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Go Back to Ship Designs
| MASS: 148 NPV: 572 Classification: Fleet Cruiser (C) Crew: 86; 12 Officers, 74 Enlisted, plus up to 25 troops Crew Factor: 8 Hull Integrity: 36 (9/9/9/9) Armor: 9 Main Drive Thrust: 4 (29.6 TW) Drive Auto-Detection Range: 7.257 AU ∆V (Combat): 50.124 km/sec ∆V (Cruise): 1002.482 km/sec Fuel Points: 100 (1743 tons propellant) Propellant Tanks: 4 Fuel Points per Tank: 25 FTL: Yes (Short Jump - 3.3 parsec range) Auxiliary Systems: 2-MASS Cargo Bay; 2-MASS Troop Bay; 3-MASS Hangar Bay; 1x Enhanced Sensors; 0.8 G Spin Habitat for 111 Combat Systems: 2x Fire Control Weapons: 3x Point Defense Battery; 2x Class-1 Battery (All Arcs); 4x Class-2 Battery (All Arcs); 8x Light Antiship Missile |
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| The Zheng He class cruiser is a modern
warship design that came into service just as Manchuria's political and
military fortunes had forced the nation into isolation and
retreat. It is the first Manchurian starship with a powerful
Antimatter-Catalysed Fusion Torch propulsion system, and as such is the
first Manchurian fleet vessel with the range and cruising capabiities
of Western Alliance ships. Other Manchurian technological
limitations continue to plague the design however, as the ship does not
possess Long Jump Stardrive, and its laser weapons are Class-2, forcing
it, like the rest of the Manchurian Space Force, to rely on antiship
missiles for its heavy offensive punch. The Zheng He, named for a famous Chinese naval explorer of the 15th Century, is a typical Manchurian design stressing multirole capabilities. Its strong mix of laser and missile armament, its powerful propulsion system, and its carrying of three squads of dedicated troops allow it to act as a commerce raider, main fleet combatant, extended patrol cruiser, and to maintain order among the fractious Manchurian extra-solar colonies. First entering service in 2359, the Zheng He, had it appeared just ten years earlier, could have had a dramatic effect on the woeful outcome of Manchuria's national fortunes. As it stands, orders for Zheng He class cruisers will extend to twenty ships delivered over a period of fifteen years, a remarkable build up of Manchurian fleet strength and a possible shift away from the smaller corvette and frigate based hit and run engagements that marked the principle elements of Manchurian military policy. There is much speculation in military and political circles regarding the nature of this dramatic shift in capabilities. Either the Zheng He is for defense, as a fleet cruiser capable of standing against Western Alliance incursions, or it is for offense, to reclaim the fourteen former Manchurian colonies that have slipped out of its grasp over the last twenty years while offering sufficient deterrent to any foreign intervention against its actions. In in any event it is a design capable of either option. The Jin Xian Commonwealth presumably has access to the Zheng He design, as its principal megacorporation Dahan built the first Manchurian ships through its shipbuilding division. Like the Jiangwei, no examples of this cruiser are known to be present in Sagittarius. |
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