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Description
Fly fast, hit hard, Live to fight another day, sums up the mission of the strike frigate. Armed to deliver heavy damage to larger ships and defended by it's blistering speed, electronic warfare systems, and the sheer skill and audacity of it's crew the Apache class is an example of this type of vessel.

Designed first and foremost as an offensive weapon the ship has light armor, and screens, making it vulnerable to the heavy weapons of destroyers, cruisers, and battleships. However fitted with powerful drives, and fast burn boosters the ship can penetrate deep into enemy controlled battlespace, execute slashing attacks, and race back to the cover of friendly warships and fighters with a certain degree of success.

It's primary weapons are powerful guns, either Fusion cannon, or railguns that when unleashed by a formation of strike frigates can punch through all but the heaviest armor and screens. to defend against fighters, missiles, and torpedoes it is armed with advanced laser weapons, often optimized for heavy damage, and accuracy. this screen of protective fire, and the raw power of it's main battery forces enemy commanders to be on the alert for frigates loitering on the perimeter of their battlespace looking for a momentary gap in their defense scheme to dash in and cripple escorting vessels, or concentrate their heavy firepower on an exposed capital ship.

Considered light starships they are not counted among the capital ships of a fleet, however they are numerous, and deployed in flotillas, and squadrons to supplement the flexibility of most fleets. Their small size, and limited crews do cause problems with endurance, and resupply, forcing the deployment of tenders, and supply ships to support the strike squadrons assigned to a fleet. However the striking power of a Strike Frigate squadron is sufficient to make it a valuable tool inn the eyes of several interstellar fleets.

The Apache class, is a highly advanced, modern ship, fitted with compact reactors, advanced engines, and the most modern countermeasures, and sensors available. It's guns are likewise advanced designs. often being the most refined versions of their type. the Apache is not a cheap ship, or one that can be crewed effectively by inexperienced crew. limiting the number of Apache class vessels deployed into forward combat areas. the advanced technology also requires that great consideration must be taken to balance the results of a deployment with the potential loss of a valuable offensive asset.

internally the Apache class is a cramped vessel, with a small crew that is barely sufficient to operate the ship effectively. A great deal of automation,and robotic assistance is required for the ship to operate at peak effectiveness. The workload, lack of recreational facilities, and close quarters shared by crews also limits the time the Apache can stay on station. this makes the vessel highly unsuitable for patrol duty, or for extended duty away form it's support vessels. It also requires a great deal of attention to crew cohesion, morale, and discipline. since the sort of men and women who volunteer for a high risk, assignment aboard a strike vessels are sometimes as temperamental as the highly complex systems they operate.

Technical Notes:

The hybrid gravitc, fast burn plasma drives of the ship are fuel hungry when the fast burn systems are active. The ship can not carry more than enough fuel for a few hours at maximum performance. this requires the ship to cruise at lower thrust for long periods, and tends to reveal the intent of the ship to maneuver or strike when it's fast burn systems are ignited.

the typical movement pattern of an Apache seems to be frantic, dashes, and long pauses as it waits for orders, or loiters just outside of an enemy forces perimeter. this does tend to draw comments form other crews used to more uniform movements. A sudden burst of speed by a Squadron of Apache class vessels is often enough to draw immediate response by hostile forces. Having learned the hard way that if they do not react quickly to a maneuvering Strike Package, they may not be able to intercept the vessels before they inflict serious harm.

Weapons: the ships main weapons are mounted well away from the ships center-line to allow them to fire in a converging cone of fire, for maximum impact. Or, alternately lay down a wider pattern of fire to increase the chances of a successful shot. This requires a great deal of hardware to allow for fine adjustment to the weapons alignment, and exposes it to damage from hostile fire. to protect the systems reinforce casings considerably heavier the the ships general armor is applied to the weapons themselves, and the entire system is fitted with small reaction thrusters, and gravitic boosters to enhance the degree of control the ships mechanical linkages provide.

to reduce the number of hardware connections required connecting the ships internal systems to the outboard main guns, the mounting has it's own power supply, and ammunition storage canisters mounted between the individual guns. while this does require the initial design, and development process to be a bit more complex the result is a reliable, more resilient mounting that is simpler to maintain than a system of dispersed power and ammunition feeds from the ships interior spaces.

Description
Fly fast, hit hard, Live to fight another day, sums up the mission of the strike frigate. Armed to deliver heavy damage to larger ships and defended by it's blistering speed, electronic warfare systems, and the sheer skill and audacity of it's crew the Apache class is an example of this type of vessel.

Designed first and foremost as an offensive weapon the ship has light armor, and screens, making it vulnerable to the heavy weapons of destroyers, cruisers, and battleships. However fitted with powerful drives, and fast burn boosters the ship can penetrate deep into enemy controlled battlespace, execute slashing attacks, and race back to the cover of friendly warships and fighters with a certain degree of success.

It's primary weapons are powerful guns, either Fusion cannon, or railguns that when unleashed by a formation of strike frigates can punch through all but the heaviest armor and screens. to defend against fighters, missiles, and torpedoes it is armed with advanced laser weapons, often optimized for heavy damage, and accuracy. this screen of protective fire, and the raw power of it's main battery forces enemy commanders to be on the alert for frigates loitering on the perimeter of their battlespace looking for a momentary gap in their defense scheme to dash in and cripple escorting vessels, or concentrate their heavy firepower on an exposed capital ship.

Considered light starships they are not counted among the capital ships of a fleet, however they are numerous, and deployed in flotillas, and squadrons to supplement the flexibility of most fleets. Their small size, and limited crews do cause problems with endurance, and resupply, forcing the deployment of tenders, and supply ships to support the strike squadrons assigned to a fleet. However the striking power of a Strike Frigate squadron is sufficient to make it a valuable tool inn the eyes of several interstellar fleets.

The Apache class, is a highly advanced, modern ship, fitted with compact reactors, advanced engines, and the most modern countermeasures, and sensors available. It's guns are likewise advanced designs. often being the most refined versions of their type. the Apache is not a cheap ship, or one that can be crewed effectively by inexperienced crew. limiting the number of Apache class vessels deployed into forward combat areas. the advanced technology also requires that great consideration must be taken to balance the results of a deployment with the potential loss of a valuable offensive asset.

internally the Apache class is a cramped vessel, with a small crew that is barely sufficient to operate the ship effectively. A great deal of automation,and robotic assistance is required for the ship to operate at peak effectiveness. The workload, lack of recreational facilities, and close quarters shared by crews also limits the time the Apache can stay on station. this makes the vessel highly unsuitable for patrol duty, or for extended duty away form it's support vessels. It also requires a great deal of attention to crew cohesion, morale, and discipline. since the sort of men and women who volunteer for a high risk, assignment aboard a strike vessels are sometimes as temperamental as the highly complex systems they operate.

Technical Notes:

The hybrid gravitc, fast burn plasma drives of the ship are fuel hungry when the fast burn systems are active. The ship can not carry more than enough fuel for a few hours at maximum performance. this requires the ship to cruise at lower thrust for long periods, and tends to reveal the intent of the ship to maneuver or strike when it's fast burn systems are ignited.

the typical movement pattern of an Apache seems to be frantic, dashes, and long pauses as it waits for orders, or loiters just outside of an enemy forces perimeter. this does tend to draw comments form other crews used to more uniform movements. A sudden burst of speed by a Squadron of Apache class vessels is often enough to draw immediate response by hostile forces. Having learned the hard way that if they do not react quickly to a maneuvering Strike Package, they may not be able to intercept the vessels before they inflict serious harm.

Weapons: the ships main weapons are mounted well away from the ships center-line to allow them to fire in a converging cone of fire, for maximum impact. Or, alternately lay down a wider pattern of fire to increase the chances of a successful shot. This requires a great deal of hardware to allow for fine adjustment to the weapons alignment, and exposes it to damage from hostile fire. to protect the systems reinforce casings considerably heavier the the ships general armor is applied to the weapons themselves, and the entire system is fitted with small reaction thrusters, and gravitic boosters to enhance the degree of control the ships mechanical linkages provide.

to reduce the number of hardware connections required connecting the ships internal systems to the outboard main guns, the mounting has it's own power supply, and ammunition storage canisters mounted between the individual guns. while this does require the initial design, and development process to be a bit more complex the result is a reliable, more resilient mounting that is simpler to maintain than a system of dispersed power and ammunition feeds from the ships interior spaces.