Star Control Ships and Dreadnoughts

Ares-class Star Control Ships: 14 In Service

The most powerful Earth Fleet vessel, this class is designed to enter a system and control it almost without assistance. 7 miles long and 4 miles wide, only the Coral Sea class compares to this massive starship. Complement of 16000 crew. It carries 4 small battle stations and 4 Gryphon TI Assault Vessels in a large hangar at the rear, as well as 384 Fighters, and has twice the firepower of any other Earth Fleet Vessel. Can only be built in the construction yards over Avalon and Phoenix Star. This ship is equipped with a Gravity Drive and the powerful Gravitic Ram weapon.

Coral Sea-class Star Control Ships: 12 in service

Measuring in at nearly 5 miles long and two miles wide, the Coral Sea class ships were the largest combat vessels to ever be fielded at the time of their launch. Each vessel will field nearly 200 fighters, 50 jump ships, and four Gryphon assault ships. Also she will embark with a full Tech Infantry Legion, consisting of 10 divisions. These ships mount spatial distortion accelerators giving them incredible strategic capabilities. They are designed to enter a system and control it with out any support. Generally these ships are escorted by a screen of six destroyers. It has been upgraded since its original design to increase its protection. Previously it was felt that without a gravity drive she was not worth her massive cost. Upgrades added a modified gravity drive that provided the shielding of a gravity drive in use but does not provide the other features. Where the Ares can operate separate from the fleet, the Coral Sea class must be protected at all times.

Poseidon-class Star Control Ships: 1 in service

These are the newest and most powerful vessels of their type in Earth Fleet.  Designed with the lessons of the Third Civil War and Vin Shriak War in mind, it is actually slightly smaller than the Ares class that preceded it, but is more heavily armed in many ways.  Most obviously, it carries two Gravitic Rams of a slightly more compact (but slightly less powerful) type than the single such weapon the Ares carried.  It carries fewer troops and more Lance Torpedoes, but it also adds the devastating Hellbore cannons.  The fruits of Arthur Clarke's conquest of the Jurvain Commonality and K'Nes Tor included new weapons and shield technology, and Hellbore cannons are among those to be successfully reverse-engineered and improved upon by human scientists.  Probably more importantly, the Poseidon class is the first in Earth Fleet with a new Jurvain-influenced Gravity Drive able to form firing ports in its Gravity Shield.  This means that, while it still cannot maneuver and operate its shield at the same time, it CAN operate the shield and fire many of its weapons, although the Gravitic Rams are not among those.  The quantum singularities fired by a Gravitic Ram would interfere with a nearby Gravity Shield with unpredictable results.  Like its predecessor, the Poseidon has a large compartment on the aft of each of its two hulls, which normally carry three small Battlestations each and a large supply of weapons platforms, to install defenses around newly-conquered planets or rebuild the Orbital Defense Network around newly-liberated ones.  Originally planned as an entire class of ships, only one was ever completed before the Caal Invasion shattered the Federation.

Avalon-Class Dreadnoughts: 8 in service

The Avalon is the latest and most advanced Dreadnought in Earth Fleet's arsenal. It carries over 200 fighters, a full battalion of Marines, and has the most powerful chemlaser ever put on a starship. It also includes a gravity drive that doubles as a defensive shield. The Avalon also is capable of orbital bombardment with its twin mass drivers.

Electra-Class Assault Dreadnoughts: 26 in Service

Built to the specification of the TI these are massive ground assault ships. They carry 10,000 TI troops and the means to land them, as well as 2 Planetary Assault Pods carrying heavy weapons and tanks. Also each vessel carries 60 fighters to give support to fleet operations and provide cover for landing troops. This ship is equipped with a gravity drive.

Alexander-Class Battle Dreadnoughts: 7 In Service

Designed as fire support vessels for major fleet action or for planetary assault. Originally the Alexander was planned as a test bed for an interim gravity drive. This interim drive can create jump points into hyperspace or provide a shield, but not maneuver, and it has one new feature. The ship can use the gravity drive to fire a singularity through enemy starships. This weapon was later modified slightly to become the Gravitic Ram, and was also used on the Ares-class Star Control Ships. The massive power requirements of this weapon mean that in order to fit in the multiple large fusion reactors and the massive weapon system itself, this ship does not carry large fighter bays or assault landing systems. However, in a battle with large warships or planetary battlestations, this ship has few equals in firepower.

Nicodemus-class Dreadnoughts: 2 in service

The Nicodemus was the second largest vessel in the Earth fleet at the time of its construction, only smaller than the Coral Sea. The firepower of these vessels is equivalent to the Coral Sea in terms of battery strength, but she carries fewer fighters in favor of a large Tech Infantry compliment. These were the first vessels to be equipped with a spatial distortion accelerator which allows Earth ships to open spatial rifts into hyper space, thus increasing their strategic speed by a factor of 5000%. The Nicodemus and the Juggernaut are all that is left of this famous class. Both have been upgraded many times but the general consensus is that her days are nearly over. A lack of gravity drive or even a gravity shielding unit like the one designed for the Coral Sea have limited her effectiveness. Still it is considered the utmost honor to command either ship.