between vessels and systems faster than any other ship can do. Couriers form the backbone of interstellar communication, and even fleets wary of communications interception or attempted electronic warfare use couriers in battle.

Tenders and Logistics Vessels

Logistics vessels and tenders keep Union fleets in operation. Different subtypes and classes handle different concerns, such as propellant tankers, ammunition carriers, and mobile repair stations. Tankers are a common fixture in almost all Union fleets, with other types being common but not guaranteed.

Specialty Vessels

Spatial Artillery

Spatial artillery are relatively immobile ships designed around one large weapon, serving as long-range (multiple light-seconds) artillery and outpost defense. Variants exist for kinetic and energy weapons in numerous patterns and classes.