Atlas Class Heavy Cruiser

The Atlas Class is the largest class of vessel in the TASA inventory, classified as a Heavy Cruiser. The Atlas Class is only marginally taller and wider than the Ares Class Cruiser, but is designed with quadrilateral symmetry rather than the Ares' trilateral symmetry, allowing it to mount more of the interchangeable modules as a part of the Theseus Ship modular design principle. This means the Atlas' standard configuration features four D-T fusion torch drives and four superstructures instead of three, greatly increasing its combat power and thrust capability. The forward modules are mounted at a 45 degree offset from the superstructures, allowing a clear forward fire angle.
The Atlas Class is used in situations where a great degree of concentrated firepower or a large quantity of TASA Marines are needed. The locations and situations that warrant the deployment of even a single Atlas are strong indicators on where TASA's priorities lie. Other nations and organizations focus a large degree of intelligence assets on tracking and analyzing the movements of Atlas Heavy Cruisers in an effort to predict TASA's strategic activities.
Atlas Class Heavy Cruisers are named after States and Provinces of TASA member nations.
Example ships of the class:

• - TSS Somerset
• - TSS Essex
• - TSS Yorkshire
• - TSS California
• - TSS Ontario
• - TSS Sonora
• - TSS Appalachia
• - TSS Delmarva

Propulsion

Standard Drive Assembly: 4x Class 4 D-T Fusion Torch Drives, fore and aft chemical propellant Reaction Control System (RCS) Clusters.

Weapons & Armament

Minimum of 5 CQDS turrets on the skeletal hull. Each Weapons Superstructure Module (WSM) mounted features an array of armaments. The typical Cruiser WSM mounts 3x 60cm Bofors R/60.5 Rail Guns (2 fore and 1 aft facing), 7x 16cm Bofors R/16L Rail Cannon turrets, 10 CQDS Turrets, and a fore and aft Variable Ordnance Missile System Array with up to 203 medium missiles each (typical loadouts will include a mix of Torpedoes and other large caliber missiles, sometimes including a pair of Interplanetary Ballistic Missiles(IPBMs)). A common loadout is 69 Medium Missiles, 12 Torpedoes/Large Missiles, and 2 IPBMs for a total of 83 missile tubes. (A single volley from just one of the ship's VOMS arrays can handily overwhelm most point defense networks)

Armor and defense

The Atlas class has the standard layered composite armor used by most TASA ships, consisting of various alloys, structural polymers, and carbon nanotube lattices. Armor is thicker around higher priority modules like the Drive Module and C4I Module. Applique armor plates can be affixed at various points along the length of the ship to increase protection at the cost of greater mass and reduced acceleration.

Communication Tools & Systems

The Atlas Class has a communications and sensor suite at the tip of the ship's skeleton. These include UHF and EHF Antennas and a 2 Tier Comm Laser. Each additional C4I module mounts secondary communications nodes including high gain directional antennas and comm lasers that allow simultaneous communication with multiple receivers.

Sensors

The Atlas Class has a communications and sensor suite at the tip of the ship's skeleton. These include a 180x360 degree Sky Scan mosaic camera, a Multispectral Telescope, and a LiDAR scope. Each additional C4I module mounts a number of other sensors including Sky Scan cameras, Multispec Telescopes, LiDAR, and Radar to increase situational awareness.

Class

Cruiser

Nickname

Atlas, ATL, "Fat Ass/Fat Lass"

Owning Organization

Transnational Aerospace Security Alliance (TASA)

Beam

60m (Skeleton+Drive Assembly), 85m (Standard configuration)

Length

332m (Most configurations)

Weight

Dry Mass: Between 80,000 and 140,000t depending on configuration

Speed

Maximum rate of acceleration between 7.9 and 9.2 m/s^2 depending on configuration

Complement / Crew

"Skeleton" Crew: 457 (32 Officers, 45 SNCOs, 380 Enlisted), Standard Crew: 1,557 (Not including Marines or Flight Crews)

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

Varies