Full Thrust Arrow of Heaven-class Battleship

Today's post carries on from an older one where I showcased Ground Zero Games' Islamic Federation starship range, along with some suggested stats and background fluff.  You can see the original post here:

 

https://brokenstarsburningships.blogspot.com/2017/10/full-thrust-islamic-federation-fleet.html

 

 

I had some comments saying they didn't like my take on the fleet, preferring the missile-heavy version over here:

 

http://fullthrust.star-ranger.com/IFstats.htm

Now I'd already done a very missile-intensive force using the Brigade Models' EuroFed ships didn't really want to do another, and I liked the idea of a fast, fragile, shorter-ranged force with direct fire weaponry.  Still, I guess there's room in my own version of the IF fleet for a proper missile ship, and I had some parts around to kitbash one.

 

So, behold, the Arrow of Heaven class missile battleship!  The model has been kitbashed out of parts from the stock build of the IF carrier and mounted on a 2.25" base (which might be a bit excessive, but it's certainly stable).

 

Arrow of Heaven class Battleship

 

A newer design dating from just before contact with the Kra'Vak, the Arrow of Heaven class is still fairly rare in the IslamaFed navy.  Built as a specialized missile platform, she carries five heavy missile tubes fed by a single huge internal magazine, backed with a modest array of medium weight beam emitters.  The vessel's great standoff capability makes he ideal for planetary siege and blockade duties, although she can also serve well as a heavy raider.  The lack of the ubiquitous IF fusion cannons makes her harder to use in fleet actions, but with the advent of the Xeno War it's been found that her massive missile payload is excellent at draining the supply of Kra'Vak scattergun charges, leaving their ships open to other friendly fighters and salvo missiles. 

Mass 121 NPV 425 / CPV 450
Thrust 6  q 3 q
FTL q
Screen-1 q
3 Fire Control Systems qqq
3 PDS qqq
5 Heavy Missile Launchers (F/FP/FS) qqqqq
Ammunition Magazine (15 Heavy Missiles qqqqqqqqqqqqqqq) q
5 Beam-2 (F/FP/FS) q (F/FP/AP) qq (F/FS/AS) qq
2 Beam-1 (360) qq
1 Armor, 28 Hull
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pqqqpqq
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Several Arrows have been lost in action including the first-in-class ship, seen here as a drifting hulk after an encounter with a Kra'Vak fleet that riddled her with K-gun rounds.

 

The shattered hulk was evacuated of survivors then left behind in TZX-7798, an uninhabited system in the Outer Rim. 

 

Her exact course was carefully recorded with an eye towards eventual recovery and refurbishment.

 

While this might have seemed a bit optimistic considering the damage inflicted, there was at least a certainty that her magazine (still mostly loaded) was undamaged and the payload of expensive ship-killer misiles could be salvaged.

 

Eight months later the Rami Alsiham, another Arrow class ship, was on detached raiding duty against Kra'Vak and Phalon fleet elements when she found herself on the run with empty magazines.  She had been made aware of the original Arrow of Heaven's last known location and vector and her captain elected to attempt to salvage a reload from the wreckage.

 

 

While the hulk was located without great effort, the Rami Alsiham found more than she'd expected.  The heretofore unknown xenofauna that was "grazing" on the remains of the Arrow proved to be more than a minor complication.

 

The smaller bases on the hulk and the solar worm are 50mm, the battleship is on a 60mm.