Dervish class System Defense Boat:

System Defense Boats are around the same size as a destroyer or corvette but are designed with limited endurance and they do not carry faster than light drives. In addition, system defense boats do not carry fighters or troops. There is compensation in the fact that the design can carry far more firepower than might be possible in a normal destroyer. In spite of the system defense boats advantages, some navies prefer destroyers because of their added flexibility. Most multi-system Navies operate few system defense boats and most system defense boats are operated by independent star systems with limited resources.

The system defense boat is roughly comparable in role to the Wet Navy torpedo boats which were not really designed to operate in deep water. In battle, system defense boats tend to destroyed quickly but the hope is to get off several shots from the ship's weapons before it is destroyed. They are heavier than fighters which gives them a higher chance of survival in many cases. The term "Eggshells with Sledgehammers" is a favorite term to describe the vessels.

Many systems that are unable to afford to purchase destroyers or corvettes chose to purchase system defense boats instead. Many newer system defense boats are designed to be modular which allows the fitting of different weapon systems so the ship can fulfill a specific role. For example, a ship might be fitted with a heavy missile array if the ship is expected to attack vessels at long range. Having one design which is modular and simply fitting in different systems is often easier to maintain that two completely different classes. Having the ships modular also reduces down time due to maintenance because the system can simply be replaced with a spare and the damage system can be repaired at a depot. Unfortunately, the Dervish is an older design and does not have that feature.

It is likely that the Dervish is the most common system defense boat in the Three Galaxies although there are several other contenders. These older patrol boats used Human Alliance technology and are not quite as heavily armed as they would be using new technology but can still be quite dangerous in the right hands. Some systems have upgraded their system defense boats with new weapons in an effort to keep them viable combatants. It is unclear who produced the first Dervish although some speculate that it was a Human Alliance repair ship that was later destroyed. Because of unclear ownership of the design and little concern of design infringement, multiple companies began producing the design. Production remained in place for centuries. Most companies have switched to newer designs but there are still a number of companies producing the Dervish with some manufacturing the original design while others have upgraded the design. Switching production is expensive and there is still demand for the old design of the Dervish.

The Dervish is armed in a similar fashion to the Ferret class corvette with a higher payload of missiles and a heavy energy battery. Like many system defense boats, the Dervish is lacking in point defense and usually ends up very bloody when engaging enemy ships in battle. The design is expected to take heavy losses in any stand-up fight and as such were designed with even smaller crews than the Ferret. The Dervish carries powerful in-system drives which enables the ship to bring most opponents to engagement range.

This ship design uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

Model Type: SDB-03
Vehicle Type: System Defense Boat
Crew: 14 (2 officers)

M.D.C. By Location:

	Heavy Laser Cannons (2):	750 each
	Point Defense Rail Gun Turrets (2):	150 each
	Triple Barrel Defense Laser Turrets (2):	150 each
	Cruise Missile Battery:	800
	Mini-Missile Launchers (4):	100 each
	[1] Bridge:	1,000
	[2] Main Body:	3,200
	[3] Variable Force Field:	800 a side (4,800 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ships 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 still injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the vessel out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[3] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (240 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 50 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 0.95 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum Effective speed is Mach 2, can enter an atmosphere because flight system is by contra grav.
Stardrive: The Ship carries no Stardrive.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either Drive system. Carries only about three weeks worth of supplies on board. Life support systems are also limited to about two months.

Statistical Data:
Length: 240 feet (73.2 meters)
Height: 65 feet (19.8 meters)
Width: 85 feet (25.9 meters)
Weight: 2200 tons (1995.8 metric tons)
Power System: Fusion with a 8 year life span (fusion is far cheaper than anti-matter). The ship normally only goes 2 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Cargo holds are scattered about the ship that allows for carrying up to 40 tons of Cargo in addition to 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: 180 million credits. Upgraded versions will range from 250 to 300 million credits

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Two (2) 12 cm Heavy Laser Cannons: Laser cannons are used against frigates and against heavily reinforced targets. Each is mounted in an individual turret on either side of the ship. The weapons have standard minuses to hit fighters and small targets. The barrels can be rotated 180 degrees in all directions. Both cannons can be fired as one volley.
   Maximum Effective Range: 16 miles (25.8 km) through atmosphere and 16,000 miles (25,800 km) in space.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x100 MDC each or 4D6x100 for two.
   Rate of fire: Maximum of Two (2) times per melee each laser cannon.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Two (2) Rail Guns: Unlike most of the rail guns used on Phase World Starships, these are standard electromagnetic rail guns. They are used as an anti-Starfighter and missile weapon and against targets that are impervious to energy. Each Rail Gun is in a Turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. Projectiles come out of launchers at close to the speed of light. Cannon uses a 15 mm depleted uranium projectiles.
   Maximum Effective Range: 16 miles (26 km) through atmosphere and 800 miles (1,290 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 80 round burst does 3D6x10 M.D.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: 16,000 Rounds (200 Bursts) each cannon.
3. Two (2) 2 cm Point Defense Lasers in Double Mounts: used as an anti-Starfighter and missile weapon. Each laser turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire.
   Maximum Effective Range: 2.5 miles (4 km) miles through atmosphere and 250 miles (40.2 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 2D6x10 M.D.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited
4. Cruise Missile Battery: Missile has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Since star ships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launching starship, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless preset to self destruct or receives a destruct code but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) See Modified starship rules for more details, Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time. Batteries have a lower number of actual launchers than the modern CAF cruise missile batteries and each launcher is slightly larger in size.
   Maximum Effective Range: Missile range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missiles (Anti-Matter does 4D6x100 MDC).
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 8, 16, or 24. Launcher is reloaded on the same melee and can be fired again on the next.
   Payload: 24 cruise missiles per battery. Ship has 3 reload of missiles (96 cruise missiles total)
5. Four (4) Mini-Missile launchers: These are missile turrets used for point defense against enemy fighters and missiles. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration). Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
   Maximum Effective Range: Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space
   Mega-Damage: varies with mini-missile type (See Phase World Missiles.)
   Rate of fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 4 or 8 missiles
   Payload: 128 per launcher for a total of 512 mini-missiles. Cargo hold has an additional 512 mini-missile. Reloading launchers from cargo hold takes 1D6 minutes.

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