Ships

There are a large number of ships available to the player in the Mandate. These range from Light Fighters all the way up to Battleships and possibly beyond.
Ships can be classified into at least two types of vessels: Warships and Light Craft.

#### Warships

There are known to be at least 6 classes of Ship available to the player:

**Frigate**
**Destroyer**
**Light Cruiser**
**Heavy Cruiser**
**Battle Cruiser**
**Battleship**

Initially they will have command of a single Frigate, but over the course of the game will be able to upgrade to larger and more advanced Ships if they want. Eventually they will be able to command a flotilla of up to 6 Ships made up of any combination of vessels.
Ships can be customized for a variety of roles within the flotilla due to the Mandate's design philosophy of allowing the player to define the hardpoints and internal components of a Ship. For Example; By switching out weapons hardpoints for Hanger bays the player would be able to create a Carrier capable of launching and maintaining Light Craft.
Larger vessels have been hinted at by the Developers, specifically Titan class vessels, but no images or details as to whether these will be controllable vessels or purely opponents have been released.
There are also Backer tiers which allow for the backer to design a Legendary ship. The only details which have been released so far suggest that constructing such a vessel will involve acquiring various plans scattered around the galaxy, constructing the vessel and having a skilled enough crew to be able to effectively utilize it.

Support vessels have also been mentioned but no details as to whether these are heavily customized Warships, with the majority of their hardpoints switched out for support functions, or a separate type of vessel have been released.
The one vessel of this classification that has been detailed is HMS Endurance, Troop Transport, which carries both reserve crew to replace crew losses on the other ships as well as a large complement of marines to use for boarding operations. In addition she has extensive medical facilities to hasten the recovery of wounded crew.

#### Light Craft

Light craft is a broad term that encompasses smaller spacecraft with limited range and which rely on a mothership (A warship with Hanger Bays or other fixed installation such a Starbase) to refuel and rearm.
There are different types of light crafts which have defined roles:

* **Fighters**
* **Interceptors**
* **Heavy Fighters**
* **Bombers**
* **Assault Shuttles**

Fighters, Interceptors and Heavy Fighters defend against enemy light craft, perform reconnaissance and scouting or destroy incoming enemy warheads.
Heavy Fighters and Bombers attack enemy capital ships and installations.
Assault Shuttles transport marines and initiate boarding operations.

All Light Craft, except Assault Shuttles, are organized into flights. Several flights make up a full squadron. Depending on the size of the mothership, the complement may be anything from a single flight, to a squadron, to a wing and finally a full air group with multiple wings each with multiple squadrons. Pilots are specialists and a green enlisted cannot become a pilot. However, through experience and training an enlisted may qualify for pilot training and become a pilot.
Light Craft will have the option to research upgrades and design and manufacture improved versions. Escape pods are confirmed as one possible upgrade.
Once a light craft is built, its technical specifications cannot be changed (with a few exceptions), though weapons payloads can be altered between and possibly during missions.

Assault Shuttles come in different sizes and allow you to embark and transport your marines to initiate boarding operations. Assault shuttles are equipped with thick armor and some even have personal shields, but they forgo weapons to maximize available space for marines. An assault shuttle will approach and attach itself to the outer hull of a capital ship and use its front-mounted drill to cut through the armor. Depending on the ship and its armor composition this can be a lengthy process during which the assault shuttle and marines are very vulnerable