Ikazuchi Class Heavy Cruiser

(Version 1.00 - Last Modified: 02/17/2006)

The Ikazuchi class vessels were for years the true ships-of-the-line of the REF fleet. Only a single vessel of this class was lost until the series of disasters surrounding the failed attempts to retake Earth from the Regis' Invid. After the refit of the Tokugawa class vessels into landing ships, the REF Naval command wanted to develop a vessel that would be more successful in fleet operations than the Tokugawa ships. Though the Tokugawa ships were able to carry vast numbers of troops and mecha, it performed poorly in a pitched battle, and had far too little hangar space to accommodate all its mecha. It was decided that a ship better able to hold its own against larger enemy vessels would prove far more valuable to the fleet than a ship that was, at best, a giant cargo vessel. In addition, as the initial REF fleet discovered, the Tristar light cruiser was wholly inadequate for prolonged missions and serious firefights. Furthermore, the REF had depleted its fleet strength in the war and the relief missions to Earth. Research began at blinding pace, and the result was so well received that plans for continued production of the Tokugawa and Tristar cruisers were halted. In addition, new technologies managed to remedy the problems in the fold system that plagued all the Tokugawa vessels.

The Ikazuchi class vessels were powerful, well armed and remarkably nimble for their enormous size, and boasted a formidable complement of Veritech fighters. These ships were ideal for fighting a war against an enemy like the Zentraedi or the Robotech Masters, namely combat involving large numbers of capital ships, and were more than a match for even a medium-sized Invid occupation force. The weaknesses of this design should have become apparent at the Battle of Kappa Pontis 4, where the Valiant stumbled upon a huge Invid outpost, unprepared for the sheer numbers of Invid Scouts she would face. The particle turrets mounted on the dorsal hull were sufficient to destroy the Mollusk troop carriers for a while, but new ones arrived at such a rate that enough Scouts were in the battle to pin down the fighters, and the dearth of effective point defenses allowed the Invid to break through the overwhelmed defenses and cause serious damage to the command bridge and upper decks, which had to be evacuated in the middle of battle. Soon afterwards, the Redoutable was caught in a similar situation, and was ambushed and destroyed, along with much of her battle group, with a number of her crew reportedly taken prisoner by the Invid.

These lessons were forgotten in the rush to liberate Earth, and the disasters involving the Mars, Jupiter and Saturn fleets showed this. Later, refits were drawn up to remedy this situation, but the damage had been done and nearly all the ships involved in the liberation of Earth were destroyed. Despite the losses, the Ikazuchi class ships have rightfully earned their place in military history.

The result of intensive study and research in the Ikazuchi design project, this vessel was conceived to serve as a mobile command carrier, replacing the larger but more cumbersome Tokugawa Class Cruisers, as well as its primary purpose as a naval cruiser and ship-of-the-line. Eventually, the Ikazuchi entered production, and its conventional name was derived from the first ship of the class built, the Ikazuchi, completed at the Tirolian Orbital Shipyards in February 2030.

The Ikazuchi series of heavy cruisers are vaguely rectangular in shape, with a gravity-well attitude that might remind one of a brick flying on its side. The four main thrusters are located astern, one on each of the corner-points. The two auxiliary engines are located in sponsons that run along the port and starboard hull, beginning amidships and running along aft until the end of the ship. There is also a command citadel on the upper port side of the vessel, with an observation deck on top of it. Six Alpha launch bays are located on the sides of the ship, capable of launching up to 144 Alphas directly into battle, as are the two main hangar blast shield doors. These doors cover the exits of three hangar decks and roll toward the stern of the ship when craft are being launched or retrieved. There are also four more secondary hangars with air locks located in the lower nose of the vessel, under the main particle cannon. This gives a total of sixteen different hangar bays.

The command citadel houses two command decks, the main hull 12 main decks, though deck 12 is just a small outcropping on the underside of the vessel, usually used as a Horizont shuttle hangar and staging area. The main decks serve the following purposes: deck one is mainly crew and officers' quarters, and this deck houses the navigation computer and the Astrogator and his mates. Deck two contains crew facilities and the port and starboard launch bays. Deck three consists of the senior officers' quarters and the engineering block, which includes the hyperspace communications array, life support, auxiliary gravity control, and quarters for the engineers' mates. Decks four and seven include much of the quarters and facilities for the crew, as well as the ship's stores. Decks five and eight are mainly used for the Planetary Forces troops, though there are also cargo holds and crew and officers' quarters as well. Decks six and nine contain the auxiliary systems, as well as quarters for the Veritech pilots. Decks ten, eleven, and twelve are mainly hangar facilities for the ship's mecha.

The absence of an extensive point defense capability is the most serious flaw in this design. This is even stranger when one considers the rather extensive AAA installations on the SDF-1 and SDF-2, and on the ARMD carriers. The REF should, when designing the Ikazuchi vessels, have considered the very extensive AAA batteries on the mother ships of the Robotech Masters. There was an excellent reason for these installations, as the REF found out.

After the war to liberate Earth from Invid occupation, there were extensive refits on the surviving ships of this class, mainly involving the installation of elevating foxholes for the ADR-series Destroids on the outer hull of the vessels, similar to those on the SDF-1, and an increase of the already present point defense capability.

Names and Disposition:

Shipyard Name	Name	Year Commissioned	Notes
SCA-01	Ikazuchi	2030	Part of the Jupiter Attack Group, destroyed over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-02	Hood	2030	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, destroyed over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-03	Valiant	2031	Part of the Mars Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2036 CE.
SCA-04	Lafayette	2031	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-05	Richelieu	2032	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-06	Grant	2032	Part of the Mars Attack Group, destroyed over Earth in 2036 CE.
SCA-07	Bismarck	2033	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-08	De Ruyter	2033	Part of the Mars Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2036 CE.
SCA-09	Nimitz	2034	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-10	Scharnhorst	2034	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-11	Spruance	2034	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-12	Victorious	2035	Part of the Jupiter Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-13	Roosevelt	2035	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-14	Redoutable	2035	Destroyed over Celis 3 during the Sentinels' War.
SCA-15	Indefatigable	2036	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-16	Ark Royal	2036	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-17	Yamato	2036	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-18	Blucher	2037	Part of the Jupiter Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-19	Iron Duke	2037	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-20	Guiseppe Garibaldi	2037	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-21	Yukikaze	2037	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-22	Bonaventure	2038	Part of the Saturn Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-23	Dedalo	2038	Part of the Jupiter Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-24	Saratoga	2038	Part of the Jupiter Attack Group, scrapped over Earth in 2038 CE.
SCA-25	Vanguard	2038	In Active Service with the REF Navy.
SCA-26	Leonardo de Vinci	2038	In Active Service with the REF Navy.

Ship Information:

• Ship Class: Cruiser
• Ship Type: Heavy
• Year Commissioned: 2030 CE
• Crew: 1117
• Troops:
  • Air Group: 700
  • Mechanized Division: 5350
  • Total: 6050
• Total Crew and Troops: 7167

Vehicle Complement:

There are three Alpha Launch Bays on each side of the ship, each holds 24 Alpha Fighters, for a total of 144 Alphas.


• Cyclone Complement:

2500	VF-052 Battler Cyclone Cycles
600	VF-041 Saber Cyclone Cycles
900	VF-038 Light Cyclone Cycles

• Destroid Complement:

72	MBR-24 Excalibur Main Battle Destroid
72	MBR-27 Gladiator Main Battle Destroid
36	MBR-22 Condor Main Battle Destroid
24	ADR-24 Raider Air Defense Destroid
24	SDR-24 Spartan Space Defense Destroid
4	MAR-00 Monster Mobile Artillery Destroid
2	MAR-20 Little Monster Mobile Artillery Destroid

• Fighter Complement:

36	SF-6 Vulture Fighter

• Mecha Complement:

300	VAF-6 Alpha Veritech Fighter
24	VAF-7S Shadow Alpha Veritech Fighter
120	VBF-1 Beta Veritech Fighter
12	VBF-1S Shadow Beta Veritech Fighter
24	VF-2S Shadow Vindicator Veritech Fighter
12	VE-1 Intelligence Reconnaissance Valkyrie Veritech
12	VHT-2 Spartas Hover Tank

• Other Complement:

4	Horizont Troop Shuttle
1	GMU-1 Ground Mobile Siege Unit (fully loaded)
1	YMH-10 Self-Propelled Synchro Cannon
4	Nuclear Warhead (of each type)
4	Reflex Warhead (of each type)

M.D.C. by location:

• LC-12 Main Laser Cannon - 1000
• PB-45 Particle Beam Cannon Turrets (8) - 500 each
• LT-5 Point Defense Laser Turrets (8) - 150 each
• SLS-25 Vertical Missile Launchers (8) - 200 each
• Retractable Weapon Hatches (24) - 100 each
• Main Hanger Doors (2) - 3000 each
• Secondary Hanger Doors (18) - 500 each
• Alpha Launch Bays (6) - 1200 each
• Airlock Access Hatches - 100 each
• Command Tower - 4500 *
• Main Engines (4) - 6000 each **
• Auxiliary Engines (2) - 2500 each **
• Maneuvering Thrusters (8) - 400 each
• Hull Regions (45, Main Body) - 500 each
• Hull Regions (5, Engine Section) - 500 each
• Main Body - 25,000 ***
• DS-1 Pinpoint Barriers (4) - 5000 each


M.D.C. Armor Rating - Hull Region: 11
M.D.C. Armor Rating - Main Body: 20
Notes:

*	Destroying the command tower will destroy the command bridge, but the auxiliary command bridge will remain functional.
**	If both the main and auxiliary engines are put out of commission, the ship will be floating dead in space or will crash if the damage occurs in atmosphere. If the main engines are undamaged, the loss of the auxiliary engines will not impair the ship in any way.
***	Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut down the entire ship, including life support, gravity control, communications, weapons, and engines.

Speed:

• Fold Drive: Uses a Fold Drive with a maximum speed of 10 light-years per hour. The ship's navigational equipment cannot safely execute a fold jump of distances greater than 1 kiloparsec (3260 light-years) and it can only be activated once per hour.
• Sublight: Can travel at up to 20 percent of the speed of light (0.20c) and accelerate / decelerate at a rate of 0.2 percent of light (0.002c) per melee.
• Atmospheric Propulsion: Mach 3 (2235 mph / 3600 km/h), can enter and leave an atmosphere under its own power, but it is not designed for atmospheric flight.
• Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by drive system, but onboard supplies for the crew and troops will last for 24 months before the ship needs to be restocked. Water stores were recycled almost completely and hydroponics installations provided the crew with a limited supply of fresh foods.

Statistical Data:

• Height: 581' (177 m)
• Width: 505' (154 m)
• Length: 2303' (702 m)
• Weight: 1.55 million tons (1.41 million metric tons)
• Reactor System: Mk-II Protoculture Reactor with a life span of 30 years.
• Propulsion System: Chemical Rocket
• Gravity System: Internal

Weapon Systems:

1. LC-12 Main Laser Cannon
   At the front of the vessel is a single laser cannon. The laser cannon is designed for anti-ship warfare and is very powerful.
   • Range: 100 miles (160.9 km) underwater, 200 miles (321.9 km) through an atmosphere, and 200,000 miles (321,869 km) in space.
   • Damage: 1D4x1000 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 24
   • Rate of Fire: The cannon can fire once every other melee round.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
2. PB-45 Particle Beam Cannon Turrets (8)
   This twin-cannon turret is designed to attack large spaceships. Each turret can rotate 360 degrees and has an arc of fire of 180 degrees. All eight turrets are mounted on the upper hull of the ship.
   • Range: 93.2 miles (150 km) underwater, 186.4 miles (300 km) through an atmosphere, and 186,411 miles (300,000 km) in space.
   • Damage: 2D4x100 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 24
   • Rate of Fire: Each cannon can fire twice per melee round.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
3. LT-5 Point Defense Laser Turrets (8)
   The LT-5 lasers are designed to deliver heavy firepower on very close targets. A double-barreled laser with a round sensor between the barrels, the LT-5 is stored inside the hull, but elevates upwards from under movable panels into firing position. Four of these turrets are mounted in each side of the ship.
   • Range: 1.6 miles (2.5 km) underwater, 3.1 miles (5 km) through an atmosphere, and 310.7 miles (500 km) in space.
   • Damage: 2D6x10 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 23
   • Rate of Fire: Each turret can fire four times per melee round.
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
4. SLS-25 Vertical Missile Launchers (8)
   This system replaces the Pepperbox launchers used on old RDF ship designs. This new system consists of two rows of five launch tubes for each missile launcher, this allows for an even higher rate of fire. Four launchers are located near the engines, two others are near the bridge, and the remaining four are located in forward section of the hull.
   • Missile Design: Hughes Warhawk and General Dynamics / Euromissile / BAe Spacehawk Long Range Missiles
   • Missile Type: Anti-Spaceship only.
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Select any one available guidance system.
   • Missile Warhead: Armor Piercing, Fragmentation, High Explosive, Plasma / Napalm, Fuel Air Explosive, Kinetic Energy, Multi-Warhead, Nuclear, Proton Torpedo, and Reflex only.
   • Range: 800 miles (1288 km) in an atmosphere and 935,525 miles (1,505,582 km / 5.0 light seconds) in space.
   • Speed: 2500 mph (4023 km/h) in an atmosphere and an acceleration of 4% of light (0.04c) per melee in space, with a maximum duration in space of 16 melees and a maximum safe speed in space of 55% of light (0.55c).
   • Damage and Blast Radius: Varies with type of missile warhead.
   • Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of any size up to 10 missiles. Each launcher can fire three times per melee round.
   • Payload: 300 missiles per launcher, for a total of 2400 long range missiles.
   • Modifiers: Increase range in space by 25%, but reduce warhead strength by 10%. Automatically hits a stationary target in space, has more advanced targeting equipment that gives a bonus of +6 to strike a moving target, but has a penalty of -10 to strike any target under 500 tons (453.6 metric tons).

Shield Systems:

1. DS-1 Pinpoint Barrier System (4)
   The ship can create four small disk-shaped force fields that can be moved around the ship to block incoming attacks. Each pinpoint barrier is 197' (60 m) in diameter and completely regenerates all damage at the beginning of each melee round. To block an attack, each the barrier must make a successful parry roll, with a bonus of +7. Each barrier can deflect up to 8 separate attacks per melee round. Excess damage caused by a beam or projectile weapon will damage the ship, but excess damage from a missile or a missile volley will be completely deflected. Multiple barriers can be used to block the same attack, but each must make a successful parry roll.
   • M.D.C.: 5000 each

Special Systems:

1. Electronic Warfare System
   The ship is equipped with a standard REF EW suite.
   • ECM: 5
   • ECCM: 4
   • EWS Abilities: Attract Tracking Device, Break Tracking Device Lock-On, Light Target, Scramble Communications, and Scramble Sensor Information.
2. SF-X Shadow Cloaking Device (after 2037 CE refit only)
   Developed alongside the mecha version, the SF-X Shadow Cloaking Device has only one purpose: to prevent any Protoculture emissions from escaping a ship. With an active shadow device, a ship is basically rendered invisible to the Invid's most powerful sensor system and most Invid brains will ignore a target that they can see on their subspace mass sensors, but not on their Protoculture sensors. Unfortunately, the device is not very stable and there is a 50% chance that the device will fail when the ship loses at least 50% of its main body; roll for the first time it is reduced past this point and for each subsequent attack that inflicts at least 1% of the main body's M.D.C. in a single attack or a volley.
3. Weapon Production Facilities
   The ship contains several weapon construction facilities. There is one factory dedicated to producing armor and another dedicated to producing infantry weapons. At normal production, the factories can produce 50 suits of armor of any type and 50 infantry weapons of any type per week. Double rate of production if a factory is at maximum production, but for every month the factory is at maximum production there is a cumulative 5% chance that the factory will fail and require 1D4 weeks of repair before restarting operations.
4. Missile Production Facilities
   The ship contains basic missile construction facilities. There is one missile factory and it is designed to be generic and can construct nearly all missiles used by the REF. At normal production, the factory can produce 150 short range missiles, 100 medium range missiles, 25 long range missiles, or 5 cruise missiles per week. It takes one week to retool a factory from producing one missile design to a different missile design. Double rate of production if a factory is at maximum production, but for every month the factory is at maximum production there is a cumulative 5% chance that the factory will fail and require 1D4 weeks of repair before restarting operations. The construction of a missile includes all guidance systems and warheads, but the factory cannot produce additional Reflex or Nuclear warheads.

Standard Systems:

1. Life Support System
   The ship has a fully operational life support system that provides fresh atmosphere throughout the ship. The life support system can sustain a maximum of 7500 people indefinitely or 10,000 people for a short period of time in case of an emergency.
2. Communication Systems
   The ship is equipped with three communication systems. The first is a long range laser system with a maximum range of 100,000 miles (160,934 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they rely on line of sight, so it cannot communicate with a ship that is on the other side of a solid object. The second system is a long range radio system with a maximum range of 10,000 miles (16,100 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they are easy to intercept and jam. The third system is a satellite relay system that allows the ship to boost the range of the other communication systems indefinitely by using satellites or other ships to relay the transmission. The ship's communication array can maintain contact with up to 1500 ships simultaneously.
3. Sensor Systems
   The ship is equipped with three sensor systems. The first is the Electromagnetic Detection Equipment that detects other sensor systems at twice the maximum range of their transmitter. The second is a powerful array that uses standard radar waves, which are fairly easy to jam, but it is obvious when the radar array is being jammed. The sensor can track tiny targets at a range of up to 750,000 miles (1.2 million km), small targets at a range of up to 7.5 million miles (12.1 million km), medium targets at a range of up to 15 million miles (24.1 million km), and large targets at a range of up to 22.5 million miles (36.2 million km). The third is a Subspace Mass Sensor that uses gravity-based technology to detect target's at real time speed. The sensor can track tiny targets at a range of up to 1 million miles (1.6 million km), small targets at a range of up to 10 million miles (16.1 million km), medium targets at a range of up to 20 million miles (32.2 million km), and large targets at a range of up to 30 million miles (48.3 million km). See Human Ship Systems for more details on sensor systems.
4. Targeting Computer System
   Connecting the ship's sensor systems with the weapon systems is the Targeting Computer System. The system is designed to control all of the weapons currently equipped on the ship. This system can track up to 200 targets simultaneously, providing detailed information about the targets from the ships data files. All direct fire weapons receive a bonus of +4 to strike and missiles using non-autonomous guidance systems receive a bonus of +3 to strike. These bonuses are in addition to any previously stated bonuses or penalties.

Combat Summary:

• ECM: 5
• ECCM: 4
• EWS Abilities: Attract Tracking Device, Break Tracking Device Lock-On, Light Target, Scramble Communications, and Scramble Sensor Information.
• Combat Actions: 6
• Strike: +4 to strike for all direct fire weapons and +3 to strike for all missiles using non-autonomous guidance systems.
• Targeting System: Can track up to 200 targets simultaneously.