Type: Sunburst Class Destroyer In Service: 2369 Number in Service: 164 Mass: 475,000 tons KF Integrity: 12 Sail Integrity: 4 Thrust: 3/5 Fuel: 2000 tons SI: 50 Armor: 400 tons standard armor ( fore: 40 + 5 FL/FR 30 + 5 AR/AL/aft: 20 + 5) Heatsinks: 700 Docking Collars: 0 Fighters: 6 Small Craft: 0 Crew: 225 Lifeboats: 20 Escape Pods: 20 Grav Deck: 0 Cargo: 57,420 tons Bays: Bay 1: Fighters (6) 6 Doors Bay 2: Cargo Weapons: Forward: 2 NAC 20 4 AC/10 Fore Left/Right: 4 NAC 10 8 AC/10 4 White Shark Launchers LBS/RBS 8 AC/10 1 White Shark Launcher Aft Left/Right: 1 NAC 10 Aft: 4 AC/10 Ammo 200 Rounds NAC 20 Ammo 400 Rounds NAC 10 Ammo 200 tons AC/10 Ammo 200 White Shark Missiles Designer's Notes: KF drive calculated as 50% of the ships weight The Drives were calculated at 4/6 Overview: The Sunburst class destroyer was the first warship built by Challenge Systems. In 2366 the Federated Peacekeeping Forces issued a request for a new destroyer that could support the Audacious class corvettes that were already in service. At that time, the FPF had fought a number of wars with the Tikonov Union, the Sarna Supremacy, the Capellan Hegemony and the other states that would eventually form the Capellan Confederation. While the Audacious class proved effective in the attack role, the FPF wanted a larger ship that could serve as an escort for the Federation transports. The proposed design from Challenge Systems met the requirements of the FPF and was awarded the contract. [Editor's Note: After being awarded the contract, Challenge Systems announced the ships electronics would come from firms on New Avalon, leading some to believe that this was a kickback of sorts to the Davions for being awarded the contract.] The design was completed in 2368 and the first ship, the FSS Sunburst was commissioned in 2369. Originally only 32 ships were commissioned by the FPF, all of which were completed between 2369 and 2395. After the attack on Nova Zemlya, the FPF ordered an additional 132 destroyers in an effort to rapidly build up the fleet. These ships would enter service during the first half of the 25th Century. Capabilities: The Sunburst class destroyers were primarily used as escorts for the FPF ground force's transports. The FPF requirements called for a ship that would be able to punch a hole through any defending warships and fighters and allow the transports to safely land on the planet they were attacking. In order to meet the requirements of the FPF, the designers developed a fast ship which mounted most of it?s firepower on the frontal arcs. The main guns were 2 of the newly developed Federated Class 20 Naval Autocannons. These were the largest naval autocannons available in the Federated Suns at the time the Sunburst was designed. Because of the large size of the guns, the designers were forced to mount them on the front of the ship. To back up these weapons the ship mounted 10 of the proven Federated Class 10 Naval Autocannons that were used on the Audacious Class. Most of these were mounted in turrets that could cover both the forward and and side arcs. Only 2 were used to cover the rear of the ship. As a result of the weak rear firepower, many enemy ships would attempt to circle around the Sunburst class and engage them from the rear. The anti-fighter firepower was provided by a combination of missiles and autocannons. The Sunburst was the first Federated Suns design to mount the newly developed White Shark Missile system which was acquired from the Terran Hegemony in exchange for lucrative trade concessions. [Editor's Note: The transfer of this technology to the Federated Suns would later be cited as one of the factors in the development of the Hegemony's Mother Doctrine in 2380, which limited the export of sensitive and secret technologies.] Backed up by an array of 40 autocannons the weapons proved adequate against enemy fighters. The only weakness was along the front of the ship, which could only mount a limited number of anti-fighter weapons due to the large size of the Naval Autocannons mounted there. Additional defense for the ships was provided by a single squadron of aerospace fighters. Typically the ship would carry 4 fast fighters and 2 heavy bombers which could be used to attack enemy dropships or warships. The Sunburst class carried 400 tons of armor. The armor on the ship was adequate against the early Capellan ships, but would eventually prove to be inadequate in the later stages of the Age of War. As with the weapon array, armor placement was designed with heavy forward armor and weaker armor on the sides and rear. This weakness in the rear areas was a serious worry for many Sunburst captains, although no changes were ever made to the design. Deployment: The Sunburst was the primary warship of the FPF until the introduction of the Delevan Class Cruisers in 2390. After the introduction of the Delevan class (and later ships that would form the Triad Class), the Sunbursts were used to support the growing Federated Suns Fleet. The Sunbursts would typically either lead a squadron of corvettes, or provide fighter defense to the Navy's Triad Cruisers and Musketeer Class Battlecruisers. The Sunbursts served through out the Age of War, fighting against the Navies of the Capellan Confederation, Draconis Combine and Terran Hegemony. The ships saw heavy combat in the many wars and 53 were destroyed in combat. In the early 2520's the AFFS Navy began planning a new class of Destroyer to replace the Sunbursts. These plans were disrupted by the Davion Civil War, when all sides involved decided to focus on the construction of existing, proven designs, rather then spend the resources to develop new ones. As a result, the Sunbursts continued to serve during with all the factions during the Civil War and a further 8 were lost. [Editor's Note: Of the 8 lost ships, one the FSS Vigilant is rumored to have escaped Federation Territory, rather then having been destroyed. The Vigilant was believed to have escaped to the Capellan Confederation with Cassandra Varney. There is, however, no record of the Vigilant having ever been used in Confederation service, adding some doubt to the truth of that rumor.] After the Civil War, the AFFS Navy began a new effort to develop a replacement destroyer for the Sunburst class. This effort would result in the Davion Class Destroyer. The Sunbursts began to be decommissioned starting in 2570, as soon as there were a sufficient number of Davion Class destroyers in service. However those decommissioned ships would be quickly reactivated in 2575 when the AFFS leased the 22 existing Davion class Destroyers to the SLDF for use in the Reunification War. This forced the Davion Navy to rely on the now inadequate Sunburst class for yet another war. This would be one of the many factors that contributed to the heavy Davion Naval losses against the Taurians. Another 23 Sunburst ships would be lost in the campaign. The remaining 80 ships were mothballed in the Delevan system in the early 2600s. These would be reactivated during the 1st Succession War for service with the AFFS navy, in an effort to quickly make up for the AFFS Navy's heavy losses early in the war. Hopelessly outclassed in the 2500?s, the ships were little more then targets for the larger and more powerful ships of the 2700s. All 80 ships would be destroyed in the before the end of the war.