Early in the service of the Hunter class Destroyer, the weakness of the vessel carrying a single cruise missile launcher was considered a serious problem. Because of this, it was decided to develop a design of a vessel to supplement the Hunters that would carry a larger number of cruise missile launchers. The design selected was based off the Hunter class that they were designed to supplement. The hulls are virtually identical with the Striker having an addition section lengthening them by about 10 meters but with the same height and width. This is mostly to allow a higher payload for missiles. The other major difference is that all of the particle beam mount locations were replaced by cruise missile launchers. This gave the vessel four cruise missile launchers instead of the one that is carried on the Hunter. All point defense weaponry is identical to that of the Hunter class destroyer. Due to the larger size of the Striker, it is slightly slower at acceleration when compared to the Hunter. The Faster that light drives were identical to those carried on the Hunter class destroyer. As well, the shield generator and most other systems were identical to those carried on the Hunter. The Strikers were designed to have virtually a 100% part compatibility with the Hunter.

Even with all the factors seeming to go for them, the Striker Missile Destroyer has never been considered all that successful. The ship could fire a large number of cruise missiles but due to the fact that the missiles were not fired in large volleys, it was relatively easy for point defense to shoot down incoming missiles. It was still used by the Wolfen Navy due the fact that the vessel was the only design that was relatively small yet could fire a large number of cruise missiles. One of the roles the vessel was often used for was to launch decoys to help the Hunter destroyers it was assigned to. The Hunter's cruise missile payload was not considered to be large enough to carry a significant number of decoys. In this role, the vessel performed quite well but when the Strikers engaged Berserkers, they were considered to be at a disadvantage even though the Striker carried a larger payload of cruise missiles.

When the Wolfen joined the Consortium of Civilized Worlds, the Striker was rejected by the Consortium Navy due to the fact that the Ferret corvette could fire more effective volleys of cruise missiles and required far smaller crews. For the same reason, few other navies or mercenary groups were interested in these vessels and the vessels only served in the Wolfen Navy in large numbers.

An engineer in the small star system navy of New Coventry designed a fire control program that allows the New Coventry Hunters to fire several cruise missiles and then ling them as a volley. This was done by having the missile drift after launch and not activate their drives right away. The idea was very simple but had not been thought of. The Wolfen quickly came up with software of their own for their vessels and this greatly improved the performance of the Striker. This has recently been shown quite conclusively when a single Striker engaged a pair of Kreeghor Berserker class attack vessels. In an engagement similar to that between a New Coventry Hunter and a pair of Berserkers, the Striker was able to overwhelm one Berserker and then the other.

In spite of the success of the changes to the Striker, the missile destroyer is considered to be on its way to being retired. This will likely still be years away and Strikers will likely be used for decades more. A vessel surprisingly similar to the Consortium Cheetah class corvette seems to be planned. The planned vessel will likely be much larger than the Cheetah and have much better point defense. These new ships will likely act as escorts for the Predator class destroyer and any new light carrier classes constructed.

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

Model Type: SMF-76B
Vehicle Type: Cruise Missile Destroyer
Crew: 32 (5 officers and 27 enlisted)
Troops: 10 fighter pilots.

Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors:

4

Gladius Medium Starfighters (Can carry up to 4 of most medium starfighters)

M.D.C. By Location:

	Cruise Missile Launchers (4):	800 each
	Medium Range Missile Batteries (2, Top and Underside):	450 each
	Rail Gun Turrets (4):	400 each
	Point Defense Laser Turrets (4):	300 each
	[1] Bridge:	1,200
	[2] Main Body:	4,750
	[3] 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 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. Weapons hit near the bridge that does not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] 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.
[3] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (300 MDC) per melee.

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 0.90 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is Mach 1 (741.5 mph / 1,193.3 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 4.5 light-years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either Drive system. Carries about one year worth of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 332.7 feet (101.4 meters)
Height: 70 feet (21.3 meters)
Width: 80 feet (24.4 meters)
Weight / Mass: 6,800 tons (6170 metric tons)
Power System: Anti-Matter with a 50 year life span. The ship normally only goes 10 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Small cargo hold that can carry up to 100 tons of cargo not including a standard compliment of supplies and ammunition. Hold is 10 x 10 x 20 feet in dimensions (3 x 6.1 x 6.1 meters). 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: 360 million for a standard Striker class missile destroyer. Due to disinterest, this ships have never been sold in large numbers.

Weapon Systems:

1. Four (4) 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 14.5 mm depleted uranium projectiles. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at FTL velocities.
   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.
2. Four (4) Point Defense Lasers in Ball Turrets: This system is unaltered when compared to a standard Hunter class destroyer. This is the star ship's primary anti-starfighter, anti-robot, and anti-missile defense system. Each laser is in a Turret that can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at FTL velocities.
   Range: 200 miles (320 km) in space and has a range of 4 miles (6.4 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x10 MDC each.
   Rate of fire: Equal to gunners hand to hand (Usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
3. Four (4) Cruise Missile Launchers: One is mounted in the same position as the Hunter carries its cruise missile launcher and the other three launchers are carried in the same position as the particle beams are mounted on a normal hunter. Missiles have 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, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, the missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because the target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. While missiles are only launched at the rate of one at a time per launcher, the ship's computer has special software that allows all the missiles to hit a target at the same time for the purpose to make point defense of a target is more easily overwhelmed. This is done by slowing down the acceleration of missiles and by setting some for delayed activation and target must be at least 30 seconds away. Missiles are then considered too only have an acceleration of 5% of light for the first turn.
   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)
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missiles (Anti-Matter does 4D6x100 MDC).
   Rate of fire: One per melee attack (special software allows 4 to 8 missiles to be launched as one volley depending on gunners hand to hand attacks) per launcher. This allows total volleys of 16 to 32 cruise missiles to be launched in one melee
   Payload: 40 cruise missiles each for 160 total.
4. Two (2) Medium Range Missile Batteries: Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and against incoming cruise missiles. Like other Phase world systems, weapon system range and speed has been greatly increased compared to Rifts Earth systems. Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Batteries can launch on multiple targets each at the same time.
   Mega-Damage: Varies with medium range missile type (See Phase World Missiles).
   Range: 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds)
   Rate of fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, or 8 missiles per battery.
   Payload: 160 per launcher for a total of 320 medium range missiles.

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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 1999, Kitsune. All rights reserved.