AC-477 Mk I Valravn
From Star Trek: Theurgy Wiki
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| Name: | Mk I Valravn-class |
| Model: | AC-477 |
| Starship Type: | Federation Warp Fighter |
| Production Status: | Early Prototype Stage |
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| Constructed: | Luna Shipyards |
| Commissioned: | February 7th, 2381 |
| Dimensions: |
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| Mass (w. Standard Armament): | 25 950 kg |
| Technical Specifications | Advantages
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| Standard Crew Complement: |
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| Warp & Impulse Speeds: |
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| Tactical Specs: |
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| Other Standard-issue Equipment (stored in cockpit) |
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| Design: |
Auctor Lucan |
| 3D Model: |
Omardex & Kalashnikov 3D |
 
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This was the first iteration of the Valravn-class Warp Fighter. With origins in the Interceptor Program, this fighter was designed to make the interceptor role in Starfleet obsolete. This, because it was the perfect combination between an space superiority fighter and a fast response interceptor. The Valravn were capable of fast response, territorial defense, but also prolonged engagements. They could strike fast, hard and then regroup for another pass if so necessary, and like traditional space superiority fighters - like the Valkyries - their high maneuverability could also hold their own in a dogfight.
The Valravn-class Warp Fighters were the kind of crafts that were commissioned to USS Orcus, and the 20 crafts were the only ones assembled.
Fighter Demonstration
Production History
The formation of Starfleet Aerospace Command was heavily influenced by the successful deployment of Peregrine-class fighters aboard the starships serving as carriers in the fleet. The year 2375 - after the conclusion of the Dominion War - the AC-205 Mk I Valkyries were deployed. These fighters were assigned to the USS Typhon (TNG game: Star Trek: Invasion). They were initially designed as a carrier-based fleet engagement craft. Initially, the design proved successful, with a high survival rate matching the heavy fire power available to bring down larger ships. In learning that a full squadron of Valkyries would still require a lot of support from for engagements of a Dominion-War level threat, Starfleet deemed that the attack fighter needed an upgrade. By 2381, these fighters were still being deployed in fairly limited numbers - shuffled around the fleet.
Another development at the time was a group of influential admirals in the fleet demanded to form a new department that hand-picked the Conn officers with the most tactical training. It was the only way, they assumed, to ensure the fleet used the correct pilots for these fighters. The original score of 400 personnel - the fleets new Tactical CONN officers - served as the foundation for a new and more organised department for fighter pilots. They accepted only the highest scoring Conn or fight-trained Security or Tactical Cadets, and then dealt them another year of training in the fields they lacked from their Academy training. White became the chosen color for the department, and the admirals that rode this project into history became the core of the Aerospace Command.
While the Valkyrie program - mainly under Rennan Cooper's direction - was a success, there was a competing development program led by the Advanced Starship Design Bureau which focused on territorial defense and the interception deployment of small crafts. It was the Interceptor Program led by Lieutenant Commander James Knight. While the Valkyries held a Space Superiority Role and served their purpose in prolonged engagements, the the line of warp interceptors were built for speed and carried somewhat less ordnance. Their role was to get somewhere quickly and tie up the enemy ships in large numbers and hard, synchronized strikes. This was so starships and superiority fighters could get there slightly later but with more weapons and higher maneuverability. The Interceptors were first to engage if a territory was compromised, and they held their own by making deadly, quick passes.
The Knight-class Interceptors entered mass production in 2377, and since then, Director James Knight began working on a new project. Seeing the versatility of Rennan Cooper's Valkyrie Program, Knight knew that the interceptor concept would not stand the test of time. Instead, he opted for another solution, and that was to take the strengths of his interceptors and bestow them upon a space superiority fighter. He wanted to make a fighter that had the speed and fast intercept functionality as well as the maneuverability and weapon options to function in prolonged combat.
The trick was to find the right kind of fuselage solution, and after going through several testing platforms, Knight was able to fit the kind of warp nacelles required for the velocities he wanted the new craft to have, and give it a wide wing-span. The wings were not only important for stable atmospheric flight, but to grant additional hard-point slots. In the end, he added the armament rig for the micro torpedo launchers, which extended from the bottom of the nacelles and into two launchers in front of the cockpit. The launchers were fed with torpedoes through the arms, which allowed for a high number of torpedoes and a fast loading mechanism.
The only fighters that held dedicated Type VIII phaser emitters were these fighters, and those modified emitters were prototype technology as of 2381s. On these fighters, the warp drive plasma conduit ran through the primary phaser coupling to double the power of the beams. It is as of yet unknown how the emitters would last in a prolonged engagement.
The first 20 fighters were commissioned to the USS Orcus for field testing, denominated the White Wolves Squadron. As for the name of the fighters, Knight decided to give a nod to the Valkyrie Program by naming them Valravn, which some would think would be a snide thing to do, but it was truly given in honor of Rennan Cooper's work, which had made the Valravn possible. Without the Valkyrie Program, Knight's new fighters would never have seen the light of day.
Tactical Systems
The Mk I Valravnhad two different hard point configurations, as shown in the image on the right.
Besides the phasers, which was a standard technology, other warp fighter tactical systems can be found below:
- Twin Mount Turrets
Twin Dual Cannon guns utilizing an ammunition replicator to create 30 mm Osmiridum shells. These shells were suspended in a small warp field bubble to render them nearly weightless before being electromagnetically propelled at a speed near mach 15 with a rate of up to 1000 rounds per minute, assuming all four cannons were being fired. Devastating against soft targets as well as being effective against armors of nearly all types, it was however, ineffective against shields, and its projectiles could be easily reflected via standard deflector arrays. The weapon could be placed in a fixed forward position or could be set to automatically track subsonic targets for fire, though it proved to be ineffective at automatically tracking fast moving small targets. It could hit large targets moving at high speeds but not with the same precision as expected with slow or fixed targets. Designed for aerial and suborbital assault on non-shielded Terrestrial targets, deep space strikes against bases, and aerial support of ground operations (see below for more information).
- ECM Pod/ECCM Emitter
Counter measures. These were not options but loaded into the aft of the fuselage as standard. ECM (Electric Counter Measure) was essentially a micro torpedo full of shrapnel and debris with the given craft's transponder signature and sensor reading. It confused the enemy ordinance and caused it to think the cloud of debris was the target. ECCM (Electric Chemical Counter Measure) created a wake similar to a warp, impulse, or thruster engine's wake, fooling such a guided missile into a false lock.
Launchers
There were two kinds of launchers that could be mounted underneath the wings of these fighters, one for standard torpedoes and one for micro-torpedoes.
- Torpedo Launchers
Additional, wing-mounted torpedo launchers that can hold 3 photon torpedoes, EMP torpedoes or Quantum Torpedoes in any kind of combination. It was recommended to mount two of these in order to balance the fighter properly. This meant that the hard-point option of additional torpedo launchers held 6 torpedoes when the Valkyrie was deployed into battle.
- External Micro Torpedo Launchers
Additional, wing-mounted micro torpedo launchers that can hold either 56 Mk II micro photon torpedoes. It was recommended to mount two of these in order to balance the fighter properly. This meant that the hard-point option of additional micro torpedo launchers held 112 additional micro photon torpedoes in total when the Valkyrie was deployed into battle to complement those that the Valkyrie itself already had as standard internal armament.
Standard Torpedoes
These kinds of torpedoes were loaded into the torpedo launchers.
- Mk XXVII Photon Torpedo
Standard photon torpedo ordinance. The explosion was a matter-antimatter reaction producing large amounts of gamma waves as its primary means of destruction. While smaller in size, and harder to target mid-flight, each torpedo had the approximate yield of 70% compared to the Mk IV (the kind that Federation starships launched from their torpedo bays). This torpedo was deployed in the wing-mounted additional torpedo launchers (see above).
- EMP Torpedo
Created the electromagnetic pulse similar to what was created from the high atmosphere detonation of a nuclear warhead. A well-shielded craft would withstand this easily but the weapon would detonate in a burst of broadband, high-intensity electromagnetic energy, capable of disrupting magnetic fields and producing current or voltage surges in conductive materials via magnetic induction. Indirect damage to enemy hardware often proved substantial, and while it had a greater chance of disabling a small craft, the plasma surges could wound or kill soft targets if they were directly exposed.
- Mk Q-II Quantum Torpedo
An improvement of the Mk XXV photon torpedo with a higher yield, comparable to that of photon torpedo mounted on Federation Starships. This was a tactical quantum weapon, that utilized a plasma warhead and casings similar in shape to photon torpedoes. The explosion left an antimatter residue and although they were powerful weapons, even a direct hit from a quantum torpedo might not destroy neutronium alloyed targets.
Hard-Points
- Mk I Hellbore Torpedo
An experimental weapon that grew out of historic tandem-charge armour-penetrating designs. Attempting to achieve similar function from contemporary photon and quantum warheads was pointless; the detonation of the first would obliterate the second too early, and a submunition method was less effective than simply firing two torpedoes. Advances in material science led to a way to produce neutronium in small quantities - fashioned into a penetrator cap and coupled to a small subspace field generator, and driven by a single-burn impulse unit whose size belied its power, the nose of the missile could tear its way through alloys with even the strongest of structural integrity field enhancements, allowing the oversized antimatter warhead in the belly of the torpedo to detonate well inside the defensive screens of its target. Due to the projectile's large size and slower speed compared to the smaller conventional torpedoes, the penetrator cap was ineffective against shielded targets and was best deployed against unprotected hulls. However, the yield was heavy enough to cause severe damage to shields nonetheless.
- Mk I Hellhound Cluster Bomb
Similar in nature to the photon torpedo, this was a photon torpedo filled with several micro torpedoes. Once the torpedo came in contact with an enemy or a surface, it detonated and fragmented into smaller torpedoes, which spread from the point of impact, also exploding on impact, resulting in a large pattern of torpedo detonations. Deployed correctly, this hard-point had the potential to cause severe damage when scattered upon enemy shields on impact. The torpedo snapped open by spring-force, and both the arming and the fuse was pilot-controlled by either manual or automatic settings. It could be armed prior to discharge or scattered by manual command.
M-142 RF Mass Driver Twin Mount Turrets
The M-142 RF Mass Driver Twin Mount was a set of two dual-mass driver semi-automated turrets. These lethal devices were hard-point mounted on the undersides of the Valravn's micro torpedo launcher arms, and in their default position they faced forward. The targeting sensors could track and follow targets in an almost hemispherical firing arc. While the tracking systems were unable to effectively track and hit small agile targets like Shuttles Fighters and small auxiliary craft, it was effective at striking large targets like starships and could strike with pinpoint accuracy on Stationary or slow moving targets such as Starbases, ground installations, or subsonic moving targets such as ground transports.
The nature of the weapon was less a conventional gun and, in fact, held far more in common with the tubes used to fire torpedoes on a starship, combined with the warp field bubble projectors used on the Valravn itself. By interfacing through the ship's power regulation systems the stardrive of the Valravn sent the necessary power to create a warp field bubble within the barrels of the weapon. This short lasting warp field formed around a 30 mm Osmiridium shell created via the weapon system's onboard replicator. Virtually weightless, even near high G environments like outer atmospheres of Gas giants, the shell was pushed through a magnetic field coil, reaching speeds of Mach 15. Capable of a rate of fire of 250 Rounds per minute per barrel (a little over 4 rounds per second), with all barrels firing this allowed for a total of 1000 rounds per minute.
Its primary role in combat was not for space superiority (fighter to fighter) warfare but as a means of aerial or orbital support for ground combatants. It was also quite suitable for pinpoint strikes on starbases or capital ships after their shields had been dealt with. With the correct sensor configurations this weapon could also target via remote detection of tetryon reflection. This allowed a ground operative with a tetryon targeting based weapon to be used as a remote targeting system. These pulses could then be interpreted as a target by the turrets systems allowing for ground units to effectively paint targets via tetryon pulse for a precision aerial strike. This added a 4th function to the Accipiter as its tetryon pulse systems could be used as a targeting system for the Twin mounts or any of the Valkyries other weapons systems.
Advantages
- Excellent at providing air support for ground operations.
- High rate of fire.
- Effective against conventional, energy reflecting, or ablative armors.
- Devastatingly effective against soft targets.
- Large targeting arc (360 degree rotational arc covering Forward, Aft, Port and Starboard) with 15 to 66 degree ventral targeting arc.
- Could be set to fixed forward position.
- Cannons could be set to staggered bursts (4 barrels each fire in a sequence one at a time in a burst of fire) or in a 4 cannon Blast (all 4 fire at once in a single blast)
- When in forward position it could be potentially devastating against other fighters if their shields had been taken down, providing the pilot could get a solid lock against their target. At close ranges or in atmosphere it could also be an effective close range dog-fighting weapons system similar to the use of guns on a real life jet fighter.
Disadvantages
- Maneuverability was slightly reduced
- These weapons were horribly ineffective against shielded targets.
- The Twin Mounts were rendered completely ineffective if fired in the arc of a ship's deflector array. Attacking the forward of a Starship with them was absolutely useless unless the deflector dish was inoperative.
- If damaged, there could be power loss from the engine systems.
- If severely damaged, there could be small scale localized warp core breach-like effects. Potentially sufficient to cause catastrophic failure of Impulse and stardrive systems up to and including a full scale warp core breech.
- The auto targeting systems were unable to effectively track agile small targets effectively.
- Twin Mounts had absolutely no ability to target above the fighter's "Horizon,” meaning there was no dorsal arc of fire.
- To be of use in a dog fighting scenario, the pilot had to be able to fly very well and get a manual target lock without any aiming corrections like with phasers or torpedoes.
Note
In the future that brought the Calamity-project to life, this system was improved on so heavily that the replicator, power supply, warp bubble generator, and rail gun firing system were scaled down into a large rifle. The culmination of this research and progress was the RG-M1506 PT-10 Accipiter. The Accipiter used a rail gun operation while the Twin Mount's propulsion was a gauss gun based system.
Ejection Systems
Escape Pod
All Valravn-class Warp Fighters were equipped with ejection modules or "pods". These allowed for rapid emergency egress from the vehicle in case of danger. Linked to dedicated high speed processors, automatic sensors could detect certain types of danger and initiate an eject sequence automatically. This was especially useful if the pilot had been rendered unconscious through a blackout or other injury and the vehicle was in danger of crashing.
Modules had self-righting mechanisms in their base to assure a correct orientation during landing. Landing was accomplished by a single use anti-grav module. Free falling until they were 3 meters from the ground, the ejection seat/pod activated the AG module, which burned out as it landed the unit (relatively) gently. The pod remained pressurized with approximately 20 minutes of air, allowing a pilot time to completely seal his suit and activate his personal survival equipment. Once ready, the pilot had the option of discarding the pod by activating a manual release.
ETS (Emergency Transport System)
By the late 24th century, emergency transport was further improved through Starfleet's development of a single-person, single-use, one-way emergency transport unit. The device was small enough to be hand-held and could transport to specified coordinates with a single touch. Because of its extreme limitations, this device was not widely deployed and was still considered a prototype in 2379 (see Star Trek: Nemesis).
The Valravn had built-in Emergency Transport Systems (ETS) in the cockpit - not the small prototype version - designated to the pilot and worn gear alone, with a one-way pre-set location for the USS Theurgy. The Emergency transporter could be reprogrammed to send the pilot to a new location (chosen by the pilot) because of the possibility of long-range missions, but this system was best utilized in the event of defending the Theurgy - being within Transporter range.
