Ships Of The IGSN-Battle-cruisers

For the IGSN, the Battle-cruiser represented the hull of decision for most tasks.  The largest hull that could be built for and used by the named fleets, battle-cruisers were the “show the flag” warships of the military nobility.  Ownership of this class meant that the nobility in question was a major success and could afford these hulls.

For the numbered fleets, battle-cruisers were the fleet escorts of heavier warships such as battleships and dreadnoughts, able to quickly get into position and escape from a dangerous threat as needed.  Built and armored as a “battleship writ small”, the IGSN’s battle-cruisers were more resilient than their Equestrian counterparts, at the loss of some acceleration and agility.  In addition, the hull was ideally suited for the mission of commerce denial and protection, a role that the IGSN named fleets practiced often for any potential war with the Kingdom of Equestria and the Changeling Omnivoracy.

Peregrine-class Battle-cruiser

Built as a “battleship writ small”, the Peregrine-class Battle-cruiser masses at 48,000 tons and 300 meters long, and is built for the commerce protection and denial role that the IGSN considers the battle-cruiser to be essential for.  Armed with four 10cm buster launchers in the bow, six 8 cm buster launchers in the broadsides (in two sets of three), and six Sidewinder­-class anti-ship missile launch cells with sufficient storage to fire eight salvoes of six missiles each, the Peregrine is armed to fight against lighter warships and defeat them easily, while able to run away from heavier opponents. Point defense, armor, and shields are at the standard for battlecruiser-class hulls, with slightly heavier armor than the average.

Like all IGSN warships, the Peregrine-class carries a “short” IGSM battalion, and is the largest ship that can be purchased by the military nobility for the named fleets.

Falcon-class Battle-cruiser

A class built just after the Horizon War, the Falcon­-class incorporates many of the lessons learned in the war. Massing at 51,000 tons and 310 meters long, the class mounts six 10cm buster launcher in the bow, eight 8 cm buster launchers in four groups of two, and six Sidewinder­­-class anti-ship missile launch cells with sufficient storage to fire eight salvoes of six missiles each.  The largest changes in the class have been heavier shields, armor, and better acceleration, giving the class the ability to at least match the acceleration of the RESF Princess Luna-class fast battleship.

The Falcon-class Battle-cruiser is being purchased mostly by the numbered fleets, and it carries a “short” IGSM battalion for ground combat operations.

Eyre-class Squadron Drone Tender

At 49,000 tons and 300 meters long, the Eyre-class SDT is built to carry twenty-four Pinion-class ACVs and rapidly rearm and repair the ACVs in combat.  Armed with four 10cm buster launchers in the bow, the Eyre also carries a dreadnought-class point defense array and a “short” IGSM battalion.  The Eyre-class SDT is deployed with fleets, to provide ACV support when needed.  Almost entirely deployed by the numbered fleets, the Eyre-class served well during the Horizon War.

Vector-class Marine Support Ship

Like the Eyre-class SDT, the Vector-class MSS is armed with only with a bow array of four 10cm buster launchers and heavy point defense.  However, the ship is built and designed to carry a full IGSM battalion, including armor and support systems.  The ship carries a thirty day combat supply for the ground troops, and a full array of kinetic energy weapons, ranging from anti-infantry to saturation strike weapons.

Vector-class ships are almost never seen on their own, and usually are a part of a numbered fleet’s support train.

Trope A Day-Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness

Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness-If you’re doing anything in either the Day or Night Courts of Equestria, for the love of Mother Faust, don’t do this.

Princess Celestia is infamous for listening to someone try this on her, and having her summarize the entire exchange in less than a paragraph. For the occasional amusement, Princess Celestia has occasionally reduced whole massive speeches designed to try and conceal what the speaker has done to about 140 characters or less.

(Yes, Princess Celestia has literally reduced huge speeches to tweets.)

In the Night Court, Princess Luna has been known to demand that the speaker come to the point and do so immediately.  Or, she will start to get sarcastic at them.  Or threaten to get ironic.

(Rumors to the contrary, she hasn’t had anybody executed for trying to spin bullshit into brown silk.)

Ships Of The IGSF-Cruisers

Like the RESF, the Imperial Griffin Space Navy regards the cruiser as the minimum sized hull for independent missions. Unlike the Royal Equestrian Space Forces, the IGSN doesn’t have a dedicated cruiser-sized marine transport hull, relying upon the carried numbers of IGSM troops aboard every Navy warship for ground operations and support of ground objectives.  Ironically, a number of these ships have shown up in pirate hands, especially the lighter Gyrfalcon-class, with a black market for either the anti-ship missiles or replacing the missile launchers with Equestrian-style plasma torpedoes.

Also, like the RESF, the IGSN encountered “teething troubles” during the Horizon War and newer hulls are being built to fill the issues that were encountered.  Older hulls are slowly being cycled out of the numbered fleets into the named fleets, and a few are showing up into “independent” service.

Gyrfalcon-class Light Cruiser

Massing 20,000 tons and 210 meters in length, the Gyrfalcon-class light cruiser is designed and built around filling most of the missions that light cruisers perform. Armed with two 8cm buster launchers in the bow, two 6cm buster launchers in the broadsides, and four launch cells for Viper-class anti-ship missiles, the Gyrfalcon is heavily armed for its weight. The major difficulties of the class is that when the Viper anti-ship missiles run out, the ship loses most of its long range punch against opponents. Armor and defense systems are of standard for the class of ship, as well as secondary systems for combat operations.  The ship also carries a single company of Imperial Griffin Space Marines for ground operations.

The class saw service throughout the Horizon War, and many of the class’s flaws were brought to light during the war. A heavier light cruiser class, the Raven-class, began to be produced after the Horizon War, which addressed these concerns.

Raven-class Light Cruiser

Built after the end of the Horizon War, the Raven-class light cruiser masses at 23,000 tons and 210 meters in length. Armed more heavily than the Gyrfalcon­-class, the ship carries two bow 8cm buster launchers, four 6cm buster launchers in the broadsides, and four launch cells for Viper-class anti-ship missiles. The major improvements of this class were the additional broadside buster launchers and slightly larger launcher capacity (four salvoes of six over three salvoes of six) for the Viper anti-ship missiles. While the class still has the issue of being less effective in combat once the missile cells are empty, the Raven is still a formidable foe in knife-fighting range with its buster launchers. Like the Gyrfalcon-class , the armor and defense systems are standard for the class. The ship carries a single company of Imperial Griffin Space Marines for ground operations and boarding missions.

As the older Gyrfalcon-class ships are bought by the military nobility and older hulls are retired, the Raven-class is replacing them in greater numbers. The Horizon War showed that there were never enough cruisers for the missions that were required, and the Griffin Moot is planning to be ready when they need these hulls.

Eagle-class Heavy Cruiser

At 26,000 tons and 220 meters long, the Eagle-class of heavy cruiser represents the platonic ideal of cruisers in the IGSN thoughts prior to the Horizon War. Armed with two bow 10cm buster launchers, six 6cm buster launchers in the broadsides, and four launch cells for Viper-class anti-ship missiles, the class is designed to win a cruiser duel by superior bow-to-bow firepower and longer engagement ranges for the 10cm buster launchers. The primary issue with this class of ship is that while it carries a fairly large number of missiles (the launch cells are built to handle six salvoes of six missiles each), once the missiles are gone the ship lacks a maneuver denial weapon against hostile ships. In addition, while the simple “slam” power of the 10cm buster launchers is significant, the advantages of two larger weapons over an array of smaller buster launchers wasn’t worth the mass and design penalties. The class mounts armor and defenses in proportion to the ship’s mass, and carries a reinforced company of Imperial Griffin Space Marines for ground operations.

The Eagle-class would begin to be phased out, to be replaced by the Talon-class heavy cruiser after the end of the Horizon War. The class is oddly popular with the military nobility, which likes the class for its heavy weapons fit.

Talon-class Heavy Cruiser

At 38,000 tons and 240 meters long, the Talon-class is the IGSN’s version of the RESF Big Macintosh class, and it fills the same mission role. Armed with four 8cm buster launchers in the bow, six 6 cm buster launchers in the broadsides, and six Viper-class anti-ship missile launch cells, the class is more balanced in terms of weapons than the older Eagle-class. Like the Eagle-class, the ship has difficulties when it runs out of missiles, but the larger number of launchers gives the ship more endurance. The class also mounts heavier point defense stations than other cruisers, which allows for engagement of seeking weapons at longer distances. Like the Eagle-class, the ship carries a reinforced IGSM company for ground operations.

The Talon-class is replacing the Eagle-class, and while the ship is popular within the IGSN, the military nobility has a dislike for the class due to its mimicry of the RESF and their doctrines.