Falke-Class

The Falke-Class is a robust escort- and attack craft design of the 2170s developed and deployed predominantly by the German Cosmo Navy (Deutsche Marine Weltraumdivision).

## Technical Specifications

### General

The Falke was designed to have both the speed necessary to evade enemy main artillery and the durability to outlast close-proximity defense cannons for just long enough to deal a deadly blow. All the rest of the design was based around these two main priorities.

Despite the considerable size for a vessel of its class, the heavy armor and additional propulsion power, as well as the addition of six turreted kinetic batteries left very little interior space for crew accommodations. The limited interior space and comfort are both indicative of the ship's design for relatively short deployment times and operational range.

### Armaments

The arsenal of the Falke-Class is focused largely around the four forward facing torpedo tubes. Their main feature is the double-volley configuration of the internal magazine, allowing for each torpedo tube to be reloaded almost instantly with a second torpedo in-line. The ability to fire a total of eight torpedos in short succession sets the Falke truly apart from other designs of the era.

The six light kinetic cannons of the Falke exist largely for point-defense purposes against incoming missiles. In ship-to-ship combat, they are only effective against light armor or at extremely close range. Their addition on the craft does allow Falke-Class vessels to effectively shoot down enemy reconnaissance planes and bombers as well, but this ability barely saw any use, due to the rarity of such units in during the early 2180s.

### Defensive

Built for durability, the Falke-Class boasts heavy armor in relation to its size. Like all vessels of the German Cosmo Navy, the interior sections are protected by an additional layer of kevlar insulation to prevent shrapnel and fissures in the event of a kinetic impact.

Originally equipped with eight missile launchers, two of these were later augmented to serve as flare-compartments to further protect the Falke from incoming warheads.

## Tactics

On par in size and armament with most destroyer-classes, the Falke specializes in hunting larger capital vessels in small packs of three to four or in conjunction with other specialized vessels. These runs on enemy heavy cruisers or command vessels require a highly disciplined group of vessels approaching the target at high velocities from different angles, entering and leaving firing range as quickly as possible. Ideally, the tactical officers would coordinate their fire perfectly and fire all torpedos at the exact same moment, giving the target no opportunity to escape.

## History

Development of the Falke-Class began during the late 2160s with the intention to balance the German fleet roster, which had so far lacked a small and independent torpedo delivery vessel.

A total of sixteen Falke-Class vessels were built, eight of which directly for the German military. Three were integrated into the Finabel Federal Cosmo Navy as a welcome addition to its planetary defense force. Of the remaining five, four Falke Class Torpedo Boats were sold to the Baltic states and one stripped-down variant entered service under the flag of the Neue Hanse.

While the durability of this craft was outstanding, more agile and versatile designs would dominate the lighter weight classes of starships, later on, leading to the early retirement of the class from production lines.