(Cruiser) Elara-class Light Cruiser
An Electronic Warfare and support Light Cruiser based on the successful Farlease-class hull.
||Callsign: 'Elara' / CCL
||Class: Light Cruiser (CCL)
||Role: Electronic Warfare
||Mass (approx): 204,960 T
||Length: 680 M
||Crew: up to 345
||Max Speed (Impulse Cruise): 1900 m/s
||Max Speed (Hyper Cruise): 1,520 Km/s
||Max Range (JDA): < 1.4 Parsec
||Number Built: 51
||Operators: UTN Federal Navy (pre-4040 A.D), Terran Loyalist Navy (4042 A.D - 4299)
||Date: 2,858 A.D / 620 F.D.S
||Origin: Eris Tier Orbital Naval Yard, Eridonia System
||Variants: N/A
||Primary Armour Plating: Tritanium / Composite Lightweight Construction
||Primary Armour Thickness: =< 1.0M (Main), =< 0.60M (Secondary) =< 0.35M (Tertiary & Pressure)
||Spinal Armament: N/A
||Primary Armament: 4x Dual "C" Type MKI/F FIMD 325mm Cannon Turrets
||Secondary Armament: 1x 8-vertical launch Hornet S/M/L system
||Tertiary Armament: N/A
||Shielding: 1x MOD5.7 CTM Shield Generator
||Sensors: 4x forward-mast (bow) Broad Spectrum Array + SDD tracking / Fleet Support Sensors. Main Mast-mounted BSA/FCS with Supportive AHS integration (battle-net). Ventral, mid-ships mounted 'PARALAX' Electronic Warfare Suite.
||Propulsion: Main Triple-row Helium-Fusion Plasma Impulse Drives. 4x 4-stack satellite HFP Auxiliary / Cruise stabilisation drives
||Powerplant: 2x Rockal-Jasper MK14C 1050MW Helium-Barycentric Cold Fusion Reactors
||DESCRIPTION:
Developed from the reliable Farlease-class Light Cruiser hull design, the Elara-class Light cruiser was a purpose-built Electronic Warfare and sensor support vessel. The requirement for a dedicated EWS / Forward Sensor Support unit was requested by the Federal Navy Board of Admiralty in 610 F.D.S. The design requirement called for a fast cruiser platform with dedicated electronic warfare / cyberwarfare package for operating with forward Task Group elements. As such, the Farlease hull was selected as a perfect fit, and many modifications were made to the superstructure and design to accommodate the new electronic systems. The biggest external changes are the complete removal of the vessel's 'B' Type main battery; instead the Elara's primary armament are a quartet of 'C' Type, Dual 325mm FIMD cannons as used on the Series 2 Farlease. These were intended as a last-resort defensive armament against fast moving warships such as frigates or corvettes, since the Elara was lightly armed for its class. The foredeck dorsal 8-vertical launch Hornet S/M/L missile system was carried forward and new upgrades to existing Hornet Long Range Missiles were trialled alongside the class, taking advantage of the much longer and more accurate sensors and fire control system.
Due to a reduction in primary armour belt thickness, and powerplant upgrades to the newer HBCF reactor technology, allowing a pair of Gigawatt reactors, the class was much faster than the Farlease - and the reduction in armament and shielding also allowed the Elara to dedicated extremely large amounts of power to the Electronic Warfare system. The 'PARALAX' EWS package contained a fully integrated Complex Artificial Intelligence based on the Antaeus Circuitry design, but with extensive cognitive limitations due to restrictions in UTN space at the time. The C-AI and extremely powerful EWS allowed Elara-class vessels to take full control of opposing vessels with insecure or outdated battlenets, remotely. This was most effective against pirate or outlaw vessels with inferior EWS Counter Measures.
Furthermore, the Elara-class's primary roles included Electronic Counter Measures, missile defence, jamming and communication/long range recon support for forward operating elements. Despite being highly successful in its intended role, the class was expensive to produce and only 51 warships were completed as of its production cancellation in 3305 A.D. However, all Federal Navy Task Forces allocated an Elara-class light cruiser proved highly effective in electronic espionage, ultimately leading to more advanced development of EWS systems on larger, better armed and defended cruisers such as the Vengeance-class Series 3, which by its introduction in 3618 A.D, had made the lighter Elara-class redundant.
||Variants
N/A
||Legacy
A relatively little-known variant of the extremely successful Farlease-class Light Cruiser, with only 51 built, the Elara-class has not survived the Fall of the UTN in 4040 with any known operational examples in service with any official forces.
