Ship types and sizes

Designations for ship type and size are generally the same between all major star nations in the universe of The Last Angel. They may differ in smaller, less technologically advanced nations which do not have the materials sciences required for vessels of this size.

This page roughly details these designations, although it is mostly based on known ship lengths rather than internal volume, which is what primarily seperates ship types. It also does not include most freighters, Naiads, monitors or civilian ships, as these vary in size even moreso than warships, nor does it include stations or citadels/palisades.

Titan grade vessels
A catch-all term for ships ranging roughly from 5-9km in length, titans are the largest vessels in operation. As such, there are many types of ship that can be called titan-grade, ranging from warships to megafreighters (though these are rare).

Dreadnaughts
A dreadnaught is a ship designed to dominate the battlefield, with almost unstoppable levels of firepower and protection. The Compact of Species has a lot of experience in building and using dreadnaughts, with most other nations unwilling to attempt the construction of their own, lest they attract the attention of Force Command. The Askanj Principality occasionally tries to build their own dreadnaughts, but as they are weaker than their Compact counterparts due to technological inferiority and the fact the Compact specifically hunts them down as soon as they are launched, there is little political will to build entire classes of them. The only other known nation to build dreadnaughts was the United Earth Confederacy, which only finished the production of a single ship before its fall due to lengthy production times.

Supercarriers
Used exclusively by the Askanj Principality and counterparts to the Compact's Chariots, these ships are designed for a command and support role rather than direct combat, and are normally equipped with either a truly monstrous amount of missile pods or thousands of deployable strike craft. However, they have very little armament otherwise, and are relatively unable to take much damage. They are normally deployed in pairs, with one of each armament type.

Naiad Monarchs
The older monarchs among the Naiads can be classified as titan-grade. Female monarchs are between a carrier and dreadnaught in function, with "hangar-wombs" allowing the birthing of new Naiads but still armed and armoured. Male monarchs use a variety of heavy weaponry. Younger monarchs are generally just under titan-grade in classification, being more like slightly oversized battleships.

Battleships
At around 3-4km in length and the most common of heavy capital ships, battleships boast heavy firepower, armour and screens. They form the cornerstone of virtually any armada. For most star nations, the battleship is the largest class of vessel that they can field. A single battleship is sufficient to engage squadrons of lesser vessels, but without support it can quickly be overwhelmed.

Battlecruisers
Battlecruisers are around 2-3.5km in length and the lightest of the heavy capital ships, though they possess armament equal to (or slightly less than) that of a battleship in a faster package. This does come at a cost: battlecruisers mount much lighter armour than battleships and have reduced system redundancy and smaller crews, trading defensive strength and resistance to damage for additional weaponry, acceleration and increased maneuverability. This means that while a battlecruiser’s offensive capability is in the same weight as that of a larger vessel, it has much less staying power in combat and either needs to overwhelm its foes quickly, or withdraw before its own defences can be worn down.

Carrier
Regular-sized carriers are less commonly used by major navies, though find more favour among smaller ones. What these smaller carriers deploy is much more varied than in supercarriers, with the same missile or drone armament versions being present but also including manned fighters, heavy gunships or cutters. These are most commonly used by nations without the same materials sciences or weapons technology as larger and older ones, where sacrificing the shock drive from a ship in exchange for enhanced combat capability and loading those ships onto a carrier in order to reach the combat zone is preferable to having squadrons of shock-capable ships that are inferior in combat.

Cruisers
Some are jacks of all trades, focusing on a mix of armour, armament and sensor equipment that allows them to perform a range of different tasks. Others are specialised towards things like scouting, point defense, energy torpedoes, or stealth. In a battle fleet, cruisers are often the ships that are assigned as the screen for the battleships and battlecruisers, or even dreadnaughts, and discourage escorts or torpedo craft from trying to outmaneuver their designated heavy capital ship.

Heavy cruisers
The largest multirole cruiser variants at sizes just over 1km, heavy cruisers carry increased weaponry and defence systems, often functioning as sigil ships to squadrons of smaller capital vessels and escorts. Heavy cruisers are usually more than sufficient to handle all but the most well-armed of pirate forces by themselves and are often deployed on missions where combat is likely, but not expected to be particularly fierce.

Light cruisers
Light cruisers are a multirole cruiser type generally designed to be fast over being particularly well-armed or armoured. Though their size slightly overlaps with larger escorts, ranging from around 600-800m, light cruisers normally have many variant classes due to their larger powerplants and crews (allowing for the field testing of new systems) in comparison to these escorts, and overall have greater systems redundancy and endurance. They are normally not sent against peer opponents due to their vulnerability to practically anything larger than themselves.

Scouting cruiser
The lightest of light cruisers, scouting cruisers are built to be the eyes and ears of a fleet, whether they are slipping into enemy systems for reconnaissance, or deployed ahead of their flotilla, watching for potential ambushes and traps. Much of a light cruiser’s armament has been replaced with additional sensor systems, with expanded hangar bays to allow them to carry additional recon drones and couriers and extremely capable ECM and stealth systems. Scouting cruisers have no business engaging hostile vessels and will only do so as a last resort. As much of their armament has been sacrificed for sensors, stealth and engines, they are at a significant disadvantage against even much smaller warships. If detected, a scout cruiser’s main defence is running, trusting to its speed and jammers to protect it, rather than shooting its way out.

Escorts
In a line of battle, escorts have several functions. Where dedicated scouting vessels are unavailable or their deployment is contraindicated (i.e. the chance of encountering hostile units is high), frigates or destroyers will be deployed to range ahead and provide intel. Escorts will also attempt to flank hostile capital ships to engage weaker or ill-defended quarters, or protect their own charges from such attempts through the usage of their own point defenses or by turning themselves into oversized countermeasures by increasing power output as a distraction for incoming missiles. While escorts may not be capable of destroying a capital ship in a direct fight, if they can catch their larger opponent by surprise or find weak spots that can easily change.

Frigate and Destroyers:
The difference between these classes is, to some, an academic one. Both are similar sizes, around 350-500m. Destroyers are weighted more towards combat capability with heavier weapons, whereas frigates have a greater operational range and more accomodations for crew amenities, allowing for sustained deployment. Both are used as rapid-response units, patrol duties, convoy escorts, anti-piracy sweeps, interdiction, scouting and more, though in the case of frigates these duties are generally longer-term.

Corvettes and Cutters
The smallest classes of FTL-capable warships, both are normally far too small to be used in fleet actions, with corvettes being around 300m in length and cutters as anything significantly under that. Due to their low cost, they form the majority of police and system security vessels in the galaxy, also being used as convoy escorts and seeing frequent usage in corporate secuty, private military contractor and pirate fleets. Many are also used as armed couriers for particularly sensitive packages or data, being as fast as a dedicated courier but having a significant advantage in defense. Some are also used in clandestine activities as stealth vessels, where inserting or extracting persons of interest is required without alerting local agencies or individuals by using their transport.

Couriers
The smallest vessel capable of FTL. Miniaturized shock systems allow vessels otherwise unable to travel faster-than-light to do so, but with a severe trade-off: there is both an increased risk of shock system failure and each courier can perform only a very few shocks before its FTL systems require extensive maintenance and repairs, making a courier extremely expensive to operate with any regularity. Most couriers are carried by large vessels and are only deployed in emergencies. Some courier companies exist, charging a premium for rapid delivery of small to moderately-sized cargoes.