Folca-Class Heavy Cruiser
| Name: | Folca-Class |
|---|---|
| Type: | Medium Fleet Combatant |
| Builders: | Consolidated Shipyards, Safe Haven Naval Yard, Others |
| Operators: | Umbrian Republic Navy |
| Completed: | 361 |
| Lost: | 274 |
| Length: | 885 m |
| Width: | 371 m |
| Height: | 207 m |
| Power Supply: | 6 x SSE 7a Fusion Powerplants |
| Sub - Light Propulsion | 2 x SSE Gemin-6 Heavy Ion Engines (Primary), 1 x SSE Capri-2 Ion Engine (Secondary), 4 x SSE Taurin XR Ion Boosters (Tertiary) |
| Supra-Light Propulsion: | 1 x SSE 37-G2 supra-luminal drive core (Primary), 1 x SSE 28-y supra-luminal drive core (Secondary) |
| Endurance: | Fuel for 28 lightspeed jumps, 6 months of provisions for the crew |
| Crew: | 654 officers, 8,832 enlisted |
| Sensors: | 4 x Cianave Systems GXr Active Sensor Arrays, 4 x Cianave Systems 64r Passive Sensor Arrays |
| Armament: | 2 x 2 305mm rail guns in two double casemates forward, 8 x 3 203mm rail guns in eight triple turrets, 20 x 2 127mm rail guns in twenty double turrets, 16 x 76mm dual-purpose rail guns in single turrets, 144 x vertical launch cells with a configurable loadout of up to 800 missiles depending on mission requirements |
| Armor | 250 mm titanium plate armor, 100 mm electric reactive armor layer, 100 mm double hull cavity, 50 mm composite armor |
| Spacecraft Facilities: | Capacity to support 1 squadron of fighters and 4 shuttles (16 craft total) |
The Folca-class was the first post-New Model Fleet design to be accepted by the Navy for wide-scale production. The Folca was purpose built to stand in the line of battle, with enough armor and firepower to go toe to toe with enemy combatants. They could also be assembled more quickly than the larger battleships and battlecruisers they often fought alongside, while still representing a powerful offensive resource for Umbrian fleet commanders.
The Folca-class began with a request for a new heavy cruiser which was circulated in the late 31130's, and a handful of proposals were submitted to the Naval Architecture Board. A design from Consolidated Shipyards was close to approval when the disastrous war games of 31139-40 occurred, and the hull structure was modified to integrate several of the lessons learned from that event.
Among the most important of the new additions to the ship's design were the placement of four 305mm railguns in forward facing casemates. These weapons were designed to provide greater firepower against superior enemy vessels, but required the hull to be widened and additional dedicated power cores to support the energy requirements of the heavy guns.
Another key distinction from preceding designs was the inclusion of dedicated hanger space to support a squadron of fighters. In single ship engagements, these organic starfighters would target the enemy's engines, sensors, and weapons, while also serving as another layer of the ship's defense. In larger fleet engagements, the cruiser's squadron would be part of an overall tactical plan executed by the fleet officer responsible for coordinating starfighter activity.
Furthermore, as tactical doctrine continued to solidify, primary armament was emphasized over point defense weapons, and the Folcas' remaining defensive systems were dual purpose platforms capable of both anti-ship and anti-projectile duty.
Once hostilities commenced, the Folca-class cruisers proved to be incredibly valuable in the field. While Ascomanni warships tended to be larger than their Umbrian counterparts, the Folcas proved to be more than capable of standing their ground and dishing out damage. The class's enhanced forward firepower allowed them to maximize damage during the initial approach, and its armor and redundant power systems allowed it to keep fighting even as it took significant damage.
The only weakness that the Ascomanni were able to exploit was the thinner aft hull section which housed the hangar space and connected the forward hull to the drive core. While this section maintained the standard 200mm plating and electric reactive armor, the hanger represented a structural weakness that the enemy could exploit.
This weak spot would be rectified by the addition of added support members during regularly scheduled refits, and new cruisers coming out of the Republic's shipyards featured an updated design that greatly improved the strength of the hull.
However, the heavy cruiser's superb design could do nothing to mitigate the enemy's overwhelming numeric superiority. As fleet encounters rage across the Frontier, the Ascomanni continues to whittle down the number of active heavy cruisers in the URN's fleets, and Umbrian shipyards are in a race to expand capacity in order to meet the demands of the conflict.