Fulton System Defense Boat

BARD PAPER: SARA0035

Fulton Class System Defense Boat

Designed to defend the Fulton system against marauders and vampires, FLNB Fulton (FLNB means "Fulton League of Nations Boat") and her sisters were intended to close rapidly to give their missiles maximum initial closing velocity, launch a massive salvo, and then run away. It was hoped that tactic, while expensive in monetary terms (a full 32 missile salvo costs FultonMCR 40.32, or RMCr 42.84 in Republic Credits) would minimise losses of valuable ships and crew, as well as disposing of the threat before it attack civilian shipping, or other targets within the system. The downside is that even with only a very minimal crew on watch it takes a full eight hour shift for the rest of the crew to reload the missile bay from the missile store. The secondary laser armament is impressively powerful, but lacks the long range punch that a vessel of this sort really needs. While plans were drawn up for a gravitic laser with better long range performance it was felt that using an existing design would be cheaper, given re-training considerations, etc. While not designed with anti-missile work in mind the lasers have had this capacity upgraded by a software modification that allows them to fire up to eight times as fast as normal (ROF800 vs ROF100) by reducing the power of each shot to 'only' 81.25MJ, while retaining the original range, etc. This feature is also useful for dealing with spreads of small craft and light armoured vehicles, and is thus being retro-fitted to all lasers of this model.

The few serious incidents the Fulton's have been involved in have shown that the missile salvos are very useful, but that they require fine judgement by the commander particularly when there is more than one target, as firing too many can leave the vessel vulnerable, and is wasteful, while firing too few weakens future salvo and makes it too easy to defend against. This is probably the biggest weakness of the class - that to be used to their full potential they need a good deal of information about their target of a type that they are unlikely to have, given the nature of their role and their likely targets.

Despite having reactor fuel for a year the Fulton's were never intended to operate away from a base for more than a month or so, and as a result they have no on-board machine shops and no fuel purifier, forcing them to return to base when their reactor fuel runs low. They are also a bit cramped (all crew are two to a room) However less Fulton's were completed than was originally planned (nine as opposed to twelve), due to the diversion of yard capacity towards building in-system freighters to meet the demands of renewed exploitation of the system's two planetoid belts. As a result more volume has had to covered by less boats, meaning that patrols have got longer and longer, to the detriment of boats and crews alike.

This class of boats is equipped with a launch, because despite the relatively short patrol envisioned when they were designed it was felt that it would be useful if they could send a detail to investigate anything odd they might come across e.g. pre-Virus hulks. Having a launch means this can be done without risking the MB without needing specially trained Marines and extended EVA suits, etc. This design decision has not been without its critics, however. Most of these critics advocate removing the docking ring and flight crew quarters to make space for more fuel, however most Naval observers don't think that it's worth the 2 odd G-turns of extra endurance it would give.

Fulton System Defense Boat

General Data

Displacement: 800 tons	Hull Armor: 120
Length: 55.52 meters	Volume: 11200 m³
Price: 906.7 MCr	Target Size:S
Configuration:AF Cylinder	Tech Level: 13
Mass (Loaded/Unloaded): 12146 / 11772.7

Engineering Data

Power Plant: 4020 MW Fusion Power Plant, 1 year duration (402 m3 fuel)

Jump Performance: 0

Jump Fuel: 0 m³

G-Rating: 6G HEPlaR (607.32 MW/G), High-Efficiency CG Lifter (80 MW)

G-Turns: 61, 75.9 m3 fuel each

Maint: 1245

Electronics

Computer: 2xTL-13 Fibre-optic computer (0.9 MW)

Commo: Maser (1000 AU; 0.6 MW), Radio (10 hex; 10 MW)

Avionics: Imaging EMS, inertial/gravitational positioning, 170 km/h NOE

Sensors: AEMS (10 hex; 27.5 MW), PEMS Folding array (7 hex; 0.3 MW), PEMS (4 hex; 0.15 MW), Ladar (10 hex; 2.5 MW)

ECM/ECCM: AEMS (10 hex; 27.5 MW), PEMS Folding array (7 hex; 0.3 MW), PEMS (4 hex; 0.15 MW), Ladar (10 hex; 2.5 MW)

Controls: Bridge with 12 bridge workstations, 40 normal workstations, fire control center (10 workstations), Standard Automation

Armament

Offensive Offensive: 2xTL-13 650-MJ Laser Turret (Loc:2,3-Arcs:1,2,3; 55.56 MW; -2 DM; No crew)
2xTL-13 650-MJ Laser Turret (Loc:6,7-Arcs:2,3,4; 55.56 MW; -2 DM; No crew)
This is the standard ROF (100 per 30 min turn), and power has been allocated accordingly. That's why the lasers munch 5% of the total power altogether.
TL-13 Small Missile Bay (Loc:12-Arcs:All;0 MW; No crew)

Defensive:4xTL-13 Sand Caster (AV:2D6x5; 35 cann; Loc:12,13-Arcs:0;1 MW;1 crew)

Master Fire Directors: 4xTL-13 Sand Caster (AV:2D6x5; 35 cann; Loc:12,13-Arcs:0;1 MW;1 crew)

Name	Short	Medium	Long	Extreme
650-MJ Laser Lance	10:64-1/20	20:38-1/12	40:20-1/6	80:10-1/3
Lo-Power	10:23-1/7	20:13-1/4	40:7-1/2	80:3-1

Standard Missile
TL Guidance Yield Vol Mass MCr G-Turns Hits Damage Range Comm Sensor Sig

13 Cont 1x500kt 10.5 16.681 1.26 28/14 1D6 1/25-79 0 10L None +2/+2/+2/+2/+1

**Standard Missile**
TL	Guidance	Yield	Vol	Mass	MCr	G-Turns	Hits	Damage	Range	Comm	Sensor	Sig
13	Cont	1x500kt	10.5	16.681	1.26	28/14	1D6	1/25-79	0	10L	None	+2/+2/+2/+2/+1

Accommodations

Life Support: Extended (1561 m3 supported volume; 0.312 MW),

Grav Compensation: 4Gs (7.805 MW)

Crew: 74 (1xManeuver, 1xElectronics, 40xEngineer, 14xGunnery, 4xMaintenance, 2xFlight, 2xSteward, 10xCommand)

Crew Accommodations: 39xSmall Stateroom (0.5 kW)

Passenger Accomadation: None

Other Facilities: None

Cargo: 21 m³ 1 Small Cargo Hatch

Small Craft and Launch Facilities: 10-ton Docking Ring

Air Locks: 8

Notes

Total Fuel Tankage: 5032.8 m3 (359.5 tons)
Fuel scoops (10% of ship surface), fills tanks in 1.1 hours
79 MW power shortfall, usually made up by leaving the CG unit off (in atmosphere by reducing power to the AEMS, jammer, MFDs and/or leaving 1 laser unpowered).