Archangel-class Arsenal Ship

The Archangel-class Arsenal Ship is a massive warship, dedicated to the mass deployment of ranged rocket weapons. Designed to be operated in peace by an AI instead of a human crew, the ship supports fleet engagements with massed missile support. Possessed of decent armour, and moderate close-in weaponry, the Archangel is quickly proving itself a deadly and versatile combatant. 
==Design==
==Weaponry and Complement==
The Archangel-class features an incredible amount of ammunition intended for long-range, protracted battles. The Archangel is a missile ship, with thousands of missiles on-board, allowing it to engage multiple threats at range. This end, it packs a wide variety of different missile platforms.
The most numerous missile is the RSM-131C Archer Missile. Considered ubiquitous in the UNSC, the Archer is an all-purpose missile, with decent range and lethality. Launched en-masse, these missiles use numbers and superior sensors to penetrate the enemy's defences and inflict punishing damage, to shielding, or to armour. It carries 700 Archer pods, each carrying 24 missiles, resulting in a total payload of 16,800 missiles. 
For long range engagements, it packs 1000 RSM-294 Widow Stand-Off Cruise Missile. A long range missile, designed to inflict punishing blows by virtue of high-power, rather than by numbers, the Widow is often fired from beyond visual range. The missile is accurate, possesses stealth features, and even has decoy launchers, to make sure impact is inevitable. When it does hit, it uses a plasma warhead to create a ball of sunfire, that melts through shielding and armour with equal effect. 
For close-in defence against fast moving capital ships, it uses 200 pods of RSM-48 Fury Pods. A short range, high speed missile, they use high-agility, and networked swarming to overwhelm defences and deliver their payload. Often fired in their hundreds, these missiles lack punch against large targets but deliver tremendous fire to smaller targets. 
As it's most devastating weapon, the ship carries 60 Tactical Weapon Platforms. A catch-all term for weapons of mass destruction, these missiles are fitted with a variety of warheads, including W700 Avenger tactical warhead, W705 Vengeance EMP warhead, and other weapon types. They can fire either the RSM-103 Wayfarer, or the slipspace capable RSM-107 Vagrant.
While lacking the traditional heavy guns of a battleship, it does carry a number of cannons for defence against enemy warships. The ship has 4 M45 Renegade heavy guns, 2 mounted on the spine, 2 mounted on the keel, that act as it's main deterrent. These are capable of putting down cruisers in a few salvos. Each gun features two 350mm Gauss Guns and can fire heavy slugs for maximum devastation. 
For further defence, it mounts 43 M41 Monarch Naval guns. Moderately powered guns, with a decent rate of fire, these guns create a wall of fire intended to cripple smaller ships, and dissuade larger ones from drawing near. Alongside this, it has 6 M54 Lancer guns, which use twin lasers to deliver incredibly precise fire at range. These are lethal against warships, tearing apart weapon systems and exposed components. 
For close in defence, it uses the UNSC's standard Phalanx pattern defences. These combine 3 weapon systems to create its defensive network
==Sensors and Avionics==
The Archangel-class possesses a full suite of sensor modules, intended to allow it to detect, identify and track targets at range. For threat detection, it uses a high resolution active electronically scanned array (AESA) RADAR. Each RADAR module, of which there are 9, use thousands of small transmitters/receivers, that can each be individually steered to aim their beam. This allows them to scan vast areas of space in front of them, at high speed. Teamed with this, is the PAVE CORVUS magnetic anomaly detector, which passively observes electromagnetic waves broadcast by energy weapons, energy shielding, reactors, and other high-power systems. 
When targets are detected, it switches to identification, using a high power cluster of telescopes. These analyse the target both invisible and infra-red light and observe it with a dual purpose range-finder/LIDAR. These systems can accurately identify targets at range, and utilise Identify Friend-Foe (IFF) and cross-matching to determine the tonnage, classification, and owner of the target.
Finally, for tracking, it uses clusters of sensors to track individual targets, keeping track of several hundred targets in a 360 sphere around itself. These can also be used to identify the target at range, as per the previous role.
For close in detection, it has several clusters featuring short-ranged infra-red sensors and fire-control RADARS. 
For communication, it uses a MASER Communication Dish, a high-power communication device that can broadcast several narrowband transmission at a time, allowing it to communicate with multiple ships. It can also use LASER point communication to avoid interception and jamming. It also has a Slipspace Communication System, allowing it to communicate faster than light, and stay in contact with command formations even while far from base. 
For defence, it has a number of systems. These include the AN/SLQ 115 HARLEQUIN Decoy Launcher, for avoiding enemy threats by launching decoys. It is also fitted with a AN/SLQ-301 PAVE KEEPER decoy launcher, that can fire thermal, ion, chaff, radio, aerosol, smoke, and other decoy/dispersal systems. It also has an AN/SLQ-340 PIRATE Torpedo counter guidance system used to jam the guidance of plasma torpedoes, within a limited range. It's last electronic defence is the AN/SLQ-1011 PAVE FAITH, which uses active cancellation to jam enemy RADAR by negating their own RADAR. It does this by attuning itself to their frequency and cancel it with a pulse of equal wavelength. 
==Armour and Shielding==
The ship uses a mixture of armour materials, intended to optimize protection, as well as optimize power-to-weight ratios. The outer most layer is the laminated shell, that serves as protection against orbital re-entry, but also acts as a RADAR-absorbent coating. It also functions as part of the heat regulation system too, maintaining a thermal black-body. It is in part combined with a liquid-glass resin, which also absorbs lower power lasers used for sensors, and makes it invisible to UV sensors. 
It's main armour is made up of several bonded layers of Titanium-A5, forming the main bulk of the armour, and the pressure hull. Titanium-A5 is a specially manufactured composite, similar in chemical make-up to Titanium-A4, used on most other warships. A5 is unique in that it is engineered for lightness, without compromising protection. While it is stronger than standard titanium armour, it is far lighter than titanium, giving the ship good protection without weighing it down. At its thickest, it comes close to 1.5 metres, usually around the central hull and engine superstructure. Around its flanks and lower plating, it drops to as little as 0.9 metres. Underneath this titanium plate, it has dozens of tiles of AEGIS ceramic, a super-strong, and lightweight material. It's resistant to plasma, impact and HEAT munitions, giving it full-spectrum protection. Underneath this it has several layers of thermal and kinetic absorbing materials, allowing it to disperse heat and impact generated by enemy attacks. Lastly, it has a layer of aero-gel, which is used to protect the crew from radiation, and help regulate the ships internal temperature. It has an expanding foam pressed against this layer, that seals holes in the event of armour penetration. 
==Engines and Powerplant==
For faster-than-light travel, it uses a Shaw-Fujikawa Model 52. A standard for the UNSC, it is reliable and accurate, allowing for ships to quickly and accurately make it through slipspace. Working with advanced slipspace navigation systems, it allows for rapid strikes. 
==Role==
The Archangel-class Arsenal Ship represents a paradigm shift in starship operability. It has no human crew, and is capable of operating, repairing, and resupplying itself, all while out of dock. The Archangel is not designed for direct combat, lacking a high-number of cannons, and even a main MAC gun. Instead, it carries an obscene amount of missiles, designed for massive bombardments against multiple targets. Thanks to it's AI control, the ship can precisely control several thousand missiles at once, and has a number of the missiles including short, mid, and long ranged weaponry, and nuclear warheads. 
==Ships of the line==
*UNSC Archangel
*UNSC Metatron
Category:Battleship classes
Category:UNSC Ship Classes