SPECIFICATIONS

GOVERNMENT: Earth Federal Republic
TYPE: Picket Ship/Gunboat
MODELS:Kentucky class Mark-II
DATE INTRODUCED: 2072 AD
LENGTH: 156.25 feet
WIDTH: 51.5 feet
HEIGHT: 21.55 feet
MATERIAL: Composite-Alloy
POWER PLANT:
         Federal Energy FEFR-400 (powers laser cannons)
         Federal Energy FEFR-1200 (all other systems)
OUTPUT:
         400 megawatts (FEFR-400)
         1200 megawatts (FEFR-1200)
ARMOR TYPE: Crystal Composite
ARMOR THICKNESS: .859 inches
DISPLACEMENT: 250 tons
CREW: 16 (2 Operators, 5 Gunners, 2 Officers, 2 Engineers, 2 Technicians, 2 Electricians, 1 Medical)

PROPULSION

             PRIMARY (Main Engine):
             1x Lockheed ID-250 high yield ion engine
             SPEED: 76,000 mph

             SECONDARY (Main Engines)
             2x Arctic Motors FF-75 fusion thrusters
             SPEED: 76,000 mph each (152,000 mph total)

             AUXILLIARY
             6x Bohing ID-62 ion engines
             SPEED: 19,000 mph each (114,000 mph total)

WEAPONS:

             PRIMARY (OFFENSIVE):
             2x Norking RFL-404 rapid-fire 40-megawatt quad laser cannon turrets; Effective Range: 100miles; Payload: unlimited with FEFR-400 fusion reactor; ROF: up to 10 quad blasts per ten seconds with a cyclic rate of 60 quad blasts per minute.

             SECONDARY (OFFENSIVE):
             2x Bohing STL-01A space torpedo launcher; Missile Type: MHST-01 2000-pound SMART-guided space torpedo; Effective Range: 27 miles; Payload: 4 space torpedoes each; ROF: 1, 2, 3, or up to all 4 torpedoes at once.

ELECTRONICS:
             1x Microwave Radio Communications array with a 4000-mile range.
             1x RADAR array with a range of 5000 miles.
             1x Gravitational Control/Antigravity unit Effect: provides artificial lift,g-force compensation and enhanced maneuverability.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
              6x Militia Military Industries ND-25 25-megawatt nuclear dampener generators; RANGE: 2.5 miles; Effect: Random due to numerous variables. In general, the nuclear dampeners provided moderate to considerable resistance to energy weapons and were able to cause missile warheads to either explode or go inert within its area of effect.

Description/Overview:
         Bohing built the Kentucky MK2 for the EFSM at their manufacturing shipyards on the planetoid Juno. The Battle of Ceres had proven that the ailing Kentucky class assault shuttles/pickets of the previous two decades were no longer adequate. The older ship’s lack of energy weapons and its slow speed hampered its performance during the Ceres invasion. Nearly 300 of the 860 Mark Is were destroyed during “Operation Achilles Heel.” The EFSM demanded a more modern ship with which to defend their Ogre class troopships. Thus, in 2072 AD, the Earth Federal Forces commissioned the Bohing Aerospace Company to redesign the Kentucky assault shuttle and upgrade it. The designers at Bohing viewed the old Kentucky class ship as completely obsolete and originally intended to construct an entirely new vessel. However, the political climate of the early 2070s did not allow a military budget adequate enough to facilitate the construction of an entirely new spacecraft, so the Bohing team had to settle for a compromise between an entirely new design and the original Kentucky.
         This new hybrid ship was to be a corvette and an assault shuttle capable of defending the Ogre type troopships during planetary assaults. This requirement was crucial to the Earth Federal Space Marines operational parameters for taking control of the various ‘island’ planetoid bases of the UNSC that would allow EFF fleets to rearm and resupply during the campaigns against Mars and Venus.
         The first change to the Kentucky type ships was the size of the vessel. The original assault shuttle was only 100 tons displacement. Bohing felt the need to increase the craft’s size to 250 tons in order for the ship to incorporate the necessary weapons and equipment to fulfill its mission.
         The primary propulsion systems of the craft consisted of one Lokheed ID-250 ion drive engine and two Arctic Motors FF-75 fusion thrusters. The Lokheed ID-250 engine was able of producing enough thrust to propel the craft at 76,000 miles per hour making this single engine faster than all of the Mark I’s engines combined. The two FF-75s were able to push the craft at 76,000 mph each, thus tripling the ship’s speed to allow for long interplanetary journeys. The main disadvantage of the FF-75’s was that they were external, thus making them vulnerable to damage during an attack.
         The secondary propulsion systems were six Bohing ID-62 ion drives. These drives were intended for near-orbit and combat speed use. Each engine was able to push the ship at 19,000 mph for a total of 114,000 mph with all six engines. These six engines were also for use in the event that the ship’s primary engines were not useable or destroyed. In addition, the six ID-62s could be combined with the other three primary engines giving the Kentucky Mark 2 a total combined speed of 342,000 mph, or MACH 450; nearly a half a kiloMach (760,000 mph).
         The weapons of the Kentucky MK2 were classified into two categories: anti-ship and anti-mecha. The anti-ship weapons of the craft were the very effective Bohing STL-01A quad space torpedo weapon system, but instead of an externally mounted box launcher, the four-shot weapon was redesigned into a four-shot torpedo tube system that was only partially external (nose cones of the warheads were exposed). The lack of torpedo tube doors allowed the torpedoes to be unleashed more rapidly than if torpedo doors had been installed. The anti-mecha weapons consisted of a pair of Norking RFL-404 rapid-fire quad laser cannon batteries. Each of these weapons was powered by their own fusion reactor in order to provide up to ten quad blasts within a ten-second period. This rapid succession of laser cannon fire allowed the ship to suppress UN spacefighter and space torpedo-bomber units that attempted to assault the Ogre class ships the new Kentucky MK2 was designed to protect.
         Bohing had meant to fit the Kentucky MK2 with their new DF-01 deflector screens, but monetary restrictions did not allow the company to procure the materials needed to manufacture the components for the new deflectors. Thus, an array of six traditional nuclear dampeners, built by MMI, was mounted to the ship. The six ND-25s were mediocre at best in their ability to suppress and minimize damage done to the craft during combat operations. Many MK2s succumbed to damage inflicted during battle due to the intermittent effectiveness of the nuclear dampeners.
         Production of these ships began in October of 2071 AD, immediately after the design phase was completed in September. Nearly 2000 of these ships were built from 2071 through 2077 AD. Production ceased at the beginning of 2078 when Lunar Dynamics introduced the new Type-75 series of space boats. Of the 2000 produced, only 755 survived the 1st Interplanetary War. These were sold off to the Jupiter Federal Colonies in 2080 AD.