GALLENTE FEDERATION
GALLENTE FEDERATION
The most paradoxical of the four major superpowers in New Eden, the Gallente Federation is viewed in many different lights depending on who the observer might be. On one hand, many Gallente people see the Federation as the last bastion of democracy, liberty, and personal freedom in the cluster; however, from the outside the Federal administration is often viewed as a pompous, meddling pack of imperialist bullies overseeing a system that is rotten to the core.
Often described as a utopian society, where fulfilling any desire an individual may possess is simply a matter of meeting the right criteria or cost, the Federation is a lot darker when one inspects beneath the glossy surface of the core worlds: it contains a substantial militaristic right-wing movement that extends from the average citizen to the height of government.
With no mandatory service requirement for citizens, the Federal Combined Armed Forces (FEDCAF) possesses the smallest number of active personnel available to any of the four major superpowers, with personnel counts less than even the combined strength of the corporate security forces of the big eight in the Caldari State. The Federation does however make incredible use of the technology at its fingertips, with many basic core military functions provided via the use of drones and highly sophisticated artificial intelligence.
This level of automation has the advantage of allowing FEDCAF to operate with a relatively small footprint in comparison to other militaries and allows the Federation Navy and Federal Marines specifically to deploy without the strong dependency on logistical supply lines of their adversaries, giving an immediate tactical advantage.
The vast savings that are accrued from operating vessels on which more than a third of the crew are automated allow the Federation to budget in a manner completely different to that of any other military in New Eden, providing the opportunity for regular refits, technology review, or replacement of their service vessels, which results in lower operating costs and a younger average fleet age.
Of course, on paper, having a significantly smaller cash flow than that of other militaries makes FEDCAF appear to be heavily underfunded, a point that right-wing Federal conservatives and nationalists are more than happy to bring to the table during Senate sessions.
GALLENTE MILITARY OVERVIEW
Full Designation: The Combined Armed Forces of the Gallente Federal Union
Call Sign: FEDCAF (Federal Combined Armed Forces)
Vessel Call Sign: FNS (Federation Navy Ship)
Commander in Chief: President Jacus Roden
Active Commander: Fleet Admiral Anteson Ranchel
Enlistment Age:
16 (Cadet)
18 (Enlisted)
Mandatory Federal Service: None
Budget Scope: 2.7% of Federal GDP
Average Fleet Chassis Age: 24 Years
Active Service Personnel: 87,960,400,000 (0.44%)
Available for Service: 7,338,696,100,000 (36.71%)
Regions Claimed: 6
Essence (9)
Everyshore (7)
Placid (11)
Sinq Laison (15)
Solitude (6)
Verge Vendor (6)
Constellations are shown in parentheses.
Constellations Claimed: 54
| V(MAX) | 420 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 1,050,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 63 M |
| BEAM | 67 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 375 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 970,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 73 M |
| BEAM | 67 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 330 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 997,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 65 M |
| BEAM | 42 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 330 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 997,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 53 M |
| BEAM | 42 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 375 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 1,063,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 100 M |
| BEAM | 66 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 410 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 1,450,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 70 M |
| BEAM | 26 M |
| CREW | 1 |
| V(MAX) | 315 M/SEC |
| V(WARP) | 5.00 AU/S |
| MASS | 956,000 KG |
| LENGTH | 100 M |
| BEAM | 82 M |
| CREW | 1 |
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION
Third Generation Roden Shipyards Direct Port Ion Propulsion System
– Roden Shipyards G1 Compact FTL System
– Allotek Industries CC-6 Primary Ion Propulsion Unit
– Allotek Industries CC-2 Secondary Ion Propulsion Jet
ENGINEERING
– Roden Shipyards “Vasse” Subcompact Fusion Reactor Unit
– 4× Roden Shipyards GG-10 Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle 200 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Roden Shipyards BZ-10 Magnetometric Sensor Cluster
DEFENSE
– Roden Shipyards Dual Layer 225 mm Full Wrap Crystalline Carbonide Outer Skin
– Duvolle Laboratories GS-1 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 3× Roden Shipyards LM-2 Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– Allotek Industries 0-66 Auxiliary Turret Tracking Subsystems
ATRON
A capable little frigate with a fast, light, rock solid chassis at its foundation, the Atron excels when placed in situations where agility, fast thinking, and raw firepower are required. A hard little nugget to crack with an advanced subcompact reactor solution and heavy primary reactor power coupling, the Atron is the perfect light blaster platform.
Designed to be hard-hitting, fast, and brutally effective, this frigate was developed as a direct counter to the Caldari Condor after the Federation Navy’s Tripwire Intelligence and Command (TIC) division were caught off guard when the Condor was initially trialed in combat. Realizing that while effective in larger skirmishes, the heavier chassis of the Incursus and Comet were at a disadvantage to the Condor one on one, the Federation Navy contracted Roden Shipyards to develop this high speed pursuit vessel that is almost small enough to classify as a corvette.
Often underestimated and overlooked, the Atron serves the Federation Navy as a formidable light blaster platform for short range, hard hitting brawls that often take place when vessels from either the State or Federation are caught on the wrong side of the border. Designed from the ground up to be modular beneath the skin, the Atron is split into a simple set of five compartments internally that serve individual functions.
The most forward of these compartments houses the reactor and pilot’s capsule, with a second compartment housing the FTL system and power shunt directly behind it. The aft section of the main superstructure houses the Allotek designed sublight propulsion system. Both the starboard and port wings form their own compartments, dedicated to raw weapons capability and processing power, with the starboard side wing also housing the vessel’s protective Duvolle designed shield emitter.
With a relatively modular construction, costs for repairs, replacement, and salvaging are kept at a minimum, making the Atron one of the most widely used frigates not only in the Federal Combined Armed Forces (FEDCAF), but also in the entire Federation. The vessel’s design has proven so successful that even the Serpentis Corporation, a longtime adversary of the Federation, has taken to utilizing its blueprint to produce fast patrol vessels.
After a short, but successful, career, the Atron was selected as a platform to be developed into two advanced interceptor-class hulls, the Ares and the Taranis, which now serve with FEDCAF, as well as in many commercial security roles with Federal corporations and independent capsuleers alike.
TYPICAL USAGE
Due to its agility and ease of maintenance and repair, the Atron is utilized as the front line frigate for the Federation Navy and can usually be found operating alongside the Comet and Incursus, providing fire support for heavier skirmish vessels such as the Thorax class cruiser and Talos class battlecruiser.
Often operated in squads of three that are paired with a Thorax class cruiser for fast moving fire support, the Atron is typically fitted with a complement of light ion or neutron blasters, and short range warp disruption equipment used for daring close quarters interdiction passes on larger targets.
Given that it was designed solely to outpace and counter the Condor, the Atron is somewhat of a black sheep when compared to the rest of the standard frigate classes used by FEDCAF, filling a fast pursuit role where it can effectively deploy in a single class squadron. Generally, when sent out on patrol like this, the Atron operates in even numbered squads, utilizing a wingman system.
More often than not, Atrons are deployed in squadrons of eight or twelve when in a single class squadron, with the engagement policy a simple case of swarming an indicated target and dealing overwhelming damage as quickly as possible to remove the threat.
While typically, any contact with hostile vessels requires a call for authorization to engage from a Federation Navy division commander, tactics like this are generally employed by TIC pilots who actively patrol the Federation’s borders. These squadrons tend to fly with a wing commander charged with absolute authority to actively decide in combat if an identified target should be engaged, without the need for escalation of an engagement authorization request to their division commander.
Away from FEDCAF, the Atron and its advanced counterparts, the Taranis and Ares, see widespread use as private security patrol vessels with Roden Shipyards and Allotek Industries, and as fast interdiction and defensive scouting support for the operations of Astral Mining. Also widely used by independent capsuleers, the Atron offers a fast, cheap, and effective interdiction solution that is easily replaced, and ideal for use in training rookie graduates into independent fleet members.
VARIATIONS
Ares
Stripped out and lightened even further, the Ares class interceptor weighs in at less than a million kilos when unloaded, giving it even more of an edge in combat, and a slight increase in maximum velocity over its more basic counterpart.
The addition of a Duvolle Laboratories sourced Pente missile launcher hardpoint system gives the Ares a basic ability to offer a more versatile spread of damage, or fit a little more defensively with defender missiles. Usually, however, this option tends to more often than not be sidelined for more blaster based damage application given its upgraded mainframe and magnetometric tracking subsystems which offer more accurate payload delivery than the Atron.
The addition of an improved BZ-60 magnetometric sensor cluster also gives the Ares a superior field of target acquisition, allowing for earlier engagement and the option to focus fire from longer ranges, utilizing weapon subsystem falloff in order to increase survivability in combat.
Taranis
While the Atron proved to be a viable counter to the Condor class frigate, engineers in the Federation seemed to be unable to resist twisting the knife a little more, and thus the Taranis class interceptor was born.
Developed as an advanced frigate-sized interdiction solution for use in more sustained high-velocity engagements and as antifighter support, the Taranis packs a brutal punch at close range, but suffers a little when required to engage at standoff distances. During its development, several sections of its blueprint were obtained by the Caldari Navy Intelligence Service, which resulted in the immediate contracting of the Kaalakiota Corporation to design a counter.
Carrying marginally more mass than its basic counterpart due to an additional layer of 225 mm full wrap crystalline carbonide armor plating, the Taranis sees service across the Federation whenever a fast, hard hitting, light interdiction and damage dealing platform is required.
“I’ve never flown any frigate that handles the same as this thing. Holy shit, the level of agility and responsiveness is incredible. If she wasn’t so heavy and if I weren’t hooked into a capsule, I’d swear I was piloting a fighter, or a fast corvette. The Thirty-Seventh aren’t gonna know what’s hit them; this thing is a little demon when you push it to the limit. She’s a bit heavy in the nose, but it works to keep her well balanced.”
Didier Harante
Research & Development Test Pilot,
Federation Navy
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION
Fifth Generation Roden Shipyards Direct Port Ion Propulsion System
– Roden Shipyards WR-01 FTL System
– 3× Roden Shipyards FR-2 Primary Ion Propulsion Units
– 4× Duvolle Laboratories G6 Ion Propulsion Couplings
– 2× Roden Shipyards AA-1 Trim Couplings
ENGINEERING
– Roden Shipyards “Realle” Fusion Reactor with Full Redundancy
– 8× Roden Shipyards Parallel Linked GE-66 Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle Laboratories 800 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Roden Shipyards BZ-12 Magnetometric Sensor Suite
DEFENSE
– Roden Shipyards Dual Layer 200 mm Full Coverage Crystalline Carbonide Outer Skin
– Quad Roden Shipyards AR-4 Nanorepair Pumps
– Duvolle Laboratories SS-2 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 2× Roden Shipyards LM-LEV Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– CreoDRON LS Light Auxiliary Drone Control Mainframe
COMET
The Federation Navy Comet’s design comes from the drawing board of Federal shipbuilding mastermind Arnerore Rylerave, an engineer and research specialist for Roden Shipyards who recently retired after almost a century of service to the Federal Combined Armed Forces.
The Comet was originally conceived as a standard issue police patrol vessel for use by the GPD and Federation Customs; however, its fantastic offensive capabilities and great manueverability were a huge hit among Federal service personnel and it was swiftly commissioned for use with the Federation Navy. Over the course of the last two decades, it has become a widely used skirmish, pursuit, and patrol vessel that is now a common sight across all divisions of FEDCAF.
The Comet class frigate is most commonly associated with the colors of Tripwire Intelligence and Command, the FEDCAF division responsible for Federal border security. Typically used as a fast patrol, reconnaissance, and skirmish vessel, the Comet tends to be flown by the Federation Navy’s most experienced frigate pilots. Due to its versatility, this adaptable little hull sees extensive deployment in what is probably its most iconic role, with the GPD as a rapid pursuit and interdiction platform.
The Comet is a hybrid of two already existing Gallente ships, utilizing the robust weapons subsystems and fast, efficient propulsion hardware of the Incursus class frigate, combined with the lightweight and durable chassis and engineering subframe of the Tristan.
With outstanding tracking subsystems for its weapons and oversized Roden Shipyards oscillator capacitor banks, the Comet outperforms any other Federal frigate class in combat trials, and bridges the gap between the standard frigate and the ferocious Enyo class assault frigate.
While ownership of the Comet’s blueprint was formally handed over to the Federation Navy by Roden Shipyards in YC92, the commercial shipbuilding conglomerate still retains franchise rights on the blueprint, and has spent the last three decades manufacturing the ship and its subsystems both for commercial and civilian applications, as well as producing additional units for FEDCAF during times of high demand.
This arrangement has earned tens of trillions of kredits in revenue from FEDCAF, with the corporation’s operations intricately tied to the Federal military’s preventative maintenance schedules across its corvette, frigate, destroyer, and cruiser-class vessel lineup.
FROM WORKHORSE TO ICON
While many vessels have become iconic for outstanding performance on the battlefield, none have had a more meteoric rise than the Comet, which is now known across the cluster for its performance during the One Day War, on June 10, YC110.
With CONCORD’s infrastructure crippled after the Elder Fleet attack and the Directive Enforcement Department’s communication network completely offline for a number of hours, the Caldari Navy launched a massive offensive into the home system of the Gallente Federation, Luminaire, with the objective of taking back the Caldari home world, Caldari Prime.
In the largest military conflict between the State Armed Forces and the Federal Combined Armed Forces since the end of the Caldari-Gallente War in YC12, the Caldari State temporarily took back control of their home world, annexing it from the Gallente Federation and creating a pocket of Caldari sovereignty inside the heart of the Federation. Guarded by a Leviathan class titan, CNS Shiigeru, Caldari Prime remained under State control until a counteroffensive in March YC115 that once again removed Caldari influence from within Federal borders.
During the initial engagement on June 10, YC110, which saw the Caldari Navy penetrate the Federation’s Tripwire border control network with the support of multiple fleets, Comet class hulls were responsible for 26,104 confirmed kills on vessels ranging from light fighter- to cruiser-class vessels, in direct action that became the largest single deployment of frigate-class vessels in the history of warfare in New Eden.
Comets belonging to the Federation Navy’s Tripwire Intelligence and Command division were responsible for the withdrawal of more than two thousand Caldari Navy carrier and supercarrier-class vessels after FEDCAF pilots decimated the Caldari fighter squadrons. While the Caldari assault on Luminaire was a tactical success, the cost to the Caldari Navy has never truly been assessed, and was written off by the Caldari Providence Directorate as a simple military expense.
TYPICAL FLEET USAGE
Within the Federation Navy, the Comet class is typically employed as a fast patrol and interdiction vessel as part of fleet support. More often than not, the Comet is seen patrolling the border regions of the Federation as part of the FEDCAF Tripwire program, which monitors and secures its borders with the Caldari State.
Usually operated in squads of three, the Comet is employed alongside a wing of larger vessels, typically Brutix class cruisers and Megathron class battleships, to provide antifrigate, antifighter, and interdiction support during all sizes of engagement.
In recent years, after the addition of the Talos class attack battlecruiser to the Federation Navy fleet, the Comet has also seen use as a fast attack craft employed to support the hard hitting Talos, which has a reputation as a “glass cannon” when not properly supported. In this role, the Comet is typically stripped of ancillary hardware and support systems, before being fitted to provide optimum maneuverability and firepower from its two hardpoint pairs.
The Comet is also still widely used by both Federation Customs and the Gallente Police Division (GPD) as a fast pursuit and patrol vessel and is a common sight across the space lanes of the Federation sporting a white highlighted livery with blue and red police beacons.
In commercial use, the Comet is often deployed as a fast escort or security vessel. With countless hulls in service, the Comet can be seen performing duties that range from guarding the operations of Astral Mining, to escorting convoys from Federal Freight and Inner Zone Shipping. The Comet also sees substantial use as fire support for secure transport of VIPs and political figures.
“When I designed her, my vision was for the Comet to become the mainstay vessel of the GPD and our customs patrol fleet, but she’s become so much more. It truly warms my heart to see so many divisions of our armed forces displaying their colors on her hull. As a starship engineer, I feel there is no higher honor.”
Arnerore Rylerave
Lead Prototyping Engineer,
Roden Shipyards (Ret. YC118)
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION TYPE
Mark One CreoDron “Poseilla” Ion Propulsion System
– CreoDron “Alpha” Compact FTL Coupling
– 2× CreoDron RT-01 Primary Ion Propulsion Units
– Five Port Federation Navy “Ville” Secondary Ion Propulsion Panel
– CreoDron X-01 Auxiliary Ion Propulsion Unit
ENGINEERING
– Duvolle Laboratories F-03 Subcompact Fusion Reactor Unit
– 12× CreoDron 450-DD Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle 300 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– CreoDron BZ-660 Magnetometric Sensor Cluster
DEFENSE
– Duvolle Laboratories Dual Skin 250 mm Full Wrap Crystalline Carbonide Armor
– CreoDron Mark 12 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– Federation Navy LEV-66 Turret Hardpoint Pair
– CreoDron 845F Auxiliary Astrometric Processing Array
– CreoDron 01-FF Drone Control Array
IMICUS
Relatively cumbersome for a frigate and somewhat bizarre to behold, the Imicus was panned as a nonstarter when its initial designs were presented to the Federation Navy by CreoDron roughly forty years ago, and was shelved for almost half a decade before the Federation Navy put it into service as a noncombat scouting and reconnaissance vessel.
A hard-shelled little frigate that has proved itself ideal for any type of scouting activity, today the Imicus is used by merchants, as well as mining and combat groups alike, and tends to be relied upon as an operation’s eyes and ears when traversing low security sectors of space.
Built around a frigate blueprint that traces its origins to a design that was developed before the Caldari-Gallente War, the Imicus possesses limited offensive capability in the form of turret hardpoints, with only a single pair factored into its design. Despite this, it remains one of the most versatile Gallente frigates on the market due to its capability to field a total of four light scout drones and hold a further four in reserve.
With much of its internal space taken up by astrometric processing equipment, an expansive drone bay with a unique vertically mounted indexing carousel and a colossal set of oscillator capacitor banks, the small chassis of the Imicus is packed tight with equipment that gears it toward noncombat roles such as scouting, deep space exploration, and search and rescue, as well as limited support and logistics roles.
The ugly duckling of Gallente frigate design, the Imicus spent many years in throwaway roles with the Federation Navy, with many units suffering from lack of repair, severe chassis fatigue, poor maintenance standards, and substandard repairs before it began to be widely used in the commercial sector as an astrometrics platform.
Despite a slow start to its adoption, the Imicus has been manufactured in huge numbers given the fact it is still incredibly cheap to produce and uses next to no proprietary parts. Even the vessel’s unique vertically mounted drone maintenance carousel uses components from the Tristan’s design, allowing further cost-cutting when assembling this now widely used scouting frigate.
SPECTRE
The fallout from the collapse of the Crielere Project was crippling for Caldari-Gallente relations, after decades of bridge building and diplomacy from both sides of the fence; however, this didn’t stop both the State and Federation from using knowledge garnered from the project before its failure to perfect the ability to develop covert ops cloaking technology.
While the Federal frigate-class covert ops cloaking solution was initially installed and tested on the Maulus class frigate, its repurpose into an electronic warfare platform pushed the role of covert ops scout onto the Imicus class frigate, which was in need of a new lease on life.
As tensions peaked between the State and Federation after the One Day War and the annexing of Caldari Prime by the Caldari Providence Directorate, it was estimated that more than two thousand Helios class assault frigates operated by the Federation Navy and Federal Intelligence Office were stationed on the Caldari side of the border, gathering intelligence and performing electronic snooping duties on Caldari Navy installations.
This was, of course, denied by the Federal Intelligence Office until a Senate report leaked in December of YC118 was revealed to contain the CONCORD Serial Identification Codes for three Helios class frigates registered to a shell corporation, which had received funds from the Federal Intelligence Office in YC116.
The FIO declined to comment on the matter, and as of yet there have been no reported sightings of covert FEDCAF vessels on the Caldari side of the border, despite rumors that operations continue uninterrupted in the State, Empire, and Republic under direct orders from President Roden.
TYPICAL USAGE
For years, the Imicus struggled to find a place within any FEDCAF fleet doctrine, crippled by design flaws that made it a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. It was only after the collapse of the Crielere Project that the Imicus received a long-awaited technology review as senior Federal military figures realized the need for a dedicated astrometrics platform to compete with the Caldari State’s Heron.
It was at this point that the Imicus we know today was born. The original design for the vessel was gutted, and much of its internal space was dedicated to serving as a drone management and maintenance platform. Significant upgrades to its energy generation and storage systems, as well as the introduction of the 01-FF drone control array and a whole host of dedicated astrometrics equipment transformed the Imicus from what many regarded as a crystalline carbonide wrapped paperweight into a sub-one-thousand-ton astrometrics kingpin.
Today, the Imicus is widely used across the cluster in both military and commercial applications and serves as a gold standard in basic astrometric hull design, as well as providing a solid example of overhaul of a substandard blueprint for reuse.
Now deployed by FEDCAF in massive numbers, the Imicus is widely used by all branches as a lightweight astrometrics platform for noncovert scouting and post-combat search and rescue. Probably the most widely known utilization of the Imicus today is its place in the fleet doctrines of Federation Customs as a scanning and security vessel used to remotely probe the cargo holds of vessels that are halted for search by the Federation’s border control and customs teams.
In commercial operation, the Imicus fulfills a wide range of roles, from acting as a resource surveying and mapping platform, to a low yield mining vessel that utilizes its single pair of turret hardpoints to fit mining lasers, and its drone handling capacity for a combination of self-defense and additional mining capability.
More recently, the Imicus has been developed into the Helios class covert ops frigate, which now sees wide use by both FEDCAF and independent capsuleer alliances as a combat scouting vessel and exploration platform.
VARIATIONS
Helios
While the collapse of the Crielere Project was a huge blow for both the Ishukone Corporation and Duvolle Laboratories, the aftereffects were felt on a much larger scale, influencing decision making by both the Federation and State for years after the incident that brought the project to an end.
The first result of that change in decision making was the release of the Buzzard class covert ops frigate by the Ishukone Corporation, which was swiftly integrated into the ranks of the Caldari Navy, serving as their primary scouting vessel soon after its introduction.
With Duvolle Laboratories tied up by a full review of its operations by a Senate Oversight Committee, the remains of their Crielere based research were handed to CreoDron by FEDCAF leadership, along with a contract to produce a counter to the Buzzard.
The result was both the revised noncovert blueprint of the Imicus, and an advanced version of the vessel that was named the Helios. With reduced capacity for drone handling, the Helios focuses more on operating as an all-out combat astrometrics platform, with most of the internal space formerly utilized for drone storage and maintenance allocated to additional scanning hardware and covert ops cloaking equipment.
“When I look back on the designs we presented to FEDCAF leadership, I shake my head and wonder what in the name of all that’s holy we thought we were doing. There were so many holes, so many flaws, and in truth the blueprint was thrown together as a competitor to the Tristan. Realistically, we should have let Roden have their fifteen minutes of fame, taken another year to polish the plans, and put together a prototype, but the brass was piling on the pressure. Still, all’s well that ends well. Today we’ve got a kick-ass little frigate platform that excels in its role.”
Yvandele Benic
Research & Development Manager,
CreoDron
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION
Fourth Generation Roden Shipyards Direct Port Ion Propulsion System
– Roden Shipyards WR-01 FTL System
– 4× Roden Shipyards FR-2 Primary Ion Propulsion Units
– 4× Roden Shipyards AA-1S Trim Jets
ENGINEERING
– Roden Shipyards “Realle” Fusion Reactor Unit
– 6× Roden Shipyards GE-50 Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle Second Generation 500 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Roden Shipyards BZ-10 Magnetometric Sensor Suite
DEFENSE
– Roden Shipyards Dual Layer 225 mm Full Wrap Crystalline Carbonide Outer Skin
– Roden Shipyards AR-2 Nanorepair Pumps
– Duvolle Laboratories GS-1 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 3× Roden Shipyards LM-LEV Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– Roden Shipyards FY-66 Auxiliary Turret Tracking Subsystems
– CreoDron TG-101 Supplementary Drone Control Matrix
INCURSUS
The design of the Incursus class frigate has remained almost at a constant for the last seventy years since its introduction to service with the Federation Navy.
While modernized with cutting edge materials and technology, the familiar profile of this fast, maneuverable attack frigate has remained recognizable throughout the cluster since it was first drafted by Federation Navy engineers.
Typically deployed to complement the Atron and Maulus class frigates of FEDCAF to provide fast, dependable fire support on Federation Navy, Customs, and GFPD patrols, the Incursus remains second favorite to its technological successor, the Comet, with most Federation Navy service personnel.
After a highly successful trial period during live combat exercises in the Caldari Border Zone, Placid and Solitude, the vessel was welcomed into the fold as a staple Federation Navy attack frigate and still sees wide use today. So much so, in fact, that the Incursus has become somewhat of an icon for the Federation Navy, taking a place on propaganda posters alongside the Federation Navy Comet and the Megathron class battleship.
Benefiting from an incredibly versatile, but relatively heavy, chassis and weapons platform coupled with oversized propulsion to cope with the additional weight, the Incursus has been successful enough in service with the Federation Navy that both the Intaki Syndicate and Serpentis Corporation have begun to include the hull as a platform for fast hit-and-run attacks.
Given its popularity, the Incursus has been adapted further into two advanced hulls, the hard hitting Enyo class assault frigate, based on the Incursus with more advanced armor layering technology and significant weapons subsystems upgrades, and the Ishkur, a fearsome frigate-class drone deployment platform developed by CreoDron.
Technology from the Incursus has also found its way into the Taranis and Ares class interceptors, as well as the Comet class frigate. In more recent years, the Incursus has been used as a test bed for prototype hardware that is to be introduced to the FEDCAF fleet as part of a large scale refit that is scheduled to begin in early YC120, serving as a platform for capacitor, propulsion, and reactor hardware testing.
TYPICAL USAGE
A brute of a frigate, more so than any other in use by FEDCAF, the Incursus is perfectly suited to its role-all out fire support for squadrons of all sizes across most of the divisions that operate within the Federal Combined Armed Forces.
While not fast enough to provide antifighter support when loaded out with blaster based weapons subsystems, the Incursus can excel in this role if fitted for medium to long engagements with a set of 150 mm railguns and the correct ordnance, allowing it to dictate engagement range and punch holes through anything that attempts to come close enough to do significant damage.
A front line frigate that perfectly complements the faster and lighter Atron class, the Incursus is more often than not seen sporting a railgun based loadout to support it. A key role for the Incursus also resides with both the Federal Intelligence Office and the Gallente Senate, where it is used for escort purposes when transporting government officials and senators.
Highly regarded by the Federal Intelligence Office for the versatility it provides, the Incursus has its own set of sixteen squadrons with the Federal Intelligence Office that hold the call sign “The Black Lancers.” The responsibilities of the Lancers range from VIP escorts to internal black operations and intelligence gathering sorties within the Federation.
Part of the Special Department of Internal Investigations, colloquially known as the Black Eagles, the Lancers take their name from the matte black super Kerr-induced nanocoatings that their ships utilize to deflect and confuse telemetry gathering equipment on other vessels.
With several variations of the Incursus available on the market, including the standard issue frigate and two assault frigate-class hulls, the Incursus remains a versatile and rock solid vessel for deployment by both FEDCAF and private security forces.
VARIATIONS
Enyo
After reviewing the performance of the Incursus during its introduction to the ranks of the Special Department of Internal Investigations, Roden Shipyards moved swiftly to purchase development rights on its blueprint, and immediately set about creating what can only be described as an Incursus on steroids.
The addition of an extra pair of turret hardpoints, plus the inclusion of hardware support for a single Duvolle sourced launcher hardpoint subsystem, gives the Enyo even more bite than its standard counterpart. Though it is significantly slower than the Incursus, what the Enyo lacks in speed it makes up for with incredible damage projection over long ranges.
A triple skin of 225 mm full wrap crystalline carbonide armor plating ensures that the Enyo poses not only a risk to other frigates, but also destroyers, cruisers, and even lone battlecruisers in the hands of a skilled pilot.
Ishkur
Losing out on more than a year of development time while locked in a legal battle in the Federal Senate over Roden Shipyards’ monopoly on the Incursus blueprint, CreoDron were eventually able to bring their own spin on this popular frigate to market after a Supreme Court ruling in their favor dissolved the sole right of Roden to develop from the blueprint on the grounds of fair competition.
The result of their efforts is the Ishkur class assault frigate, a heavily armored frigate platform capable of fielding a full flight of five light scout drones, while also possessing three pairs of turret hardpoints of its own, in the same hull profile layout as the original Incursus.
An immediate hit, the green-hulled drone menace immediately swallowed up a colossal 40 percent of the market demand for Incursus class hulls, with many current pilots of the Incursus looking to upgrade as soon as the specifications and blueprints were released into the public domain.
“A little bit heavy in the stern, but I like how she handles. Turret coverage is reasonable, no real blind spots either. I am worried about heat emissions and signature from the cap banks however. So close to the FTL system, if one of them goes up, it could leave a pilot stranded or paint a big-ass target on him in combat. All in all, the refit looks good. She’s shaping up to be competitive again, but we need to check those heat emissions aren’t causing an increase in the size of her signature radius, or State border control will have us for breakfast.”
Tolede Cincere
Flight Engineer & Test Pilot,
Federation Customs
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION TYPE
Mark Two Duvolle Laboratories “Antelle” Ion Propulsion System
– Duvolle Laboratories TG-1 Shielded Compact FTL Coupling
– 4× Duvolle Laboratories FA-1 Primary Ion Propulsion Unit
– 6× Duvolle Laboratories VP-2 Variable Pitch Secondary Ion Propulsion Panels
ENGINEERING
– Duvolle Laboratories F-07 Subcompact Fusion Reactor Unit
– 6× Duvolle Laboratories 400R Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle Laboratories 200 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Duvolle Laboratories BZ-1000 Magnetometric Sensor Suite
DEFENSE
– Duvolle Laboratories Dual Skin 250 mm Full Wrap Crystalline Carbonide Armor
– Duvolle Laboratories GS-5 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 2× Duvolle Laboratories LEV-6 Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– Duvolle Laboratories GD-66 Auxiliary Processing Array
MAULUS
A more recent introduction to the Federal Combined Armed Forces fleet, the Maulus serves as a medium weight, highly specialized electronic warfare platform that is particularly valued in fleet formation given the fact that it is geared toward heavy optimization for the use of sensor dampening technology.
Introduced to the Gallente military just two and a half decades ago, the Maulus was designed by Duvolle Laboratories to act as an inexpensive and highly mobile electronic warfare support platform in the ongoing conflict with the Caldari State, allowing the Federation to draw Caldari vessels in closer by reducing their effective range in combat with electronic dampening equipment.
Bearing a striking resemblance to a well-known model of prewar cargo handling tug, the Maulus does indeed use the same base subframe design, albeit scaled up by an order of magnitude, to save on development costs. Additional reduction in cost was achieved by using several armor and hull plating layouts from both the Tristan and Imicus to wrap the Maulus in a full skin of crystalline carbonide plating.
Benefiting from a recent hardware review, the Maulus has also been redrafted with a new Duvolle Laboratories F-07 subcompact fusion reactor, which was developed from the F-03 unit used in the Imicus as a result of research from the ill-fated Crielere Project. The Maulus also shares the cells within its capacitor banks with the Tristan, which in this case are manufactured by Roden Shipyards before being packaged and wired into banks by Duvolle to produce the 400R model oscillator bank.
In standard form, save for its drone bay which borrows technology directly from the Tristan, much of the lower superstructure of the Maulus is left empty beneath the 200 series mainframe and around the keel turret hardpoints, in order to allow for maximum versatility when installing sensor dampening equipment depending on each individual vessel’s intended user.
In some instances, when the vessel is purchased by independent contractors this space is converted for cargo storage; however, during navy duty the lower substructure of the vessel tends to be reserved for munitions storage and additional sensor dampening hardware.
THE DANGERS OF DOCK WORK
Dockside duties either in a navy or commercial role tend to be favored by most service personnel or corporate employees, given the inherent dangers of working in close proximity to the hazardous materials that are found in modern starships and the associated hazard pay.
One such incident, which caused a complete rewrite of standard dockside operating procedure for the sensor dampening systems used by Federation Navy vessels, came during the accidental activation of a phased muon sensor dampening system while a Keres class electronic attack frigate was gravdocked in Uphallant VII—Federation Navy Testing Facilities for repairs.
A FEDCAF investigation into the incident, which caused the deaths of sixty-seven maintenance personnel, indicated that a faulty discharge fail-safe circuit in one of the vessel’s Duvolle 400R capacitor banks had failed to release charge from the capacitor bank, which caused the sensor dampening system to activate when its control circuits were tested, rather than simply giving a low power error.
Statements from several members of personnel who survived the incident describe a loud lightning- like arcing of static electricity against the vessel’s gravdock scaffold, which incinerated more than a dozen of their colleagues, before a concussion wave passed through the hangar that turned many of the other staff present into biomass with the approximate consistency of pulled pork.
Despite the official investigation notes listing cause of death as either “instantaneous fatal concussion related lacerations” or “electrostatic related instantaneous incineration,” witness testimony indicates that several of the staff that subsequently died in the hospital were in fact conscious and coherent after the incident.
This is a point that the Federation Navy strongly denies, to the point of summarily court-martialing a number of survivors on the grounds of insubordination and providing false witness statements to an official FEDCAF investigation.
TYPICAL USAGE
A favorite among frigate pilots across FEDCAF, the Maulus is typically used at standoff ranges of around fifty to sixty kilometers. Employed as a rear-guard vessel, it is utilized to project electronic countermeasures over the top of closer range vessels that deliver ordnance, while utilizing either light combat scout drones for self-defense, or electronic warfare drones that cause further havoc with the electronics onboard hostile vessels.
Usually deployed as a part of a large fleet operation, although sometimes also seen in escort duties with the Federal Intelligence Office and Senate, the Maulus has developed a reputation as a cheap and reliable countermeasures platform that can be used for point defense operations or mobile fleet support.
Typically seen in operation with Tripwire and the bulk of the Federation’s defensive fleets stationed in each of their sovereign regions, the Maulus is usually deployed in squads that number in multiples of six, operating on a wingman principle with vessels teamed in pairs for fire support and logistics when utilizing remote repair drones.
In commercial and nonmilitary applications, the Maulus is widely regarded as one of the most effective frigate-sized sensor-dampening platforms in the cluster, with subsystems and capacitor hardware geared toward maximum efficiency when operating suppression based electronic warfare subsystems.
The Maulus has also seen limited success when fitted as a cloaked scouting vessel, with a limited run of the hull initially being tuned toward utilizing covert ops cloaking devices before being phased out in preference for the Imicus class hull to take over the role.
Relatively cheap and easy to produce, the Maulus is also widely used by rookie independent pilots looking to acquire their first taste in combat given the simplicity of its hardware layout and its ease of upgrade and loadout selection.
In addition to this, the Maulus sees wide use in competitive combat tournaments including the Independent Gaming Commission’s Alliance Tournament and several other capsuleer organized events, given its ease of replicability and its effectiveness in combat. This has also led to Duvolle Laboratories developing an advanced version of the hull with further optimizations, known as the Keres.
VARIATIONS
Keres
With its drone bandwidth slashed in half, and only a third of the drone storage space in its drone bay, on paper the Keres seems to be at a disadvantage to its standard counterpart. When factoring in an increase in mass of almost 20 percent, the gap is widened further in performance, and the Keres appears to be an effort in futility, until one realizes where the extra mass has been allocated, and what subsystems replace the drone bay space.
With a heavily upgraded set of capacitor banks that offer a more than 30 percent increase in energy storage, and an extra layer of crystalline carbonide armor plating that wraps this still nimble hull from head to keel, the Keres is regarded as the be all and end all of frigate scale sensor dampening platforms in New Eden.
Maulus Navy Issue
Building on the already substantial strengths of the Maulus, the Federation Navy took a select number of their hulls and further developed them to increase their durability and effectiveness when attached to large-scale fleet operations.
The result is a beast of a frigate, with armor twice as thick as the original blueprint and more than 20 percent more capacity for energy storage than its standard counterpart. With additional drone bandwidth, and almost double the drone bay capacity of the standard Maulus, the Navy Issue is built for survivability during large scale engagements, and all out forward-facing electronic countermeasures projection on the field.
“Fast, agile, inverts inside one hundred meters if you push her hard enough. Incursus pilots are going to go green with envy when they see this baby in action. They’re also going to be thankful for the countermeasures support she can dish out too. Duvolle have really nailed it this time—the Caldari Navy aren’t going to know what the hell’s going on until their heads have stopped spinning, and by then we’ll have beaten ten different colors of shit out of them.”
Celeste Asertia
Testing & Commissioning Pilot,
FEDCAF Fleet Maintenance
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION TYPE
Third Generation Roden Shipyards Direct Port Ion Propulsion System
– Roden Shipyards RS-7 FTL System
– 3× Allotek Industries A10 Primary Ion Propulsion Units
ENGINEERING
– Roden Shipyards “Vasse” Subcompact Fusion Reactor Unit
– 8× Roden Shipyards Heavy Duty HD-1000 Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle Laboratories 200 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Roden Shipyards BZ-10 Magnetometric Sensor Cluster
DEFENSE
– Roden Shipyards Dual Layer 225 mm Full Wrap Crystalline Carbonide Outer Skin
– Duvolle Laboratories GS-1 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 3× Roden Shipyards LM-2 Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– Allotek Industries 0-66 Auxiliary Turret Tracking Subsystems
NAVITAS
A relatively new vessel, the Navitas was designed as a commercial mining platform and small scale cargo hauler by Outer Ring Excavations just two years before they seceded from the Gallente Federation and moved to their namesake region of Outer Ring.
Affectionately known as the “Goldfish” due to the profile of its hull design, for many years the Navitas was regarded as one of the best small scale mining vessels in existence, seeing wide use by independent excavators and those who were willing to risk mining in dangerous and hostile areas of space. At the same time, due to its sizable cargo hold, high maximum velocity, and durable armor, it has been the frigate of choice for budding traders, smugglers, black market dealers, and much-maligned scavengers and looters since its introduction.
With the eruption of conflict in YC110, and no end in sight for the proxy war initiated by the activation of the Emergency Militia War Powers Act, in YC114 the Gallente Federation acquired the blueprint for the Navitas and had FEDCAF engineers perform a design review with the intention of creating a frigate-sized remote logistics platform that could be used to supplement the Federation Navy’s operations along the borders with the Empire and State.
The result was the redevelopment of the Navitas, with its armored outer shell giving way to a lighter hull that includes subsystems tuned toward remote repair capabilities and optimum capacitor management. Gone are the days where the Navitas would operate in an environment tuned to the calming buzz of mining lasers. Today, the Navitas roars onto the field of battle as a support frigate tuned to deliver remote logistics to its frigate and destroyer-class counterparts.
After four successful years in this new role, the Navitas was further developed, with its blueprint iterated upon to create the Thalia class logistics frigate, a fearsome little crimson hulled vessel developed by Roden Shipyards to further focus the Navitas into a true remote logistics platform.
FROM NOCXIUM TO NARCOTICS
While the Navitas has passed from its original role of a resource gathering platform after its development by Outer Ring Excavations, to a vessel more tuned to delivering remote logistics on the battlefield, it is still widely favored by budding traders and experienced smugglers across the cluster for its cargo carrying capacity and well-armored hull.
The Navitas has been successfully used as a smuggling vessel for decades, with those looking to move narcotics, as well as black and gray market goods, employing all manner of trickery to evade customs and the Directive Enforcement Department, including hidden compartments, burying of narcotics in loose, bulk hauled ore shipments, and hollowing out or replacement of the vessel’s structural elements to allow stowage of illicit materials.
In early YC107, Federation Customs played down an incident during which mass memory loss was reported among maintenance crew onboard Vivanier II Federation Customs Assembly Plant. The crew had been checking over a Navitas class frigate, which had been impounded for outstanding customs fees.
While not a single member of the maintenance crew could be relied upon to give a solid statement after seemingly having lost almost eighteen hours of memories, every member of the team tested positive for Blue Pill vapor after urine and blood screening for illicit substances.
The cause of the incident has never been confirmed, and the capsuleer owner of the vessel departed the station still owing more than half a billion kredits in customs fees; however, security holofootage from the hangar clearly shows a cloud of pressurized vapor escaping from the backbone of the Navitas while it rested in gravdock.
Customs officers believe to this day that the vessel’s outer reactor housing was packed with cases of Blue Pill in order to evade their scanners, and that the capsuleer pilot deliberately shunted power drain from the vessel’s capacitor banks to its reactor to heat the packs and cause the vapor to be released, aiding in her escape.
To this day, the only information Federation Customs has on the pilot is the call sign “KS,” which was used to disable the gravdock scaffold as she departed.
TYPICAL USAGE
Manufactured in abundance over the last two decades, the Navitas exists in a few different forms; however, the majority have been converted into fully fledged logistics platforms to serve both FEDCAF and independent corporations as fast, light remote repair platforms.
Most of the cargo area that used to be present on the Navitas is now stripped bare and reconfigured. Auxiliary capacitor banks, and the addition of Roden Shipyards–designed nanite projection arrays for remote repair use, now make up this space.
Typically deployed in groups of three so that they can support each other while rendering most of their nanite projection support to friendly vessels, the Navitas tends to be used to support fast, light scouting patrols while the bulk of the Federation’s remote logistics support for larger vessels is left to the Exequror and Oneiros class logistics cruisers. Fast and light, the Navitas is typically seen supporting either other combat frigates such as the Comet and Incursus, or the Algos class destroyer with its remote logistics capabilities.
The Navitas and its advanced counterpart, the Thalia, are also widely used by both private military contractors and the security wings of many Gallente corporations, as well as more sinister operations including the Serpentis Corporation, Guardian Angels, and the Intaki Syndicate for the same fleet support purposes.
Away from the battlefield, the Navitas is still a favorite among budding traders, haulers, smugglers, and pirates alike, with countless cargos packed with legitimate and legal contents transported across the cluster.
That said, however, the number of legitimate cargoes carried by the Navitas is miniscule in comparison to the hundreds of billions of kredits’ worth of illegal booze, X-rated holoreels, prostitutes, narcotics, exotic dancers, and all manner of hedonistic cargo that is transported across the Federation and beyond by this well-utilized little hull.
VARIATIONS
Thalia
Developed from the revised blueprint of the Navitas, the Thalia further iterates on the changes made to the standard frigate, increasing the efficiency of remote repair systems even further, and adding an additional layer of armor to further supplement the frigate’s already substantial defenses.
An auxiliary power coupling from the main reactor also provides additional power to remote repair systems, allowing for faster cycle times and greater power efficiency under full load. Reactor output is also increased with an additional cooling loop that permits the Vasse subcompact fusion reactor to operate at 115 percent capacity, delivering solid and stable power to the Thalia’s subsystems.
Despite all these changes, Roden engineers could maintain the same mass as the standard Navitas by stripping out excess structural components and additional non-load bearing metalwork to reduce mass.
“Relations with the Senate are faltering over their hardballing of the corporation. They’re trying to force us to release the location of the nocxium deposits. Over my dead body. We have over two hundred Navitas out there right now, chewing through the rocks fast enough for us to have everything usable on the market within the month. The Supreme Court and the Senate can go to hell if they think we’re giving up what’s rightfully ours.”
Orion Mashel
Co-founder,
Outer Ring Excavations
GALLENTE FEDERATION
PROPULSION
Fifth Generation Roden Shipyards Direct Port Ion Propulsion System
– Roden Shipyards WR-01 FTL System
– 3× Roden Shipyards FR-2 Primary Ion Propulsion Units
– 2× Roden Shipyards FR-X Auxiliary Ion Propulsion Units
ENGINEERING
– Roden Shipyards “Realle” Fusion Reactor with Full Redundancy
– 8× Roden Shipyards Parallel Linked GE-66 Oscillator Capacitor Banks
– Duvolle Laboratories 600 Series Photon Microprocessor Mainframe
– Roden Shipyards BZ-10 Magnetometric Sensor Suite
DEFENSE
– Roden Shipyards Dual Layer 200 mm Full Coverage Crystalline Carbonide Outer Skin
– Quad Roden Shipyards AR-2 Nanorepair Pumps
– Duvolle Laboratories SS-2 Pulse Shield Emitter System
OFFENSE
– 2× Roden Shipyards LM-LEV Turret Hardpoint Pairs
– CreoDron 66-D Drone Control Mainframe
TRISTAN
A lightweight, versatile drone platform used in countless applications across the Federation, the Tristan has established a reputation as a dependable workhorse for the Federal Combined Armed Forces over the course of the last five decades.
While it is expensive to manufacture when compared to some other classes of frigate, the Tristan’s popularity stems from the fact that it is easily refitted to serve in various roles as the needs of the Gallente military adapt to counter new threats.
Often affectionately referred to as “the Fat Man,” the Tristan is mainly used by the Federation in escort duties or on short-range patrols, and was most recently brought into service along the border between the Federation and the Empire to bolster FEDCAF Tripwire firepower after Uriam Kador’s unsanctioned invasion into the Gallente system of Ratillose in November YC110.
With limited onboard systems to support damage application from its two Roden sourced LM-LEV turret hardpoint pairs, the Tristan relies on its advanced drone management suite and a state of the art 66-D model drone control mainframe designed by CreoDron for both offensive and defensive action on the battlefield.
With the ability to field a full flight of five light scout drones due to a healthy allocation of drone control broadcast bandwidth, and a sizable drone bay that allows for the storage of a total of either eight light scout drone units, or a smaller number of heavier units, the Tristan is blessed with the ability to field everything from fully fledged combat drones, down to electronic warfare support drones, and logistics drones for remote repair support when required.
A large, modular capacitor array manufactured by Roden Shipyards also gives the Tristan a wide range of fitting options. Coupling this with a heavy dual layered 200 mm full coverage crystalline carbonide outer skin and quad Roden AR-2 nanorepair pumps makes this popular little frigate one of the most durable light combat vessels the Federation has at its disposal.
Given the popularity of the Tristan, most units see an extensive service life, with those decommissioned from FEDCAF typically stripped down, overhauled, and auctioned either in bulk or individually to commercial buyers for application in the field by all manner of organizations from small scale mining and industrial outfits through to private military contractors and security organizations.
THE FAT MAN
The Tristan’s nickname comes from its short, stout stance and impressive beam; however, there is a more sinister side to the vessel’s development history that has assisted in this name remaining glued to the Tristan even more closely.
A pair of Federal engineers—Danton Marcente of Roden Shipyards and Trielle Marcone of CreoDron—developed the Tristan in a joint contract issued to both corporations by the Federation Navy. Shortly after the approval of the frigate’s blueprint, Marcente disappeared and was never heard from again, allowing Marcone to collect full royalties on the vessel’s blueprint as its sole remaining designer.
Forty-six years later, the now aged and portly figure of Trielle Marcone was splashed across headlines in all four corners of the cluster, after he was found guilty of the murder and cannibalization of thirty-one people, including his former colleague Danton Marcente, in addition to the cannibalization of an unknown quantity of biomass from clone blanks.
Marcone was sentenced to death, and still resides in custody on Astrin, awaiting his fate. To this day, the Tristan is still ironically referred to as “the Fat Man” as a reference to both its beam and the ravenous appetite of its designer.
TYPICAL FLEET USAGE
Initially panned by military analysts as a design that put aesthetic form firmly in front of combat capability, the Tristan immediately silenced critics during its flight trials and initial combat readiness assessment. Approved for deployment in short order, the Tristan attained the highest possible score during testing, paralleling the same treatment that the Megathron class battleship was to receive from critics some time later.
With combat drone technology still encountering its fair share of issues at the time of the Tristan’s first entry into combat, it was initially used by FEDCAF as a support frigate for fast patrols, sporting a full complement of electronic warfare and remote repair drones to support the Incursus in live combat exercises.
The hull first saw combat in the Caldari Border Zone between the State and Federation, proving to be a viable counter against the Griffin class electronic warfare frigate, which was still vulnerable to its autonomously operating pack of light electronic warfare drones even when the Tristan itself suffered complete sensory failure due to the Griffin’s highly effective disruption systems.
When eventually deployed with a full complement of light combat drones, the Tristan transcended the role of electronic superiority and support frigate, graduating into a position that would see it used as an antielectronic warfare hunter-killer.
By utilizing two pairs of long range, high damage railguns while simultaneously taking advantage of the durability of a heavily armored hull and a swarm of light combat drones, the Tristan gained notoriety as a frigate that engages at standoff range and allows its drones to move into close range for maximum damage application. It was swiftly regarded as a vessel not to be underestimated, and to this day many Caldari Navy frigate pilots will usually opt to call in backup before committing to an engagement.
The Tristan has also been widely used in the commercial sector, most prominently in salvage and search and rescue operations, as well as in combat roles with private military contractors and the security arms of many corporations within the Federation.
VARIATIONS
Nemesis
In a rare instance of FEDCAF taking lessons from the Republic military, the Nemesis was developed after a year of collaboration between Boundless Creation and Duvolle Laboratories that saw the successful introduction of the Hound, paving way for the commissioning of the Nemesis class stealth bomber three months later.
Based on the Tristan’s main engineering subframe, the Nemesis directly transplants several Boundless Creation designed subsystems directly into a Gallente hull after they were initially flight tested onboard the Hound class bomber in joint FEDCAF-RM flight trials.
While the Nemesis is regarded as a real bruiser when it comes to all out combat, the addition of support for torpedo-based weapons systems that are normally reserved for Matari battleship-class hulls has hampered its agility somewhat. Adding almost a third more mass to the vessel’s chassis and supplementary crystalline carbonide plate reinforcement in key areas to further protect key subsystems has reduced its maximum velocity by a significant margin.
However, what the Nemesis lacks in manueverability, it makes up for in damage projection, with the ability to dominate the battlefield in small to medium-size engagements, arriving and slipping away unseen with the benefit of covert ops cloaking technology.
“So, let me get this straight. You wasted a budget of ninety billion kredits on research and development to replace a hull class that has an exceptional deployment record with every branch of FEDCAF it serves? The conclusion was that the research was a failure, and you have nothing to show for your efforts? Now you’re asking why you’ve been called before the Supreme Court? Are you a complete idiot, or just incompetent? The Tristan stays. You, however, are out. I hope you have a good lawyer. Your court-martial date is set for June 10.”
Broyal Alserette
Chief Justice, Supreme Court