Gadira-Class Frigate
| Name: | Gadira-Class |
|---|---|
| Type: | Small Fleet Defense Warship |
| Builders: | Multiple |
| Operators: | Umbrian Republic Navy |
| Completed: | 472 |
| Lost: | 207 |
| Length: | 242 m |
| Width: | 62 m |
| Height: | 78 m |
| Power Supply: | 1 x Orvieto Heavy Industries DG-9x Fusion Powerplant |
| Sub - Light Propulsion | 1 x Fulmin Propulsion Ce-Series Ion Engine Array |
| Supra-Light Propulsion: | 1 x SSE 24-t supra-luminal drive core |
| Endurance: | Fuel for 20 lightspeed jumps, 3 months of provisions for the crew |
| Crew: | 67 officers, 570 enlisted |
| Sensors: | 4 x Cianave Systems GXf sensor arrays |
| Armament: | 4 x 2 102 mm rail guns in four double turrets; 8 x 3 20 mm rotary point defense cannons in triple barreled weapons stations; 88 vertical launch cells with a configurable loadout of up to 440 missiles depending on mission requirements |
| Armor | 150 mm titanium plate armor |
| Spacecraft Facilities: | Enclosed hanger space for 2 shuttles |
The Gadira-class frigate is a purpose built defensive warship designed to screen the fleet from enemy fighter craft and inbound munitions. As such, it places a much higher degree of emphasis on an expanded sensor suite, point defense weaponry, and defensive missile packages. This in turn means that it is poorly equipped for ship to ship combat, lacking sufficient armor or punching power to take on enemy warships.
Another brainchild of the Magistracy of the Navy's Naval Architecture Board, the Gadira-class was created to fill the gap in fleet defense identified in theoretical exercises just prior to the war. Priority was placed on ease of manufacture, and the Gadira's share a number of components with their counterparts, the Tellare-class destroyers.
By the beginning of the Battle of Battipaglia, only sixty of the frigates had been produced. This number would expand rapidly, as the Gadira was small enough to be produced by the numerous small independent shipyards scattered throughout the Republic.
Doctrinal changes in use and deployment continued to evolve over the early course of the war, where they proved incredibly useful in enhancing the survivability of URN formations. They were primarily used on the periphery of the fleet or task force they were assigned to, where they could maximize their defensive capabilities by providing overlapping fields of fire.
However, the Gadiras proved to be very susceptible to enemy warships. When deployed in fixed formations, the Ascomanni were able to quickly overwhelm and destroy single frigates. They would then target the next closest frigate in line, until they had created a gap in the fleet's outer screen.
This would lead to changes in how they were deployed, where the frigates would be assigned a sector to defend but the freedom to maneuver at will. The ships’ actions were coordinated by advanced networked battle computers, which ensured that their movements were unpredictable while still maintaining the maximum defensive utility of the frigates’ weapons.
These changes would greatly reduce the enemy's ability to destroy the frigates at range, but did nothing to alleviate their weaknesses in close combat. Once a battle devolved into a general melee, the Gadiras would tuck in tight to larger warships, covering their blind spots and using their larger bulk to shield them from the enemy.