In general, the Tri-Galactic Military operate a large amount of cast off equipment from other militaries especially the Human Alliance and the Consortium of Civilized Worlds. They do have some large ship building facilities but many components used are imported to the yards. One ship they operate in fair numbers are modified Falchion class corvettes. These modified version are called "Razor" class and a number have been sold to outside interests. They are heavily armed and are considered extremely effective. There has been some consideration given towards manufacturing new built Razor corvettes.

There are a number of craft which are specialized electronic warfare craft including the "Wild Weasel" and "Panther" which are both conversions of older type craft. There is also some Proctor class heavy fighters converted to electronic warfare roles. Such craft perform roles and are designed to also protect other craft with their electronic warfare gear. Some militaries do not operate much in the way of specialized electronics warfare craft but the Tri-Galactic Military does operate a number of craft. They operated modified Proctor class heavy fighters in the electronics warfare along with a electronics warfare corvette based on their Razor corvette.

The official designation for the Tri-Galactic Military's main electronic warfare corvette is the Razor II but most crews prefer the unofficial nickname of "Howler" with even many senior officers preferring the nickname over the craft's official name. In general, the Tri-Galactic Military prefers their design based on the Falchion design over that of the Ferret class corvette used by Raven Industries. It usually is operated in groups with standard Razor corvettes. While most "Howlers" are operated by the mercenary company but some have been sold to outside interests including planetary and interplanetary governments as well several other mercenary companies. Unlike Raven Industries, the Tr-Galactic Military will also upgrade client's ships to this new configuration from the base Falchion design. If the Tr-Galactic Military was to begin manufacture of Razor class corvettes, it is likely that they would also manufacture "Howler" variants as well.

Compared to the electronic warfare version of the Ferret class, the Falchion carries a more advanced system which while it has a similar output, it is much smaller. The system takes the place of half of the missile bays. Two large bays and two smaller bays are converted to carry electronic warfare equipment. This still gives the craft a reasonable ability to carry additional ordnance including sixteen anti ship missiles and thirty two medium range missiles. The ship also retains eight external hard points for additional missiles. The rest of the weapon array is unmodified including the heavy main laser battery, the six pulse lasers, the variable focus particle beam point defense batteries, and the mini-missile launchers.

The electronic warfare suit consists of powerful sensor systems equal to those carried on much larger vessels. In most ways, the sensor suit is as capable as that carried on the Warshield class cruiser. There is also a powerful jamming suit which jams electro-magnetic systems and even gravity based sensors. These systems require a crew of fourteen to operate the ship effectively with four operating the electronics warfare suite. The standard Razor class corvette can be operated with a crew of ten although fourteen are often embarked. This makes the ship extremely cramped with the additional electronic warfare equipment. The standard Razor design strips out troop compliment already compared to the original Falchion.

Ship design uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

Model Type: FFL-01 (Upgrade Version)
Vehicle Type: ECCM Corvette
Crew: 14 (2 to 3 officers normally)
Troops: None

Vehicle, Robots, and Power Armors:
None

M.D.C. By Location:

	Forward Mounted 12 cm Heavy Laser Cannons (1):	600
	Nose Laser Cannons (6):	50 each
	Variable Focus Point Defense Particle Beams (2, fuselage):	150 each
	Large Missile Bays (2, Fuselage):	160 each
	Small Missile Bays (2, Fuselage / Wing Roots):	120 each
	Large Electronic Warfare Bays (2, Fuselage):	160 each
	Small Electronic Warfare Bays (2, Fuselage / Wing Roots):	120 each
	Mini-Missile Launchers (2, outer wings):	100 each
	Missile Pylons (8, on the underside of each wing):	10 each
	[1] Bridge:	680
	[2] Main Body:	1,900
	[3] Variable Force Field:	1,000 a side (6,000 Total)

Notes:
[1] In reality this is how much damage needs to be done for a weapon to hit the bridge through the ships armor. This ship does not have an auxiliary bridge. Even if the bridges is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but ship is -3 to dodge and all weapon systems will be at local control. Weapon hits near the bridge that do not penetrate the ships integrity can injure crew members on or near the bridge.
[2] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the corvette out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[4] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (300 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 50 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.0 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum speed is Mach 1.80, can enter an atmosphere because flight system is by contra grav.
Stardrive: Uses a Gravitonic Drive system that allows the ship to reach a maximum of 4.0 light years per hour.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by either Drive system. Carries about eight months years worth of supplies on board although can be stretched to twelve in an emergency.

Statistical Data:
Length: 240 feet (73.1 meters)
Height: 38 feet (11.6 meters)
Width: 76 feet (23.24 meters) the body or 144 feet (43.9 meters) at the wing body
Weight: 1650 tons (1,496.8 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Fusion with 25 year life span. The ship normally only goes 5 years between refueling and refitting.
Cargo: Cargo holds have been stripped to increase missile bay's ability to carry ordnance. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ships spaces are take up by extra ammunition, armor, troops, weapons, engine, and other equipment.
Market Cost: 825 Million for upgraded "Howler" Razor II version of the Falchion. Rebuilding a Falchion to the "Howler" Razor II Configuration costs 650 million credits. Adding electronic warfare suite to an existing Razor costs 450 million credits. Original Falchion corvette would cost about 250 Million credits to manufacture in present time in the Three Galaxies. Ships are no longer being produced. These ships normally sell for 150 to 300 million credits.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. One (1) 12 cm Heavy Laser Cannon: Mounted in the centerline of the ship, the laser cannon is part of the spine and fires directly forward. Laser cannons are used against frigates and as against heavily reinforced targets. Mostly used against large vessels, when used against small targets (Fighters, missiles, and power armors) they have a penalty of -5 to strike. The weapon system cannot be used to engage targets while traveling at FTL velocities. Cannot be combined with the light pulse lasers.
   Maximum Effective Range: 16 miles (25.8 km) through atmosphere and 16,000 miles (25,800 km) in space.
   Mega Damage: 2D6x100 MDC per shot.
   Rate of Fire: Maximum of Two (2) times per melee.
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Six (6) Laser Pulse Cannons: These weapons are mounted in the forward end of ship and fire forward. The Original version of the Falchion carried four mounts with the Razor being upgraded to six forward firing mounts. Each gun has an arc of fire of about 30 degrees. These weapons are virtually identical to those carried on the Vixen and Osprey star fighters. As well as being able to be combined, cannons can each be fired separately. Cannot be combined with the 12 cm laser cannon.
   Maximum Effective Range: 6 miles (9.7 km) through atmosphere and 600 miles (966 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 2D4x10+10 per single blast, 12D4x10+60 for a combined six cannon blast (Costs one attack)
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
3. Two (2) Variable Focus Particle Beam Turrets: One mount is on the top of the body of the corvette and the other mount is on the bottom of the corvette. Each replaces the rail gun mounts which were original mounted in these positions. These particle beams are copied from those carried on the CAF Assault Shuttle and will fire a very powerful narrow beam and can fire a scatter effect that is less powerful but is capable of striking multiple targets. The weapon system is quite useful against missiles although the cone is not as wide as Tachyon cannon sprays are (Gives +2 bonus vs fast moving targets such as missiles.) Weapons are mounted in turrets that can rotate 360 and have a 180 arc of fire. Each mount can be operated by a gunner or a gunner program (+2 to strike, 3 Attacks per melee).
   Maximum Effective Range: 300 miles (480 km) in space and 3 miles (4.8 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: Single Target: 4D6x10 Wide Beam: 5D6 to all targets within a 5,000 foot (1,524 meter) diameter area. When fired as a wide beam, the cannon cannot be used on targets closer than 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) away.
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the Gunner (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
4. Large Missile Bays (2): The corvette has two heavy missile bays with two bays of the original four carrying electronic warfare equipment. Each missile bay is increased in size, by removing cargo and crew space, and can carry eight cruise missile, sixteen long range missiles, or thirty-two medium range missiles. Each bay must carry all the same type ordnance although different bays can carry different ordnance. Cruise missiles are normally carried when on an anti-capital ship role and long range missiles when fighting other starfighters. Cruise Missiles has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Long Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Medium Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Since starships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missiles will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting starships (Great for hitting bases and planets because the target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but all missiles are all considered smart missiles.
   Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missiles range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds), Long Range Missiles range is 3,400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space, and Medium Range Missiles range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds).
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missile tables (Cruise Anti-Matter does 4D6x100 MDC and Long Range Fusion does 2D4x100 MDC).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of two, four, or eight.
   Payload: Eight Cruise Missile, Sixteen Long Range Missiles, or Thirty-Two Medium Range Missiles per missile bay (Maximum of 16 cruise missiles, 32 long range missiles, or 64 medium range missiles)
5. Small Missile Bays (2): In the fuselage of the corvette are two smaller missile bays mounted along the "wing roots" with two bays of the original four carrying electronic warfare equipment. Each bay has the ability to carry sixteen medium range missiles or thirty two short range missiles. Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and long range and cruise missiles. Medium Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Normally used for anti-fighter and point defense. Short Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 4% of light per turn. Weapon system can be used on multiple targets.
   Maximum Effective Range: Medium Range Missiles range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) and Short Range Missiles range is 10 miles (16.1 km) in an atmosphere and 500 miles (804.7 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: varies with medium or short range missile type (See Phase World Missile tables)
   Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 8, or 16 missiles.
   Payload: 16 medium range missiles or 32 short range missiles per bay (Maximum of 32 medium range missiles or 64 short range missiles.
6. Mini-Missile Launchers (2): These launchers are mounted on outer wings of the corvette and the Razor class corvette has two launchers with six tubes each for a total of twelve missile tubes that fire forward of the vessel. The mini-missile launchers are controlled by the pilot or copilot. The mini-missiles are used for offensive and defensive purposes. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration).
   Maximum Effective Range: Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: varies with mini-missile type (See Phase World Missile tables)
   Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 8, or 12.
   Payload: 36 per launcher for a total of 72 mini-missiles.
7. Missile Pylons (8): On the underbelly of the corvette are eight missile racks that allows the vessel to carry one cruise missile or two long range missiles. The corvette has four hard points on each wing. Individual pylons must carry all the same type ordnance but each pylon may carry different types of ordnance. Cruise missile are normally carried when on an anti-capital ship role and long range missiles when fighting other starfighters. Cruise Missiles has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Long Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Since starships will no longer engage at rock throwing distances, whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting starships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Missiles can be launched on multiple targets simultaneously.
   Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missiles range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) and Long Range Missiles range is 3,400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space.
   Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missile tables (Cruise Anti-Matter does 4D6x100 MDC and Long Range Fusion does 2D4x100 MDC).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of two, three, or four missiles.
   Payload: 1 Cruise Missile or 2 Long Range Missiles per Pylon (Maximum of 8 cruise missiles or 16 long range missiles)

Special Systems:
The Howler carries all the standard equipment of a Phase World corvette including long range sensors and communications and carries additional jamming and sensor systems.

• Jamming System: The system creates a powerful jamming field with a 120 mile (193.1 km) radius in an atmosphere and 120,000 miles (193,100 km) in space effecting all directions around the vessel.While the jamming system is on, conventional radar, gravity-wave sensors, and missile guidance systems will not be able to function properly in the area affected. The jamming also effects communication systems. In most cases, the system will also jam the equipment in friendly forces and all equipment in corvette that is using it. E.C.M. system gives an additional +4 to dodge missiles due to spoofing although some missiles can be set to home on jamming signals.
• Sensor System: The corvette can carry a powerful sensor system. This system increases the sensor range of the Wild Weasel to that of a cruiser. Also gives a +20% bonus to read sensory equipment rolls.

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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright © 2007, Kitsune. All rights reserved.