Ticonderoga-Class Supercarrier

Originally built to crush opposition during the Inner Colony Wars, the Ticonderoga-class supercarrier was the first class of supercarrier built by the UNSC. Designed by RDML Pochinkov during the start of the Second Inner Colony War, the Ticonderoga-class was designed to reach remote rebel colonies and bring them back into the fold unsupported. The largest UNSC ship ever constructed at the time, the Ticonderoga showed the UNSC's commitment to keep the Inner Colonies as a part of the UEG sphere. The Ticonderoga-class was extremely successful, with over two dozen ships of the class ordered and constructed. After being retired for over twenty years, the class was brought back into service to combat the Covenant onslaught. 
== Design ==
As one of the first naval vessels constructed since the Interplanetary wars, the Ticonderoga-class's design was based on obsolete ships. Originally, the class was planned to be a massive battleship that would overwhelm opposing fleets with superior firepower. However, during construction, many naval officers realized that the Ticonderoga-class had design problems stemming from the implementation of new technology. This halted construction of the UNSC-Ticonderoga as the ship went through a major redesign and multiple feasibility tests. The new design would have a long, bulky look, with many different " blocks" or sections that would be connected at bulkheads. After reviewing the new design, UNSC engineers realized that the ship could not have the extensive firepower that the UNSC desired. They could only include one experimental heavy coilgun and halved the planned 80 Archer Missile Pods as they were impractical and a danger to the ship itself. The numerous changes in design caused the ship to be reclassified as the first ever UNSC supercarrier. 
=== Reactor and Engines ===
The supercarrier was given a new, top of the line power system, containing the first fusion reactors of any UEG naval vessel. This included two large fusion reactors, along with four smaller fusion/fission reactors for auxiliary or emergency power. The engines were part of the new top-of-the-line Boglin Fields: S11/Y-DFR Fusion Engines. The designers planned for the engines to make the supercarrier faster than a cruiser, however, due to engine strain and the mass of the ship, many newer, more modern ships outpaced the large carrier. 
The reactors were refit with top-of-the-line fusion cores in 2526, increasing the supercarriers speed, however, the large amount of power put stress on the engines, creating a constant need for repair. This caused the Ticonderoga-class to repair after every five months of active duty, so another secondary refit was required in 2531. These newly refit engines allowed the supercarrier to keep up with the more modern UNSC fleet while also staying extremely energy efficient. 
=== Armament and Structure ===
The Ticonderoga-class was designed to be the flagship of the UNSC fleet during the Inner Colony Wars, so in accordance with this role, it was heavily armed and armored. Due to the ships role in combat, the Ticonderoga-class was designed with a number bulkheads within its superstructure to stop incoming coilgun rounds. This feature, along with the two meters of Titanium-A Plating, made the ship extremely durable. These bulkheads were designed around ship sections that could be optimized for various missions. This optimization allowed the ship to pack more firepower, fighters, or ground support depending on its current objective. This versatility made it one of the most successful lines of ships during the Inner Colony Wars.
The offensive weaponry of the Ticonderoga-class was less versatile, but the heavy coilgun allowed the supercarrier to fight evenly with any ship it encountered. The main focus of the class was to provide support to allied ships while also capturing objectives planet side. This did not mean the supercarrier was vulnerable or a liability in orbital combat. The multitude of missile pods and nuclear ordinance, paired with the heavy coilgun meant that no ship in all of humanities arsenal could leave a battle with the supercarrier unscathed, if not outright destroyed. 
The ship's secondary armament mainly consisted of a large rail gun array and hundreds of missiles. These could be used to destroy smaller rebel vessels, space stations, and even lightly armored or damaged capital ships. This secondary weapons allowed the supercarrier to dish out constant fire on rebel formations while the heavy coil gun was charging or inoperable. 
After the ship was brought back into service in 2526, its offensive weaponry was upgraded to compete with the Covenant threat. Armed with a Mark V "Super" MAC and two smaller Heavy MACs, the Ticonderoga-class could go toe-to-toe with almost any Covenant ship. The "Super" MAC was capable of annihilating or disabling any Covenant ship it came into contact with. The first salvo from the Mark V MAC could wipe out the main Covenant threat, while the two heavy MACs could finish off any escort ships that were accompanying the Covenant capital ship. The addition of Five Shiva nuclear missiles made the Ticonderoga-class an offensive juggernaut. 
After returning to service, the supercarriers secondary weapons were also upgraded. The railguns were modernized, while a number of Onager Mark 2488 Magnetic Accelerator Cannons were also installed. The number of these secondary mini-MAC batteries were not uniform ship to ship due to each ship in the class being able to change its hull design. These armaments, although not as powerful as the main guns, were deadly to smaller Covenant ships. This helped deal with smaller Covenant vessels that would avoid the linear arc of fire of the MAC guns by flanking the Ticonderoga-class. The 24 Ares Missile Pods also could do extreme damage to any shielded or unshielded Covenant vessels of medium size. These were used in conjunction with the heavy MACs to great effect against smaller Covenant destroyers, frigates, and corvettes. 
== Operational History ==
=== Development ===
The concept of a huge battleship had been on the forefront of UEG and UNSC naval doctrine since the First Inner Colony War. When tension started to arise between the Inner Colonies again in 2447, the UNSC started to offer contracts to companies that could design and construct these new battleships. Many designs were presented, but none were deemed acceptable by the Admiralty. However, these designs were used as a cornerstone by Rear Admiral Adrik Pochinkov for his own design. Rear Admiral Pochinkov used several elements from these rejected designs to create his own blueprint for a battleship. The new design, although promising, had numerous flaws, and therefore had to be reworked. The first problem was that the massive amount of energy required for the three proposed heavy coilguns was too much for even the newest fusion reactors. Also, the vast missile arsenal that the ship would carry would cause horrendous internal damage if storage areas were hit, making the design totally unfeasible. 
When the Second Inner Colony War broke out in 2449, the impracticality of a battleship design was realized. The role of a heavy hitting ship to overwhelm was already fulfilled by the number of cruisers of the UNSC fleet, so the plan for a line of battleships was completely disregarded. However, the need to retake rebel worlds as fast as possible caused the UNSC to review the Ticonderoga's design. RDML Pochinkov, using his own carrier as a guide, helped redesign the Ticonderoga-class into a carrier with multiple "blocks" that could be configured for a specific mission or task. These "blocks" also allowed the ship to take heavy damage yet still be easily repaired at almost any ship or repair yard. The design called for extreme size to carry the large forces needed to recapture rebel worlds. This large size lead to the Ticonderoga-class being reclassified as the first ever supercarrier. 
=== Second Inner Colony War ===
==== Early War ====
Constructions on the lead ship, the UNSC Ticonderoga, began in June, 2349. When it was launched in December of 2350 along side it's 3 sister ships, the UNSC did not plan on constructing anymore. With the launch of the Ticonderoga-class, many Admirals and government officials thought that the UEG and UNSC would immediately gain the advantage over the rebelling Inner Colonies. However, the class was, at first, only used in defensive operations. The UNSC and CMA did not want to anger the public further by having the most expensive ships ever constructed annihilated within the first few months of their launch. The cost and value of the Ticonderoga-class meant not only would the destruction of a ship mean the loss of valuable resources and manpower, but also a huge blow to morale. Yet, public opinion was against the UEG, and as the war dragged on even longer with minimal success, the UEG was forced to deploy the UNSC Halifax and CMA Old Rainworth in offensive actions. Although the UEG commanded the UNSC and CMA to deploy their ships in offensive actions, the two military branches were still hesitant. The Halifax was deployed to New Carthage to participate in the last act of the Skopje offensive, the final stroke of Operation: THUNDERBOLT. Although it was held at the rear of the battlegroup, the Halifax performed extremely well, engaging and destroying three rebel frigates and a cruiser at long ranges. When the battlegroup had gained orbital supremacy, the Halifax deployed its complement of ground troops and fighter craft. Within 74 hours of landfall, over 70% of the rebel forces had been overrun or destroyed mainly by contingent from the Halifax. CMA Old Rainworth was deployed at Falaknuma, producing even greater results. Old Rainworth engaged three destroyers, two frigates, and an opposing carrier within a 48 hour period in orbit of the planet. Although it was in heavy combat and sustained substantial damage, it still had over 83% of its original combat capabilities. This hardiness and resilience, along with its offensive capabilities, spurred the navy to order six more ships of the class.
==== Late War ====
After the successes at New Carthage and Falaknuma, the Ticonderoga-class was assigned to more offensive actions. In May 2462, the UNSC Halifax was assigned to the Tenth Fleet and engaged a rebel force above Meridian. After routing the fleet, the Halifax engaged and followed the retreating rebels with a small escort. Moving with the Tenth Fleet to Arcadia, the Halifax engaged and destroyed most of the opposing force before launching a ground assault. This victory was unprecedented, as the Halifax was the first UEG vessel to engage and destroy over seven vessels in a single engagement. It was even more impressive that the Halifax had destroyed a carrier and a cruiser, along with five frigates. That engagement showed that the Ticonderoga-class could crush any rebel capital ship it faced. The capture of Arcadia with minimal local support also indicated that the class could act independently of any ground transport fleet. This would hopefully allow the UEG to split their forces and break the stalemate. 
After this major success, twenty more vessels were ordered by the UEG. As the war dragged on into 2453, the Ticonderoga-class supercarriers scored dozens of kills and had the highest number of kills per ship during the war. With more and more being produced, the rebel colonies were pressured to counter the new supercarrier. However, they did not have the shipyards to produce a ship of such massive tonnage, and they had few ships with weapons that could damage the superstructure of the supercarriers. The Ticonderoga-class continued to succeed, with nearly every campaign and offensive involving one or more of the class. The success of the supercarriers would lead to them being high priority targets by the rebels. Multiple attempts to destroy the ships by rebel forces in port took shape over the length of the war. The targeting by rebel forces caused the destruction of three of the class. Two were destroyed in port by explosives while the CMA Old Rainworth was destroyed in action. Old Rainworth was targeted by Operation: BENEDICT ARNOLD and destroyed by a rebel barrage to its underbelly. Although the destruction of these ships was a substantial blow to the UEG, the lost ships were worth the expense. Moreover, newer ships of the line could take their place. The tide of the war had turned against the rebelling Inner Colonies and the destruction of three ships could not save their almost untenable position. The supercarriers were vital in the destruction or surrender of the final rebel strongholds, and were present in the final battle of the war. 
The Ticonderoga-class played a pivotal role in turning the tide against the rebelling Inner Colonies. It allowed the UEG to strike deep into Inner Colony territory and rapidly secure orbital and planetary control over rebelling colonial worlds. These accolades allowed the Ticonderoga-class to stay in production and in service for over thirty years.
=== The Insurrection ===
As rumblings of secession and rebellion grew more and more prominent in the late 2480s, the UNSC began to remilitarize after almost four decades of peace. The Ticonderoga-class had all but been retired, as two of the ships remained in the fleet at large and had planned on being retired. However, news of secession and eventual Insurrectionist sentiment in the CMA brought to light by the Office of Naval Intelligence made the UNSC reconsider the older class of warship. To the surprise of the UNSC, the CMA had upgraded and refitted all eleven of their supercarriers, keeping them in service. The CMA had calculated that it was cheaper to upgrade their ships over time instead of laying down a new keel and spending years to create a new ship class, especially with their lack of funds. However, the CMA had actually been trying to sell two of their older supercarriers, which, using its now significantly larger budget, the UNSC bought. 
After viewing the refits that the CMA implemented, the UNSC planned to do the same to their active supercarriers and five of their mothballed ships. However, ONI intelligence revealing large amounts of CMA spending on a new "supercarrier" meant that the UNSC and UEG would begin refitting five more of their retired carriers. 
After assembling and upgrading five of their older supercarriers, they would launch an investigation and seizure of many CMA assets after the Bombing of Far Isle. This action would be headed by fleets led or including at least one supercarrier. During this investigation, the corruption and insurrectionist parts of the CMA were revealed to be much larger. The CMA's large spending was found to be assembling a large naval and ground force, including two Punic-class supercarriers, multiple cruisers, and dozens of destroyers and frigates, along with a very sizeable mechanized force. After accounting for all CMA assets, it was discovered that multiple ships of the same name appeared on CMA ship orders, and other ships that were not decommissioned were missing, including three supercarriers. 
After this discovery, the UEG and UNSC were on full alert concerning the Insurrection, especially with naval assets now in their hands. Many Ticonderoga-class ships would lead the hunt for rebel fleets during the Insurrection, especially the hunt for the Typhon, a rebel supercarrier. However, as the Insurrection began to wind down in the late 2510s and early 2520s, these ships were again slowly put into retirement. 
=== The Human-Covenant War ===
== Ships of the Line ==