List of Razorbird starships

The following is a list of military and civilian starships, both classes and unique vessels, operated by the Razorbird Empire by type. This includes Imperial-designed vessels, ships built within the Alliance under license and foreign-designed or built starships that are operated by or on loan to the Imperial Flotilla; it also includes the starships of the Crusaders of Jiral, non-Razorbird auxiliary units.

## Naval Theory & Doctrine

### Imperial & Holy Fleet

The Imperial Flotilla's warships are designed around individual superiority: ship-for-ship, their vessels outmatch almost every other same-type capital ship in the Milky Way. However, centuries of isolation and security in the knowledge of their technological superiority has, up until recently, made their tactical and operational skills stagnant: while their fleets are capable of overwhelming most opponents through brute force, without relying on detailed planning, those who stand on an equal playing field in terms of technical advancement have an impressive advantage. Even much less advanced races have been shown to be able to fight and win against the Razorbirds thanks to this. The Razorbirds, however, while slow to adapt, have begun to slowly produce new innovations and warships in the wake of their disastrous Crusade against the Terran Heathens, and the recent intergalactic war against the invasive Rin Empire.

Imperial ships tend to feature advanced weaponry and energy shields, and weak armour plating: older vessels must drop their shields to use their point-defense cannons, making them particularly vulnerable to coordinated starfighter assaults.

### Crusader Forces

Jiral's Crusaders come from a wide variety of races and societies: generally the craft they wield are small-scale or refitted merchants, relying on numbers and religious fervour over any kind of technical superiority. Broadly comparable to most third- or fourth-tier interstellar governmental forces, they are not usually more than second-line ships and personnel to the Razorbirds. However, in the wake of the Terran Crusade, the Crusaders were seen as an important force for breathing new life into Razorbird tactics, for the day when the Empire was ready to renew the struggle. Accordingly, Crusader-designed starships began to be produced in large numbers to offset those warships destroyed during the Terran campaign: while weaker than most Razorbird starships, they feature significant edges over most contemporaries.

Crusader warships feature the same advanced weaponry as that used by the Imperial Flotilla, but for reasons of construction time, the advanced shielding systems and armour protection were omitted in favour of more primitive, quicker methods. It also serves as a check on the Crusaders in case their religious devotion wavers: a Crusader battlecruiser will outperform a Terran warship of the same type, but fail against a Razorbird combatant.

## Razorbird Weapon Types

The following is a brief list of some of the non-standard weaponry used by the Razorbirds.

### Oculus Artillery

**Oculus cannons** are a distinctly Imperial weapon, apparently only developed recently: essentially a rapid-firing antineutron pulse cannon, they deliver quick, predictable, and devastating results against matter. The principle of matter/antimatter annihilation means that the greater the density of the target's matter, the higher the chance of a particle/antiparticle reaction. Accordingly, this weapon is most effective against armoured targets, such as heavy capital ships. Moreover, it has incredible range, thanks to good packet coherence.

### Particle Lances

**Particle lances** are the Razorbird version of neutron beam cannons: firing a stream of antiparticles, including positrons and antiprotons as well as the larger antineutron along a predefined path at relativistic velocities, they can cause extreme amounts of destruction. However, their range is somewhat shorter than a normal neutron beam cannon thanks to the common charges held by parts of the beam, causing it to lose coherence more rapidly.

## Military Starships

### Alliance Naval Code

The **Alliance Naval Code** (ANC) designations were devised for use during the Razorbird Crusades to designate Imperial and Crusader vessels, similar to ancient NATO reporting names for Soviet warships during the half-legendary Cold War. While classifications have expanded over time, their basic use and purpose remains the same: they have since been adopted by many members of the Galactic Council.

### Star Battleships

Star Battleships & Battleship-model Carriers