Battlestar

Battlestars were a class of armored battleship/carrier hybrids in service in the Colonial Fleet. They emerged during the Cylon War as a solution to Cylon hacking, which had destroyed numerous cruisers. The first battlestars were specifically designed to use primitive, unnetworked computers that could not be hackedBattlestar Galactica 2004, publication: "The Science of Battlestar Galactica".. Further, they were armored to withstand nuclear blasts and carried dozens to hundreds of Vipers to defend their anti-ship weaponry. By the time of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, the Colonial Fleet had approximately 120 battlestars in serviceBattlestar Galactica 2004, episode: "Miniseries, Night I" divided into battlestar groups. 
==Armament==
Battlestars are armed with a considerable amount of kinetic energy weapons scattered throughout the ship, each capable of firing large incendiary or explosive shells at any given target; usually enemy vessels. Battlestars also carry CIWS point-defense weapons scattered throughout the ship to defend themselves against the incoming ordinance, as well as a large array of both regular and nuclear-tipped missiles for launch at an enemy target, be it ground or space-based.
Battlestars also serve as fighter carriers. They carry Vipers, small and maneuverable one-man space superiority fighters designed for dogfights, as well as Raptors, larger multipurpose craft that can serve either as missile carriers, transport craft, or electronic warfare platforms.
== Battlestar classes ==
<tabber>
|-|Artemis-class=
Artemis-class was a type of battlestar used in the First Cylon War. While little is known about this class of vessels, it can be inferred that since the Jupiter-class was designed specifically as the first battlestar class to fight the Cylons, the Artemis-class must have been built at some point before the 1st War.
|-|Jupiter-class=
Jupiter-class was the first class of battlestars developed solely to combat the new Cylon threat. They served valiantly throughout the whole conflict, with only 3 examples surviving the war. After the war, the Colonial Fleet continued to produce this class of warships, until the newer Mercury-class came online.
|-|Valkyrie-class=
Valkyrie-class was a class of battlestar operated by the Colonial Fleet. Being much smaller than the Jupiter-class the Colonial Fleet managed to produce them in higher numbers than any other class, with more than two-thirds of the Fleet being of this class.
|-|Mercury-class=
Mercury-class battlestar was the newest class of battlestars produced by the Colonial Fleet. Designed in the inter-war period, the class featured heavy networking and automation, significantly reducing its crew requirement. The Mercury-class was by far the rarest of battlestars in the whole fleet.
</tabber>
==Known Battlestars==
*Battlestar Archeron
*Battlestar Athena
*Battlestar Atlantia
*Battlestar Bellerophon
*Battlestar Columbia (1st Cylon War)
*Battlestar Columbia (Interwar Period)
*Battlestar Erasmus
*Battlestar Galactica
*Battlestar Night Flight
*Battlestar Pegasus
*Battlestar Prometheus
*Battlestar Ramses
*Battlestar Solaria
*Battlestar Triton
*Battlestar Uned
*Battlestar Universal
*Battlestar Valkyrie
*Battlestar Yashuman
==Sources==
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Category:Ship types
Category:Battlestars