Even though Bushido Industries is generally pleased with their Raiden class light cruiser, there was a perceived need for a vessel to bridge the gap between Corvette and Cruiser. A destroyer could fight opponents that a corvette would not have the firepower to deal with and would be much less expensive than a cruiser design would be. They considered purchasing designs from other manufactures but in the end they decided to go with their own design. The design has many similarities to their previous light cruiser design but is still considered an excellent design.
It is rumored that these ships have had several altercations with Naruni Enterprises vessels while escorting convoys. Bushido Industries has refused to comment and Naruni Enterprises has denied having any engagement with Bushido Industries vessels. They claim that Bushido Industries is passing false rumors in order to damage Naruni Enterprises reputation.
The ship has only entered production but several organizations are already looking at the design for potential purchase. As of yet, none of the new destroyer design has been sold to outside interests but if all works out well, Bushido Industries plans to increase production and begin selling the design.
Like the Raiden, the Hekireki is partially modular in design. The ship has modular mounts for the main missile system and the ship can carry either two long range missile batteries or one cruise missile battery. The cruise missile battery is used for strike rolls and the long range missile batteries are normally used in defensive roles. There has been some experimenting with the idea of operating the vessels in pairs, one vessel armed with a cruise missile battery and the other carrying two long range missile batteries. The two ships working together would effectively be the equivalent of a cruiser in terms of missile firepower although they would still have a much smaller payload. Even the Hekireki with cruise missile launchers has reasonable defensive capability and carries two medium range missile batteries for mid-range anti missile defense. For close in defense, the ship carries six combination rail gun and variable focus particle beams on ball mounts. These mounts were first carried on the Bisento class heavy fighter.and are also carried on the Raiden class Light Cruiser. The vessels do carry a limited amount of firepower in heavy energy weapons. The ship carries two twelve-centimeter laser cannon mounts.
These ships are about equal to most other destroyer designs in terms of armor and shielding. Where they excel is in terms of speed. They are actually faster than some older fighter designs at accelerating in normal space and are very fast in Faster Than Light travel. They are not quite as fast as the Raiden in FTL travel but are faster than most destroyer designs including the Hunter and Scimitar classes.
If these ships have any weakness, it is the fact that they carry no fighters. Still, the fact that their firepower exceeds that of a Kreeghor Berserker in virtually every category means that few vessels want to tangle with a Hekireki on a one on one basis. Several design features such as the large cargo bay in several destroyer classes and the amount of supplies that are carried onboard are reduced compared to most other destroyer designs.
Ship design uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.
Model Type: BIC-04-M
Vehicle Type: Destroyer
Crew: 56 (8 Officers, 48 enlisted)
Troops: None
Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors: None
M.D.C. By Location:
| 12 cm Heavy Laser Cannons (2 - Front): | 800 each | |
| Combined GR-1000 Rail Gun / Particle Beam Cannon Turret (6): | 400 each | |
| Cruise Missile Batteries (Varies): | 1,000 each | |
| Long Range Missile Batteries (Varies): | 600 each | |
| Medium Range Missile Batteries (2): | 500 each | |
| Outer Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area): | 150 | |
| Inner Hull (40 ft/ 12.2 m Area): | 100 | |
| [1] Bridge: | 1,500 | |
| [2] Main Engines (2): | 1,000 each | |
| [3] Main Body: | 5,000 | |
| [4] Variable Force Field: | 1,000 a side (6,000 Total) |
Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon
to hit the bridge through the ship's armor. This ship does not have an
auxiliary bridge. Even if the bridge is destroyed, the ship can still be
piloted from engineering but the ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems
will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate
the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Destroying the main engines means that the ship FTL propulsion
systems are destroyed and maximum sublight speed is reduced by half.
[3] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the destroyer out of
commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support
and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating
wreck.
[4] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one
shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (300 MDC) per melee round.
Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship
to travel up to 60 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate
at the rate of 1.1 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is Mach 2 (1482.9 mph
/ 2386.5 kph), can enter an atmosphere and can leave but is not designed
for atmospheric flight
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship
to reach a maximum of 6 light years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either Drive system.
Carries about six months worth of supplies on board.
Statistical Data:
Length: 430 feet (131.1 meters).
Height: 68 feet (20.7 meters).
Width: 105 feet (32.0 meters).
Weight: 8,200 tons (7,438.9 metric tons)
Power System: Anti-Matter with a 20 year life span. The ship
normally only goes 10 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows
for carrying up to 80 tons of Cargo in addition to the standard compliment
of supplies and ammunition. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker
for personal items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal
items. Most of the ship's spaces are taken up by extra ammunition, armor,
troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.
Market Cost: 200 million to construct. These ships will eventually
be sold on the open market and Bushido Industries will likely sell them
with a 75% markup (350 million credits.)
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).
Copyright © 2001, Kitsune. All rights reserved.