Battle Class Heavy Destroyer

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 02/17/2006)
Background information inspired by Battle Class Super Dimensional Heavy Cruiser (SCA) by Pieter Thomassen, with Peter Walker and Rob Morgenstern on the Unofficial Robotech Reference Guide.
Battle Class Heavy Destroyer

After the Zentraedi Malcontent Uprisings had been put down, attention was directed into a defensive fleet and into the Pioneer Mission, which was to either make peace with the Zentraedis' masters, the Robotech Masters, or, if this proved to be impossible, to keep the next war away from the Solar System. The Battle class was designed as a compromise: they had to be capable of serving as interstellar war vessels in the Expeditionary Force, but also had to be capable point-defenders in their role as Earth's guardians. This was accomplished with the extensive missile batteries and the RMS-3 missiles with the REF and with the Spacelord missiles of the Southern Cross. The RDF Space Forces, on recon missions into Tirolian territory, heavily used the first Battle class vessels.

Unfortunately, the enemies against whom the Human forces would have to fight were the Invid and the Robotech Masters, not the Zentraedi. The more advanced technology of the Masters made the large warheads on the Spacelord rockets mostly useless. They sometimes managed to blast holes in the hulls of the Azashar vessels, through which ground troops were then inserted, but this was not an effective tactic. Most military minds agree that while the Southern Cross fought valiantly, it also fought rather amateurishly.

The Invid did not have the technology the Masters had, but unlike the Masters and their Zentraedi, the Invid relied more on overwhelming numbers of mecha in any particular engagement, rather than on large and powerful starships. This left the RMS-3 missiles carried by the REF ships with far fewer viable targets than their Southern Cross counterparts were presented with. This caused the REF to reequip its remaining destroyers as depot ships and flotilla leaders for the Garfish class destroyers after its own Karbarran based building program came into full swing, as the Garfish destroyers, with its heavy turret, was far more capable against multiple Invid Mollusk Carriers than the Battle class. Proposals to refit the existing Battle class vessels and reopen the production lines for these vessels were not accepted, though more because of the far faster building rate of the Garfish destroyers than because of an unsuited nature of the Battle to modification. In fact, the Battle class is, on pure vessel qualities, considered superior to the Garfish class, though also far heavier and expensive. Not long after 2038, almost all surviving REF vessels were in reserve storage.

The Battle class was represented in the REF with thirty vessels, ten of which were sent back to Earth with the Marcus Antonius, only to be destroyed in the Second Robotech War and the Invid Invasion. Ten others were destroyed over various planets during the Sentinels' War, and four ships were destroyed during the REF Civil War. Of the remaining six vessels, all were decommissioned and placed in storage in the Valivarre System.

The Battle destroyers were the backbone of the SC Aerospace Forces, and was an important class for the REF as well. Its design is very much like that of the Banshee, only larger in all respects. For instance, the side sponsons house two engines each, as well as the two double fighter bays and a launch pad. The hull has one launch / recovery chute for mecha, halfway down the hull, serving another double hangar. These bays can hold 4 squadrons for 48 mecha total with room for a few other craft in the REF vessels, or, due to the smaller size of their fighters, 6 squadrons for a total of 72 mecha in the SC configurations. The bridge is located in a spade-shaped deck atop a low tower on the upper main hull. The vessel can hold several Special Forces squads, and the RDF ships often held such forces during the recon operations in the late 2010's.

The cannon armament was small but sufficient for the intended tasks: to provide additional anti-ship firing power to aid the larger capital ships and to perform small actions as the flagship of a detached light force. The RG-60 rail cannon was devastating in its effect and damage concentration; however, the mount held a limited amount of fire and the nimble Invid usually managed to dodge most salvos. The Southern Cross later ordered an upgraded version with a different armament suite; in these vessels (SDD-80 onwards) the rail gun was replaced with a particle weapon, as previously mounted in the Ajax and Tristar classes. This change caused an increase in long range firepower.

Names and Disposition:

Ship Information:

Vehicle Complement:

Front view of a Battle Class Heavy Destroyer

M.D.C. by location:

Speed:

Statistical Data:

Rear engines of a Battle Class Heavy Destroyer

Weapon Systems:

  1. RG-60 Electromagnetic Rail Gun Turret (SDB-variant only)
  2. PB-25 Particle Beam Cannon Turret
  3. PB-4 Particle Beam Cannons (11)
  4. LT-5 Point Defense Laser Turrets (8)
  5. SLS-25 Vertical Missile Launchers (4)

Special Systems:

  1. Electronic Warfare System

Standard Systems:

  1. Life Support System
  2. Communication Systems
  3. Sensor Systems
  4. Targeting Computer System

Combat Summary: