Ship Classifications
The classification of ships is a difficult matter but one that is frequently sought after by interstellar states, non-governmental actors, and the governments of independent systems throughout known space. This is largely for the purposes of regulating trade of interstellar ships, particularly the control of well known pirate friendly vessels, and regularizing the construction standards of docks in interstellar spaceports for the easing of interstellar trade. The current civic standard, utilized by most relevant actors, is based loosely upon an expanded categorization from the Bastion War College's classification of warships, is presented below.
Boats - Spacecraft of more than 100 tons that are not Jump capable
Smallcraft - Spacecraft smaller than 100 tons.
Type B Battleship - A ship of more than 50,000 tons possessing a spinal mount, the most common form of Battleship.
Type BC Pocket Battleship - A capital ship of Cruiser size, carrying spinal mounts. Occasionally referred to as a Battlecruiser in some navies.
Type BV Battlecarrier - A battleship/fleet carrier hybrid. This specifically requires a fighter complement of more than one wing of Starfighters as well as Battleship grade armament. Sometimes called a Battlestar. These vessels tend to be the largest warships constructed by humans.
Type C Cruiser - A cruiser scale warship that uses direct firepower. Is generally divided into four categories.
Type CV Cruisercarrier - A cruiser/carrier hybrid. They are less capable than Battlecarriers or true fleet carriers, but do carry an extensive fighter wing. Sometimes called a Cruiserstar.
Type V Battle Tender - A carrier that focuses more heavily on carrying Battleriders into battle.
Type CV Escort Carrier - A cruiser sized escort carrier, typically carries one or two fighter squadrons.
Type EV Escort Carrier - A subcapital (generally Frigate sized) carrier generally capable of carrying half of a squadron, possibly a full squadron into battle.
Type E Frigate - Combat frigates that either stand in the line of battle on their own, or as screening vessels for larger Cruisers, Battleships, and Carriers.
Type EH Patrol Frigate - A heavy patrol craft generally to be used against more serious pirate gangs, and as the first line of defense against enemy incursion.
Type EP Commerce Raiders - Commerce raiders generally tasked with disrupting the trade of a rival state, at least formally, are usually more often found in the hands of privateers or pirates, though they are occasionally owned by state navies. Sometimes Commerce Raiders are equipped with additional stealth capabilities.
Type EZ Strike Frigates - Relatively lightly armed frigates for their size, much of the tonnage is taken up by facilities for supporting small (generally Platoon or Company sized) teams of marines on short term campaigns. Can be converted into impromptu escort carriers. Also includes larger blockade runners.
Type H Corvette - The typical corvette, generally lightly equipped, though more than a match for most types of pirate or other renegade vessels that it will generally expect to encounter.
Type HZ Blockade Runner - A less common type of Corvette sized ship the blockade runner dedicates a fairly sizable portion of its tonnage to cargo, and it uses its speed and weapons to bypass interdictors. This type of vessel finds itself in the hands of pirates quite frequently.
Type HP Commerce Raider - Designed to engage in nontraditional warfare by attacking a hostile nation’s shipping lanes, commerce raiders frequently go rogue and many are owned by pirates or other assorted criminal elements.
Type HV Pursuit Corvette - Generally a fairly large, slow moving, lightly armed corvette that carries a fairly decent number of light fighters that it uses to chase down targets that are too fast for it. HV type corvettes are exceptionally rare
Type HP Commerce Raider - Small cutter sized ships that are used to raid hostile commerce, in theory. In practice vessels of this type almost always find themselves in the hands of pirates, who use them to harass independent traders. As a result, most vessels of this type are heavily policed, and in many shipyards outright refuse to build them.
Type HZ Blockade Runner - Cutter sized blockade runners are focused on stealth, with light, almost nonexistent weaponry for their size. These vessels are often used as surveillance vessels by poorer navies.
Type X Courier Ships - Courier ships are small, highly specialized vessels that carry mail, in the form of data streams or sometimes carrying priority parcels, from system to system broadcasting their messages as they arrive. These vessels have limited utility in other respects, and often rely on tenders to keep them supplied and supported, but are nonetheless extremely valuable.
Type L Laboratory Ship - Type L Laboratory Ships are mobile science labs frequently used to conduct experiments that their owners want to be private for varying reasons, or by governmental or otherwise nonprofit space agencies needing to conduct astrogation or astrogeographic work. These vessels tend to be fairly modest in size, though well equipped with the most modern technology available.
Type N Hospital Ship - Mobile hospitals serve in a wide array of organizations, from for profit clinical labs to governments and militaries acting to treat the injured or run clinical studies, or fight epidemic disease. Most Hospital Ships are however typically owned by non-governmental organizations and act as roving hospitals providing humanitarian aid at cost, or even as charity to Frontier worlds that lack well developed medical infrastructure. They are welcomed nearly everywhere as a result.
Type Z - Experimental Platform - A relatively rare type of ship outside of Pardian and Jred space, Experimental Platforms tend to be utilized by large organizations with well developed research and development capabilities as testbeds for new spacefaring technologies. After the Jred Scourge this activity became less common, as did the vessels that supported it.
Type XZ Surveillance Vessel - Specialized police, customs, or military vessels the type XZ Surveillance Ships are used to gather signals intelligence, electronics intelligence, or sensory intelligence of rivals, pirate gangs, smugglers, or other hostile groups. These ships tend to be very stealthy in order to quietly spy on enemies without being detected. This means that they have little space left over from oversized reactors and massive fuel reserves to have advanced drives or heavy weapons.
Type XR Express Liner - An extension of express boats, express liners are used to carry very important persons from place to place at as high a speed as is possible. These vessels tend to have relatively spartan conditions for their passengers, but some are quite luxurious.
Type UV Tender - A civilian equivalent to battle tenders, Type UV tenders are responsible for supplying and repairing fleets of spacecraft or smaller starships.The most common of these are courier tenders set up along major trade and communications lanes that make ‘Pony Express’ type relay networks function as intended, and dramatically increase the speed at which Courier Ships can move information.
Type M Freighter - Typically the largest ships of this type, Type M Freighters are oriented around carrying bulk cargo between smaller worlds or those in Frontier Space.Most have a secondary trade taking on a small number of passengers as well.
Type R Liner - Ranging from budget liners to luxury cruisers, type R liners specialize in taking people from place to place. These smaller liners tend to operate in Frontier Space, or running service to smaller worlds where it is uneconomical to operate the larger liners.
Type A Independent Trader - Referred to as Tramp Freighters, Free Traders, Far Traders or Frontier Traders, Type A independent traders are the backbone of commerce in Frontier Space, and are, perhaps, second only to Surveyors and Couriers as the most important vessels in the galaxy. These vessels tend to be relatively small, cheap, and easy to modify as they are overwhelmingly used by independent crews.
Type Q Military Transport - Transports designed for a military use, or those commandeered into military service the type Q Transport is responsible for supplying fleets on mid and long distance operations.
Type I Combat Transport - Transports designed for interstellar use, the Type I Combat Transport ferries troops and weapons to the battlefront. These can range from small vessels shuttling small units, to massive machines hauling brigades or divisions of mechanized or armored troops.
Type SJ Independent Prospectors - Usually modified from Surveyor hulls, independent prospectors are small mining ships with unusually powerful sensors and are utilized heavily by small bands of prospectors referred to frequently as ‘rock hoppers’ or belters.
Type WH System Defense Boat - Smaller System Defense Boats, generally less than 1,000 tons. Usually as well equipped as a light frigate or a corvette.
Type WH System Defense Monitor - A large system defense boat, generally between 1,000 and 5,000 tons seen in well developed, industrialized, or otherwise important systems. System defense monitors are serious combatants.
Type WHC System Defense Supermonitor - A very large system defense boat, of cruiser scale, these ships are essentially battlecruisers that are seen defending relatively important or wealthy systems, and are extremely dangerous for anything other than an enemy battlegroup.
Type WHB System Defense Hypermonitor - A Hypermonitor is a cruiser or battleship scale boat carrying a spinal mount gun. The type HB is an extremely rare, and extremely powerful vessel of war, seen only in the most prosperous independent systems, or industrial centers and capital worlds of heavily militarized interstellar states.
Type FH Light Battle Rider - Smaller ship sized, jump incapable vessels typically carried by smaller, often cruiser sized battletenders.
Type FD Heavy Battlerider - Larger, usually destroyer sized battle riders these vessels often have the weapons capacity of lighter cruisers.The largest of these heavy battle riders effectively are medium cruisers. It is theoretically possible to create battleship sized battle riders with spinal mount weapons, though this has not, within written record, ever been achieved.
Type FI Combat Lander - Also called dropships, these ship sized, jump incapable transports intended to bring troops from space to the ground often under fire. Combat landers range from relatively small, capable of carrying an infantry platoon or even a squad, to extremely large, dropping entire armored companies directly into combat.
Bomber - A subtype of fighter, Bombers are usually heavier, with multiple crew and a long range or high yield armament intended for targeting and destroying larger spacecraft, including, if used en masse, enemy capital ships. Bombers are generally given the type F.
Torpedo Boat - A subtype of fighter, torpedo boats are large, multi-crewed fighters that forgo traditional armament to mount a large torpedo barbette. These attack craft are more specialized even than bombers often relying on their heavy armament, possibly tipped with plasma, nuclear, or if certain rumors are to be believed, antimatter warheads, to deal devastating damage to the largest of ships. Torpedo boats are generally given the type FZ.
Stealth Fighter - A subtype of fighter that places almost as emphasis on stealth as it does speed, these craft are generally of very high technology, lightly armed for their size, or in many cases, both. Stealth fighters are given the type FZ.
Cargo Shuttle - A variant of the typical passenger shuttlecraft, Cargo shuttles carry freight instead of passengers. These are almost entirely orbital craft, as larger barges tend to take on interplanetary transit requirements.
Private Shuttle - Often owned by corporations or the well to do, private shuttles are passenger smallcraft that have been designed for high speeds, unparalleled luxury, or both. They are typed WY.
History
Ever since the development of interstellar society. There were many attempts made to regulate the classification of ships for the purposes of information gathering, tracking, and regulation. Many of these early attempts have largely fallen off as a matter of public record, with others, particularly those from before the Line Worlds Rebellion, and the establishment of the Transolar Union. The earliest well recorded attempt that had an impact on the development of the modern ship classification system, was developed by the Stellar League with the passing of the Trade Regularization act which classified many civilian trading and industrial vessels by size and function in order to better facilitate the construction of starports with a more standardized layout easing the process of reconstruction after the Third Great Human Civil War. These definitions were often created along the lines of the sizing created by the Standard Build Template, which itself standardized designs of many key elements of machinery including spacecraft for most societies that lacked the their own research and design capabilities, often those in the less developed frontier. In the years leading up to the Jred Scourge this method largely continued to function, specifically as the defense forces of the Stellar League were heavily standardized along SBT designs and under the nominal central command of the League's home office on Earth. After the Jred Scourge and the resulting collapse of the Stellar League this changed, though many now independent system defense forces continued to make use of the SBT designs, many more started developing novel warships, which made classification for the purposes of the slowly increasing number of treaties compensating for the collapse of central authority, a necessity. The Bastion War College, established in the Bastion System within the Neuve Lorraine Sector adopted a new means of classifying the diversifying array of warships in service throughout the galaxy. This System dubbed 'the Bastion System' was adopted throughout most of Civilized Space, particularly when dealing with treaties concerning the possibility of capital ship arms races. The Bastion System was later combined with the system defined by the Trade Regularization act within Civilized Space, and the resulting combined system became, for most, the general standard by which ships are classified and regulated.General Categorization
Ships - Spacecraft of more than 100 tons that are Jump capableBoats - Spacecraft of more than 100 tons that are not Jump capable
Smallcraft - Spacecraft smaller than 100 tons.
| Ship Classification Codes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A - Independent (Tramp) Ship | B - Battleship | C - Cruiser | D - Destroyer | E - Escort |
| F - Fighter | G - Industrial Ship | H - Defense/ Security/Customs | I - Military Transport | J - Prospector/ Mining Ship |
| K - Long Range Exploration Ship | L - Science/ Laboratory Ship | M - Commercial Freight Hauler | N -Medical Ship | O - Orbital Strike Platform |
| P - Commerce Raider/Privateer | Q - Military Support Vessel | R - Commercial Passenger Liner | S - Scout/Surveyor | T - General Transportation |
| U -Utility Vessel | V - Carrier/ Tender Ship | W - Intrastellar Craft/Station | X - Comms Ship | Y - Private Liner/ Yacht |
| Z - Special Purpose |
Capital Ships
Capital Ships are classified by the Bastion War College as warships of 10,000 tons on more. This measure has been adapted by most relevant actors.Battleship
A capital warship possessing a spinal mount weapon, generally of 50,000 tons or more.Type B Battleship - A ship of more than 50,000 tons possessing a spinal mount, the most common form of Battleship.
Type BC Pocket Battleship - A capital ship of Cruiser size, carrying spinal mounts. Occasionally referred to as a Battlecruiser in some navies.
Type BV Battlecarrier - A battleship/fleet carrier hybrid. This specifically requires a fighter complement of more than one wing of Starfighters as well as Battleship grade armament. Sometimes called a Battlestar. These vessels tend to be the largest warships constructed by humans.
Cruiser
A capital warship lacking a spinal mount, generally between 10,000 and 50,000 tons, that relies on its own direct firepower for most of its combat capability.Type C Cruiser - A cruiser scale warship that uses direct firepower. Is generally divided into four categories.
- Heavy Cruisers: A cruiser between 25,000-50,000 tons, used as a centerpiece warship in the small battlegroups of larger navies, or as flagships in smaller navies.
- Light Cruisers: A cruiser between 10,000-25,000 tons, generally considered a heavier escort type ship, and generally the heaviest type of ship to be used in anti-piracy operations.
- Stealth Cruiser: A cruiser, usually a light cruiser, optimized for stealth operations.
- Strike Cruiser: A cruiser-transport hybrid capable of carrying a modest (usually battalion sized) force for deployment in low intensity operations. Generally capable of fighting through system pickets, and deploying the force, or they can be configured to serve as light Cruiserstar. Act as escorts for larger dedicated transports.May be optimized as artillery ships.
Type CV Cruisercarrier - A cruiser/carrier hybrid. They are less capable than Battlecarriers or true fleet carriers, but do carry an extensive fighter wing. Sometimes called a Cruiserstar.
Fleet Carrier
A capital warship which has the primary role of carrying starfighters into battle, usually carries several squadrons. May also carry battleriders, light, generally jump-incapable, larger spacecraft into battle. Typed V.Type V Battle Tender - A carrier that focuses more heavily on carrying Battleriders into battle.
Type CV Escort Carrier - A cruiser sized escort carrier, typically carries one or two fighter squadrons.
Type EV Escort Carrier - A subcapital (generally Frigate sized) carrier generally capable of carrying half of a squadron, possibly a full squadron into battle.
Heavy Civil Vessels
Generally classed as civilian vessels of 10,000 tons or more, the differences between a 'Heavy' Civil Vessel and a regular civil vessel are sometimes fuzzierColony Ships
Colony ships are built for the sole purpose of mounting a successful colonial expedition to settle a new world. These vessels are therefore built to be almost entirely self-sufficient and easy to repair or disassemble as required by the needs of the colony. More advanced colony ships typically had advanced terraforming equipment on board, and most had passenger counts in the thousands or tens of thousands. As a result, colony ships were among the largest moving vessels humanity has ever constructed. Colony ships are generally given the type TZ.Bulk Freighter
Bulk Freighters, sometimes called Superfreighters or Megafreighters were constructed to haul bulk cargo on relatively stable routes between worlds with relatively well developed and stable colonies. As a result freighters tend to be heavily optimized for massive cargo space, with most modern vessels making frequent use of heavy automation to minimize crew requirements. Bulk Freighters are generally given the type M, though some are typed T instead. The exceptionally rare independent ‘Tramp’ Freighters of this size are type MA.Star Cruiseliners
The largest commercial starliners, Star Cruiseliners are often enormous vessels dedicated to moving large numbers of people from one place to another. These vessels can be relatively simple passenger liners built to haul entire towns worth of people to other worlds in relatively spartan conditions, or luxury liners of unparalleled opulence. Star Cruisliners are typed R. The exceptionally rare independent ‘Tramp’ Liners of this size are type RA.Heavy Transport
Superheavy general transports are a relatively rare sight inside Civilized Space, but have become fairly common in the Frontier. These large, unspecialized transports make a good trade moving between larger frontier worlds, or acting as a mothership for smaller freighters to trade with the smaller ones. The most popular variety, the Type 342 also known as the ‘Munificent’ Class and many of its imitators or modifications are modular, allowing different types of cargo and passenger modules to be swapped out without the need for a full overhaul. Heavy Transports are generally typed T. Transports this large are more commonly owned independently than freighters or liners, but are still quite rare, being typed TA when operated by an independent operation. Military Heavy Transports are typed TQ, as are those commandeered by the military.Constructor Ships
Essentially mobile industrial centers, Constructor Ships are typically seen building interstellar infrastructure such as Jump Gates or deep space facilities, and are designed to operate for a long time. Many constructor ships therefore have relatively ample accommodation and frequently maintain facilities for smaller prospector ships to mine resources to return to the constructor. The most modern examples of such vessels typically are heavily automated in order to reduce the necessary crew and feature advanced fabricators to produce nearly anything on the fly. Constructors are typed G.Heavy Prospectors
A relatively rare breed of vessel, Heavy Prospectors sometimes referred to colloquially as ‘Rock Eaters’ mine entire asteroids by engulfing them and stripping them bare. These large vessels are typically owned by larger mining conglomerates and are almost never seen in the hands of the common rock hopper. Heavy Prospectors are typically given the type J.Expedition Ships
Formerly a subtype of colony ships, the Expedition Ship is a vessel designed for long range exploration missions. These vessels are relatively immense, requiring the ability to carry supplies for a large crew that cannot be kept in stasis for large periods of the journey, and the need to fabricate much of what they need on the fly. Expedition Ships are given the type K.Type KV Expedition Tenders
A subset of Expedition Ships, Expedition Tenders instead of bouncing from system to system themselves they support and maintain a small fleet of smaller short range surveying vessels that do much of the exploration themselves.Escort Ships
Warships between 100 and 10,000 tons. These vessels are generally the most common warships in service, particularly among independent systems which lack the facilities to build and maintain capital ships.Destroyer
A heavy escort (between 5,000 and 10,000 tons), destroyers are usually configured as pursuit craft or as fleet escorts. Typed D.Frigate
A lighter, more versatile escort grade ship (generally between 2,000 and 7,000 tons), used in a wide variety of roles. Frigates make up the bulk of the heavier fleet assets in most navies.Type E Frigate - Combat frigates that either stand in the line of battle on their own, or as screening vessels for larger Cruisers, Battleships, and Carriers.
Type EH Patrol Frigate - A heavy patrol craft generally to be used against more serious pirate gangs, and as the first line of defense against enemy incursion.
Type EP Commerce Raiders - Commerce raiders generally tasked with disrupting the trade of a rival state, at least formally, are usually more often found in the hands of privateers or pirates, though they are occasionally owned by state navies. Sometimes Commerce Raiders are equipped with additional stealth capabilities.
Type EZ Strike Frigates - Relatively lightly armed frigates for their size, much of the tonnage is taken up by facilities for supporting small (generally Platoon or Company sized) teams of marines on short term campaigns. Can be converted into impromptu escort carriers. Also includes larger blockade runners.
Corvette
A light escort grade vessel (generally between 1,000 and 2,000 tons), which are generally short ranged, light patrol vessels used for destroying pirates, and system defense in interstellar states. Most system navies will employ System Defense Boats however.Type H Corvette - The typical corvette, generally lightly equipped, though more than a match for most types of pirate or other renegade vessels that it will generally expect to encounter.
Type HZ Blockade Runner - A less common type of Corvette sized ship the blockade runner dedicates a fairly sizable portion of its tonnage to cargo, and it uses its speed and weapons to bypass interdictors. This type of vessel finds itself in the hands of pirates quite frequently.
Type HP Commerce Raider - Designed to engage in nontraditional warfare by attacking a hostile nation’s shipping lanes, commerce raiders frequently go rogue and many are owned by pirates or other assorted criminal elements.
Type HV Pursuit Corvette - Generally a fairly large, slow moving, lightly armed corvette that carries a fairly decent number of light fighters that it uses to chase down targets that are too fast for it. HV type corvettes are exceptionally rare
Cutter
The lightest escort grade vessel in common use (between 100 and 1,000 tons), generally used for customs duty, pirate deterrence, and is not treated as a serious warship. Cutters are given the Type H.Type HP Commerce Raider - Small cutter sized ships that are used to raid hostile commerce, in theory. In practice vessels of this type almost always find themselves in the hands of pirates, who use them to harass independent traders. As a result, most vessels of this type are heavily policed, and in many shipyards outright refuse to build them.
Type HZ Blockade Runner - Cutter sized blockade runners are focused on stealth, with light, almost nonexistent weaponry for their size. These vessels are often used as surveillance vessels by poorer navies.
Civil Vessels
Civilian Vessels from 100 to 10,000 tons, these vessles form the backbone of interstellar economics in Frontier Space.Utility Ships
A catchall term for courier vessels, courier tenders, and other nonindustrial, non transport starships in civilian service, utility ships are generally owned by larger organizations to fulfill specific purposes. General utility ships are type U.Type X Courier Ships - Courier ships are small, highly specialized vessels that carry mail, in the form of data streams or sometimes carrying priority parcels, from system to system broadcasting their messages as they arrive. These vessels have limited utility in other respects, and often rely on tenders to keep them supplied and supported, but are nonetheless extremely valuable.
Type L Laboratory Ship - Type L Laboratory Ships are mobile science labs frequently used to conduct experiments that their owners want to be private for varying reasons, or by governmental or otherwise nonprofit space agencies needing to conduct astrogation or astrogeographic work. These vessels tend to be fairly modest in size, though well equipped with the most modern technology available.
Type N Hospital Ship - Mobile hospitals serve in a wide array of organizations, from for profit clinical labs to governments and militaries acting to treat the injured or run clinical studies, or fight epidemic disease. Most Hospital Ships are however typically owned by non-governmental organizations and act as roving hospitals providing humanitarian aid at cost, or even as charity to Frontier worlds that lack well developed medical infrastructure. They are welcomed nearly everywhere as a result.
Type Z - Experimental Platform - A relatively rare type of ship outside of Pardian and Jred space, Experimental Platforms tend to be utilized by large organizations with well developed research and development capabilities as testbeds for new spacefaring technologies. After the Jred Scourge this activity became less common, as did the vessels that supported it.
Type XZ Surveillance Vessel - Specialized police, customs, or military vessels the type XZ Surveillance Ships are used to gather signals intelligence, electronics intelligence, or sensory intelligence of rivals, pirate gangs, smugglers, or other hostile groups. These ships tend to be very stealthy in order to quietly spy on enemies without being detected. This means that they have little space left over from oversized reactors and massive fuel reserves to have advanced drives or heavy weapons.
Type XR Express Liner - An extension of express boats, express liners are used to carry very important persons from place to place at as high a speed as is possible. These vessels tend to have relatively spartan conditions for their passengers, but some are quite luxurious.
Type UV Tender - A civilian equivalent to battle tenders, Type UV tenders are responsible for supplying and repairing fleets of spacecraft or smaller starships.The most common of these are courier tenders set up along major trade and communications lanes that make ‘Pony Express’ type relay networks function as intended, and dramatically increase the speed at which Courier Ships can move information.
Transport
At smaller tonnages, transports become increasingly more generalized as their owners are increasingly independent or small corporate operations. Though some specialization continues. Transports are typed T.Type M Freighter - Typically the largest ships of this type, Type M Freighters are oriented around carrying bulk cargo between smaller worlds or those in Frontier Space.Most have a secondary trade taking on a small number of passengers as well.
Type R Liner - Ranging from budget liners to luxury cruisers, type R liners specialize in taking people from place to place. These smaller liners tend to operate in Frontier Space, or running service to smaller worlds where it is uneconomical to operate the larger liners.
Type A Independent Trader - Referred to as Tramp Freighters, Free Traders, Far Traders or Frontier Traders, Type A independent traders are the backbone of commerce in Frontier Space, and are, perhaps, second only to Surveyors and Couriers as the most important vessels in the galaxy. These vessels tend to be relatively small, cheap, and easy to modify as they are overwhelmingly used by independent crews.
Type Q Military Transport - Transports designed for a military use, or those commandeered into military service the type Q Transport is responsible for supplying fleets on mid and long distance operations.
Type I Combat Transport - Transports designed for interstellar use, the Type I Combat Transport ferries troops and weapons to the battlefront. These can range from small vessels shuttling small units, to massive machines hauling brigades or divisions of mechanized or armored troops.
Surveyors
Surveyors are smaller vessels responsible for traveling between systems and running system surveys, short term exploration missions, as well as, to a limited extent, general purpose tasks, surveyors are some of these most important vessels in the galaxy, and operated by a diverse array of people from the Galactic Surveyor’s Guild, to governmental surveyor guilds, pirates, small courier companies and a wide range of independent operators Couriers are given the type S.Type SJ Independent Prospectors - Usually modified from Surveyor hulls, independent prospectors are small mining ships with unusually powerful sensors and are utilized heavily by small bands of prospectors referred to frequently as ‘rock hoppers’ or belters.
Industrial Ship
A catchall term for smaller constructors, deep space repair ships, medium sized prospectors. These ships are sometimes used as deep space factories used to get around system and interstellar laws. General purpose industrial ships are given the type G. Type J Prospector - Medium prospectors that mine asteroids, or salvage deep space debris, medium prospectors do most of the work of obtaining the resources to maintain interstellar civilization.Private Transport
Private Transports, known sometimes as yachts, safari ships, or pleasure craft are a rare type of luxury starship used by the wealthy, or in certain circumstances important diplomats or other VIPs. These ships are often not especially practical, with limited capacity for crew or passengers, instead opting for opulence and luxury unparalleled in almost all of the galaxy. These ships are generally given the type Y.Warboats
Warcraft of more than 100 tons that are not capable of jumping. These vessels are often favored by independent navies for their ability to carry much heavier armor and armament on smaller hulls due to the lack of jump drive and the enormous fuel tanks needed for them. These vessels tend to be much more powerful than a warship of equivalent tonnage.System Defense Boats
The most common type of warboat, System Defense Boats are ships of varying size that defend single systems. Their lack of a jump drive, or fuel for that jump drive means that they are much more heavily armed than a starship of the same tonnage. Generally preferred by independent systems over interstellar states.Type WH System Defense Boat - Smaller System Defense Boats, generally less than 1,000 tons. Usually as well equipped as a light frigate or a corvette.
Type WH System Defense Monitor - A large system defense boat, generally between 1,000 and 5,000 tons seen in well developed, industrialized, or otherwise important systems. System defense monitors are serious combatants.
Type WHC System Defense Supermonitor - A very large system defense boat, of cruiser scale, these ships are essentially battlecruisers that are seen defending relatively important or wealthy systems, and are extremely dangerous for anything other than an enemy battlegroup.
Type WHB System Defense Hypermonitor - A Hypermonitor is a cruiser or battleship scale boat carrying a spinal mount gun. The type HB is an extremely rare, and extremely powerful vessel of war, seen only in the most prosperous independent systems, or industrial centers and capital worlds of heavily militarized interstellar states.
Battle Rider
Ship sized jump incapable vessels intended to be carried by large jump capable warships. Battle Riders tend to be exceptionally powerful for their weight class having most of the space that would be taken by fuel tanks and jump drives replaced instead with weapons and defenses. Battle riders are usually given the type FE.Type FH Light Battle Rider - Smaller ship sized, jump incapable vessels typically carried by smaller, often cruiser sized battletenders.
Type FD Heavy Battlerider - Larger, usually destroyer sized battle riders these vessels often have the weapons capacity of lighter cruisers.The largest of these heavy battle riders effectively are medium cruisers. It is theoretically possible to create battleship sized battle riders with spinal mount weapons, though this has not, within written record, ever been achieved.
Type FI Combat Lander - Also called dropships, these ship sized, jump incapable transports intended to bring troops from space to the ground often under fire. Combat landers range from relatively small, capable of carrying an infantry platoon or even a squad, to extremely large, dropping entire armored companies directly into combat.
System Civil Craft
Generally jump incapable craft of more than 100 tons or dedicated Jump Tugs, these vessels are used to maintain infrastructure in developed systems with multiple substantially populated worlds on them, particularly industrialized worlds.Barge
Barges are large (typically in the 5,000-50,000 ton range) in system cargo haulers. Frequently granted with only limited maneuverability and relying on low speed, high efficiency drive systems such as ion engines or solar sails to transit long distances, these vessels are primarily used in regular bulk cargo hauling routes within well developed systems. Barges are usually given the type WM.System Miners
Often called ‘rock hoppers’, system miners are a popular vessel in industrialized worlds that are based within systems with plentiful belts of mineral rich asteroids this diverse array of spacecraft travel through planetoid belts and other circumstellar discs to strip them bare of useful asteroids. Many rockhoppers also salvage vessels found in these regions. System Miners are given the type WJ.Jump Tugs
Though technically interstellar craft, Jump Tugs serve a very specific purpose of use primarily to intrastellar interests. Jump Tugs take dock with jump incapable vessels and use their overpowered jump drives to carry them to other systems. Jump Tugs are given the type UZ.Industrial Boats
Typically owned by corporate entities, industrial boats are frequently used to carry out manufacturing that is easier in microgravity, impossible to manufacture planetside, or is illegal planetside, though sometimes they are used for the sake of security. Industrial boats are frequently large constructions, industrial facilities in space. Sometimes corporations operate these vessels in isolated systems to avoid legal repurcussions for their 'off the books' work. Industrial boats are typically typed WG.Light Warcraft
Warcraft of less than 100 tons often used as interceptors in systems navies and customs forces, or as carried craft used in wings on fighter carrier starships.Fighter
A sub 100 ton military vessel (usually under 50 tons) that is built primarily around high speeds and either a single powerful weapon, or two or three less powerful weapons. Fighters are used in station defense, fleet actions, and more rarely as planetary interceptors. Fighters are generally given the type F.Bomber - A subtype of fighter, Bombers are usually heavier, with multiple crew and a long range or high yield armament intended for targeting and destroying larger spacecraft, including, if used en masse, enemy capital ships. Bombers are generally given the type F.
Torpedo Boat - A subtype of fighter, torpedo boats are large, multi-crewed fighters that forgo traditional armament to mount a large torpedo barbette. These attack craft are more specialized even than bombers often relying on their heavy armament, possibly tipped with plasma, nuclear, or if certain rumors are to be believed, antimatter warheads, to deal devastating damage to the largest of ships. Torpedo boats are generally given the type FZ.
Stealth Fighter - A subtype of fighter that places almost as emphasis on stealth as it does speed, these craft are generally of very high technology, lightly armed for their size, or in many cases, both. Stealth fighters are given the type FZ.
Boarding Shuttle
Boarding shuttles are a kind of specialized combat transport intended for the purposes of landing a small detachment of marines at a destination that is under fire, usually a hostile warship. Boarding shuttles are usually given the type I.Customs Vessel
A customs vessel is the smaller development of the System Defense Boat Concept being a general combat smallcraft intended for use by local law enforcement agencies and border patrols. These craft tend to be on the larger side for smallcraft and are relatively lightly equipped for their size as often extra space must be made for prisoners or contraband, and as a result they tend to operate in concert with larger motherships or fighters to chase down problematic targets. Ships of this type are generally given the type WH.Civil Smallcraft
Civil Smallcraft are spacecraft of less than 100 tons that are utilized primarily by civilian agencies. These are typically orbital craft used to move things between planetary surfaces and orbits. These can often be interplanetary liners as well. More common than civil boats, these are found nearly anywhere with space age manufacturing capabilities.Launch
Sometimes called escape pods, or dinghies by the more fanciful, Launches perhaps the most common form of civil smallcraft, often with decent numbers of them legally required to be fitted on any major passenger ship. Launches are used to shuttle people and cargo from ships to space stations, surface installations, or as an emergency launch into space. Launches are typically typed U.Pinnance
An extension of a ship's launch a pinnance or jig is often a special utility vessel with capabilities beyond the basic abilities of a launch. Oftentimes this means higher performance, but it can also mean armament, great capacity, or nicer accomodation. These are often used as permanent supplements to other ships allowing larger vessels to serve areas with limited infrastructure if required.Shuttle
Shuttles are civil smallcraft that bring passengers from planetary surfaces to orbit, or between various planets or moons within a star system. They are typically designed to maximize the amount of people carried are generally rather uncomfortable to fly in, though some shuttles are designed to provide somewhat more comfortable passages. Shuttles are generally typed WR.Cargo Shuttle - A variant of the typical passenger shuttlecraft, Cargo shuttles carry freight instead of passengers. These are almost entirely orbital craft, as larger barges tend to take on interplanetary transit requirements.
Private Shuttle - Often owned by corporations or the well to do, private shuttles are passenger smallcraft that have been designed for high speeds, unparalleled luxury, or both. They are typed WY.
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