State Vessel Classification System

The **State Vessel Classification System** is a system for starship classification. It was established during the Jordic Manifest by the Aryan Naval Academy, and is now used by most stellar militaries.

## Use of the system

According to this system, stellar warships of over 100 meters in length were divided into six main classifications with 23 subclasses. Despite the limits on dimensions, the system could sometimes move ship designs up or down in classification, depending on their armament and intended role.

Examples:

* The *Havoc*-class destroyer, which should fall into the cruiser classification with its length of 350 meters. Due to its armament and role, however, it was moved up into the destroyer category.

## Classes

### **Corvettes**

Corvettes are the smallest warships, designed for escort and patrol, anti-mine, or anti-stealth. They are used where larger ships with more firepower are not deemed necessary (such as backwater worlds or low-risk areas) or where a larger ship would be unsuitable for deployment. Corvettes are sometimes outfitted to have some sort of stealth or cloaking system for reconnaissance or spec ops missions. They are likely to be diplomatic vessels due to their small size and speed, and can commonly act as blockade runners. They are ideally never be used for direct combat in large scale engagements due to their extremely light armor and weapons, but may be employed in a battle to lay down or destroy minefields, uncover stealth ships, act as stealth ships on their own (for whatever purpose needed), or for dispatching already crippled vessels. Some corvettes are also used as hospital ships, as they are quick and able to rapidly arrive at crisis areas. Corvette-class vessels are generally 60-100 meters length. Corvettes are divided into five subclasses:

* **Reconnaisance Corvettes** - The lightest class of vessel, characterized by advanced detection equipment and the prevalance of cloaking shields. Designed to survey forward positions and relay information to its battlegroup.
* **Infiltration Corvettes** - Similar to Reconnaissance Corvettes, but generally characterized by transport-type hulls and an emphasis on stealth. Designed to infiltrate special forces or covert operatives behind enemy lines.
* **Marine Assault Corvettes** - Marine Assault Corvettes are small vessels designed to land marine troops and vehicles into active battlefields. Usually armed with anti-personnel weaponry and characterized by VTOL capabilities and large transport holds.
* **Support Corvettes** - Support Corvettes carry specialized anti-ship weaponry, such as missiles and artillery cannons, to supplement the long range firepower of a naval group.
* **Escort Corvettes** - Escort Corvettes are meant to protect convoys and merchant vessels against minor threats, and perform naval patrols in contested areas. They are characterized by their speed and versatility. They are often equipped with anti-mine equipment.

### **Frigates**

Frigates are defined as smaller vessels with light armament and armor (but more powerful and larger than a corvette), suited for speed and maneuverability. Frigates often act as patrol and escort vessels, whether for a merchant convoy, a single capital ship, or a fleet. Their agility and maneuverability means they can move to redeploy and protect other ships better than larger, slower moving vessels.  Frigates are often fielded in a strength-in-numbers strategy, as frigates are cheap and quick to produce.  Frigates, unlike corvettes, more commonly see direct battle and are generally not equipped with stealth drives due to the difficulty in cloaking large vessels. Frigate-class vessels are generally 100-200 meters length. Frigates are divided into six subclasses:

* **Light Frigates** - Light frigates are frigates of generally light weight and armament. They are cheap and often used as patrol and reconnaisance craft. They are highly maneuverable and very fast.
	+ **Support Frigates** - Support frigates are designed to aid in operations with other vessels, providing fire support, logisitical aid, communications and intelligence, and medical services. They rarely operate independantly, and are found commonly in destroyer fleets.
* **Medium Frigates** - The most common classification of frigate, they are well armed for their class, and are well equipped for fleet escort tasks.
	+ **Escort Frigates** - Escort frigates are designed with endurance and defense in mind, equipped with point defences and anti-strike craft weaponry. They are intended to escort merchant vessels and other larger ships while in transit or on patrol, and are characterized by thin hulls lined with sweeping turrets.
* **Heavy Frigates** - Heavy frigates are better equipped for endurance than lighter frigates, are heavily armed, and more heavily armored. They are designed for heavy combat, and heavy frigate wolf packs of 3-5 ships are used for assaults and perimeter defense.
	+ **Command Frigates** -  Command Frigates serve as the frigate flagship of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and his staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities. An auxiliary command ship features the command and control components prevalent on landing ships and also feature the capability to land troops and equipment. These forces will be slightly less than those on a pure landing ship due to the nature of the ship as a command vessel and hence will also house the assault commander, the flotilla commander or someone of similar status

### **Destroyers**

Destroyers are ships smaller than cruisers (and usually larger than frigates, though not always) but armed to the teeth with a multitude of weapons.  Destroyers most commonly act as escorts for larger fleets but can be seen operating in destroyer-only divisions as well.  As highly versatile vessels, destroyers can fulfill a multitude of roles, even roles that could be fulfilled by other classes that are designed for that purpose. However, it is rare to find a destroyer acting on its own in most circumstances; destroyers are not capital ships and do not operate as patrol craft.  They do not operate independently as a rule. Destroyer-class vessels are generally 200-250 meters length. Destroyers are divided into two subclasses:

* **Attack Destroyers** - Attack Destroyers are designed with fleet combat in mind, and are characterized with heavy firepower designed to engage in frontline combat.

* **Escort Destroyers** - Escort Destroyers are intended to escort larger vessels and merchant convoys, similar in role to escort destroyers. They possess more anti-strike craft and fast tracking weaponry than Attack Destroyers, and are able to operate more independently with operations in larger patrol elements in mind.

### **Cruisers**

Cruisers are medium-sized vessels, able to operate independently but also commonly seen within a fleet.  They have the capacity to be used as anti-fighters, planetary bombers, raiders of enemy supply lines, and scouts.  However, they are most commonly used to engage directly in ship-to-ship warfare. Cruisers are commonly used in front-line assaults of an enemy fleet.  Cruisers have the firepower, size, and better defensive capability to go up against other ships and as such make up the bulk of most navies. They can fill many roles, but the most common is as a frontline combat vessel or light carrier. Cruisers also form the majority of heavy-lifting marine craft, and cruisers that can field entire divisions form the core of planetary invasion fleets. They are also sometimes used in non-combat roles such as exploration or colonization due to their ability to operate independently for extended periods. Cruiser-class vessels are generally 300-900 meters in length. Cruisers are divided into eight subclasses:

* **Light Cruisers** - Light Cruisers are generally small- to medium-sized multipurpose combat starship. They are generally lighter armed than their counterparts.
	+ **Support Cruisers** - Support Cruisers are designed to perform fleet logistics and support functions within a battle group, similar in role to Support Frigates, but larger and able therefore able to support a larger fleet element.
* **Medium Cruisers** - Medium Cruisers are an intermediate step from light cruisers to heavy cruisers. They form the bulk of most combat fleets, due to their flexibility and strength.
* **Heavy Cruisers** - Heavy Cruisers are large multi-purpose starships. They carry the largest armaments of cruiser class vessels, and are described synonymously with battlecruisers. However, they are usually far slower, smaller, and are usually not as well armed.
	+ **Armored Cruisers** - Armored Cruisers are slow and heavy cruisers designed with defense in mind. Few armored cruisers are fielded in the State Navy, and are mostly reserved for core defense.
	+ **Carrier Cruisers** - Carrier Cruisers are cruisers designed to carry large flights of fighters in lieu of primary weaponry. They are highly mobile, and are characterized by large storage and launch bays.
	+ **Interdictor Cruisers** - Interdictor Cruisers are specialized cruisers designed to operate far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of interdicting the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. The interdiction prevents or delays enemy forces and supplies from reaching the battlefront. They utilize advanced gravitational interdiction generations, which can cause enemy vessels in DS to forcefully exit the Grey Dimension, which causes damage and halts their travel.

* **Battlecruisers** - Battlecruisers are very large cruisers similar in armament to battleships, but they generally less armored and far lighter in order to obtain faster speeds and higher maneuverability. Battlecruisers are intended to outrun any ship with similar armament, and chase down any ship with lesser armament, and to hunt down slower armored cruisers and heavy cruisers and destroy them with gun and missile fire while avoiding combat with more powerful but slower battleships. They are often used in first assaults, in order to break through enemy lines and cause havoc with heavy weaponry.

### **Battleships**

Battleships often act as the primary elements in a fleet; they are the main combatants and are protected by other vessels such as frigates and destroyers. Being that they are capital ships, the presence of even a single battleship can turn the vastly turn the tide of a battle. Battleships are massive but slow. They are meant to take a significant amount of damage, and dish out that punishment twofold. The role they fulfill is that of complete dominance and superiority. Due to their large size they can often carry a large number of secondary craft, like a carrier, but the ability to store and launch craft is not is primary role, and most battleships are designed with overwhelming firepower and resilient armor in mind rather than strike-craft capabilities. Battleship-class vessels are generally 1000-1500 meters in length.Battleships are divided into three subclasses:

* **Attack Battleships** - Attack Battleships are pure combat vessels, intended to engage capital ships and orbital structures in space combat. They carry the heaviest guns in the State Navy, and are capable of engaging in apocalyptic orbital bombardments.
* **Command Battleships** - Command Battleships are used as the flagships of Naval Battlefleets. They possess enough powerful communications arrays capable of serving as a mobile communication nexus that can be used to relay information from an entire subsector. They can coordinate logistics, and direct tactical operations for the fleet, and also carry large hangar bays full of fighters to conduct fleet defense for the fleet. Few exist, and are used in a similar role to command frigates.
* **Fleet Support Battleships** - Fleet Support Battleships are dedicated support vessels designed to support fleet operations. Fleet Support Battleships are not as heavily armored as attack battleships, and are not intended to fight capital ships in a one-on-one fight. Instead, they provide fire support from rear lines with large artillery cannons, and provides logistics and repair support for the fleet.

### **Carriers**

Carriers are some of the largest capital ships around due to the need to hold and transport large numbers of fighters, bombers, and other craft. Carriers are also commonly used as the primary element of marine invasion forces, and are capable of transporting thousands of marines and their vehicles. Typically, their hull-mounted armaments are light; carriers usually rely on the large numbers of fighters they carry or their fleet for defense and attack of other ships. The primary role of a carrier is the transport and deployment of smaller craft troops. Carriers are generally faster than battleships, equivalent in size, and often lighter in weight. Carriers form the backbone of most naval fleets, as they can operate in a wide variety of situations and engage a wide range of targets effectively. They are also support vessels, and can support an entire fleet with supplies and logistics. Carrier-class vessels are generally 1000-1600 meters in length.