Japanese Amagi class Escort Aircraft Carrier:

As the Twenty-First Century progressed, the Japanese Navy expanded at a rate that had not been seen since the Second World War. Immediately after World War II, severe restrictions were put on Japan's armed forces and were officially not a military but a 'Self Defense Force.' The Japanese Navy was also restricted in size and carriers were specifically prohibited. With the expansion of the Chinese Navy along with Japanese concerns about the new Soviet military and the already large Indian Navy, the Japanese government pushed to get the restrictions on their military lifted. Along with this, Japan made mutual defense treaties with Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan. There was strong concern by each of them that the United States could not protect the Far Eastern nations. To that end, the Taiho class carriers were constructed in the Twenty-Forties. By the mid Twenty-Eighties, the two carriers were not capable of handling all of the missions they were called on for. Though outstanding designs, they were needed in more places then they could possibly be. The Japanese therefore took a note from the Americans and began designing a series of small escort carriers. These ships were designed to provide convoy escort and ASW search & destroy missions with limited strike capability.

Named the Amagi class, the carriers were designed using much of the same technology from the planned American Saratoga class stealth carriers. Because they would not be as capable as the Taihos, the Amagis needed to rely on stealth much more than their predecessors. The hull was a streamlined racing-boat design to slide through the water and to reduce radar cross-section. Near the bow the bridge was built into the hull. Slanted windows on three sides gave an excellent view of the surrounding seas. The ships had a straight flight deck configuration with a ski-jump at the forward edge of the flight deck. A small island structure on the starboard side housed the flight operations center. Both elevators were mounted on the starboard side with one directly in front of the island and the second behind the VLS launcher. These were inboard elevators to and although they cut into the available deck space, they were essential to giving the Amagi class a stealth profile.

The Amagi class mounted the SPY-6S light-weight radar system with the four fixed panels mounted in the superstructure. At first, designers planned to mount the panels similarly to the Saratoga class on the sides of the hull but water tanks test showed that spray during high speed cruising and during high seas would interfere with the panels. There were plans to upgrade this to the Japanese SPY-6J system, but those plans were lost on December 22, 2098. A hull sonar was planned into the initial design to ensure defensive submarine detection, but was deleted later on as it was deemed unnecessary and space consuming. The class mounted a single 48-cell Mk 59 VLS launcher behind the island. This launcher used medium-range missiles almost exclusively to provide self-defense for the carrier. Four Mk 44 combination missile/railgun defense systems were mounted at the corners of the ship for close-in defense. At first, retractable mounts were considered but were dropped in later design phases. Of course the carriers carried decoy, chaff and jamming systems for self-defense.

A pair of powerful fusion reactors powered the engines, which were mounted in trainable pods under the hull. The propellers were both variable pitch allowing for faster changes in speed and the ability to turn quicker. All this provided for an incredible ship handling capability. Both the hull and propellers were designed with a bubble masking system to reduce ship noise. This was combined with the hull being covered by a sound absorbing rubber material and the engines being specially mounted to reduce noise. The entire hull was constructed of non-corrosive, super-strength materials to ensure protection from both weather and weapons.

Like the Taiho class, the carriers were not equipped with catapults or arrester gear. The carrier had a ski-jump on the bow to allow VTOL aircraft to carry heavier payloads on takeoff. The aircraft complement was much smaller than the larger Taiho and designed for ASW and convoy escort than for strike missions. The vessels carried a full squadron of ten fighters for attack and defense. Eighteen Kingfisher VTOLs were stationed aboard for ASW, EW, CSAR, and general cargo missions. Additionally, a quartet of utility tilt-rotors were included for general missions. Forty SAMAS power armor were stationed aboard along with a security group of marines to defend against boarding and for dock-side defense while in port.. The Amagis were not intended to deploy troops during actual amphibious operations.

Construction began on the first ship in 2088, three years after the hull of the Saratoga was laid down. She was completed in 2091, a year behind her larger half-sister. The other three ships were completed over the next seven years with the Zuiho completed in October 2098. All of them were at sea when the Rifts shook the Earth to its core. The IJNS Amagi was escorting the HMAS Canberra near Singapore. The Shoho, along with the Amphibious Assault Ship IJNS Taiyo, was with a large POMA force in the Philippine Sea while the IJNS Unryu was returning from maneuvers in near the Aleutian Islands. The Zuiho was in the South China Sea on her shakedown cruise. It is unknown whether any of these vessels survived the Great Cataclysm, however, there has been no evidence of such.

Model Type: Amagi class Escort Aircraft Carrier
Vehicle Type: Ocean, Escort Aircraft Carrier
Crew: Ships Crew: 395 (55 Officers and 340 Enlisted [Has a high degree of automation]) Air Wing: 345 (120 Pilots, 20 flight deck officers, 205 enlisted)
Troops: 150 (50 pilots for SAMAS power Armor, 100 soldiers in body armor)

Robots, Power Armors, and Vehicles:
Power Armors:

40

PA-04A SAMAS

Fighter/Aircraft Compliment:

	2	EV-84A General Cargo / Search and Rescue
	12	EVS-84A Anti-Submarine Warfare
	4	EVE-84A Electronics Warfare
	10	FV-45J Super Hawk VTOL Jet Fighters
	4	Utility Tilt Rotors

M.D.C. by location:

	[1] Inboard Elevators (2):	250 each
	Hanger Doors (2):	250 each
	[2] Flight Deck:	2,250
	Combination Anti-Missile System (4, Sides):	200 each
	Mk 59 48 Cell Vertical Tactical Missile Launchers (1):	750
	Chaff Launchers (4, Superstructure):	10 each
	[3] Phase Array Radar Panels (4, superstructure):	200 each
	[4] Forward Bridge	1,000
	[4] Island / Command Tower:	1,750
	Outer Hull (per 40 foot / 12.2 meter area):	80
	[5] Main Body:	6,200

Notes:
[1] If both are destroyed, no aircraft can be moved from the hangers to the main flight deck.
[2] If the flight deck is destroyed, VTOL aircraft can be launched or land at -15% to piloting.
[3] Destroying Phase Array radar panels will destroy the ship's fire control systems but secondary systems have backup systems and panels can compensate for each other. All Bonuses are lost if panels are destroyed.
[4] If the Bridge or Island / Control Tower is destroyed, the ship can still be piloted from engineering but with a -15% to piloting rolls. Communication and sensor equipment are not concentrated on the bridge to reduce the effectiveness of bridge hits.
[5] Destroying the main body destroys propulsion and power systems, disabling the ship. The ship is fitted with an advanced polymer armors that allow the ship to withstand up to -1500 MDC before losing structural integrity and sinking. There are enough life preservers and inflatable life boats to accommodate everyone on the ship.

Speed:
Surface:  47.2 mph (41 knots/ 76 kph)
Maximum Effective Range: Unlimited due to fusion engines (needs to refuel every 20 years and requires maintenance as well). Ship carries six months of supplies on board.

Statistical Data:
Length: 775 feet (232.5 meters)
Draft: 31.5 feet (9.6 meters) including sonar dome
Width: 184 feet (56.3 meters) including flight deck
Displacement: 22,200 tons standard and 27,900 tons fully loaded
Cargo: 1,000 tons of nonessential equipment and supplies. Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Ships officers have more space for personal items. Most of the ship's spaces are taken up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons, and engines.
Power System: Nuclear Reactor, average life span is 20 years
Market Cost: Not for Sale but costs around 650 million credits to construct. If found and sold on the black market would probably cost 1.2 billion credits.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Four (4) Mk-44 Sea Sabre Combination Anti-Missile Defense Systems: Weapons are mounted on the sides of the ship with two on either side of the ski-jump and two on the sides just forward of the fantail. This anti-missile defense system combines both a rapid fire rail gun and a short range missile launcher. While mounted in one system, both defense systems have separate tracking systems. The short range missile launchers can target up four targets and can fire a volley up to twice per melee. The rail gun is capable of destroying any missile or inflicting serious damage on aircraft. The rail gun can fire on automatic at up to six targets per melee (Has +3 to strike missile and +2 to strike aircraft). The rail gun is very similar to those carried on the Sea King Cruiser and it is likely that the Sea Kings rail guns came from a prototype of this system. The system also can be used against other ships and ground targets. The system has a 360 degree rotation and can elevate up to 90 degrees to fire at targets directly overhead.
   Maximum Effective Range: Rail Guns: 11,000 feet (2 miles / 3.2 km). Short Range Missiles: As per short range missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Mega-Damage: Rail Guns: 3D4x10 MD per burst of 40 rounds (Can only fire burst). Short Range Missiles: As per short range missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Rate of Fire: Rail Guns: 6 attacks per melee. Short Range Missiles: 2 attacks per melee, can fire one at a time or in volleys of two or four.
   Payload: Rail Guns: 8000 rounds (200 burst) each. Short Range Missiles: 16 short range missiles each.
2. Mk-59 Vertical Launch Missile Launcher (1): This launcher is mounted directly behind the island. It is smaller and carries half as many missiles as the launcher on the American Francis Darcey and Raymond Fox class vessels. The system is similar to the vertical launch system employed on many ships in the late twentieth century to launch the SM-2 series missile but since the missiles are smaller they have a reload system that reloads from under the launcher and can reload within 15 seconds. The launcher has a total of 48 individual cells and is six missile cells longs by eight cells wide. The launcher can fire up to half its total payload per melee. The launcher can use a vast variety of missiles including surface skimming missiles and rocket propelled torpedoes. Each cell can carry one long range missile or two medium range missile. The reload for the cell must carry the same load as the main cell. Long range missiles are normally used against large targets and aircraft further out where the medium range missiles will normally be used to engage closer targets. About half of all long range missiles carried are fusion warheads and most missiles are normally smart missiles.
   Maximum Effective Range: As per long or medium range missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Mega Damage: As per long or medium range missile type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 8, 16, or 24 missiles for the whole launcher per melee. Missile cells are automatically reloaded and are ready to fire next melee.
   Payload: 48 missile cells in launcher with reload systems for each cell (1 reload each cell). One long range missile or two medium range missiles may be carried per cell but reload must be the same load out as well. The ship will usually carry all 48 cells with two medium range missiles each.
3. Chaff Launcher (2): Located on the superstructure of the ship, they are designed to confuse incoming missiles. Both launchers must be operated or effects will be reduced. Reduce effects of launchers by 50% per launcher not used. Rifts Earth decoy systems are assumed to not operate on Phase World missiles due to technological difference. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (Add +20% to rolls for smart missiles.)
   Maximum Effective Range: Around Ship
   Mega Damage: None
   01-35 Missile or Missile volley detonates in chaff
   36-60 Missile or Missile volley loses track of target, may lock onto another target
   61-00 No Effect; Missile Still on target
   Payload: 24 each for a total of 48
4. Advanced Towed Decoys (4): The vessel carries four advanced towed decoy drones. They are each a small automated vehicle that creates a false sonar image designed to mimic the vessels. The decoy is dragged behind the destroyer using a cable. If decoys are not destroyed, they can be recovered and repaired. Rifts Earth decoy systems are assumed to not operate against Phase World weapons due to technological difference.
   M.D.C.: 20
   Effects: The decoy has an 80% chance of fooling ordinary non military sonars and non smart guided torpedoes, the decoy has a 50% chance of fooling military level sonars (like those of the Coalition), and the decoy has a 25% chance of fooling advanced military sonars (Like those of the New Navy and Triax) and smart torpedoes.
   Maximum Effective Range: Not Applicable
   Rate of fire: One can be deployed at a time and requires 2 minutes to deploy (Reel Out) another decoy
   Payload: 4 Decoys.

Special Systems:

The ship has all systems standard on a robot vehicle plus the following special features:

• SPY-6S Three Dimensional Search Radar System: While not as powerful as those systems design for missile cruisers, the light-weight system is still quite effective. The system is a powerful and flexible phased array radar system that is comprised of four panels that each emit radar waves. If allowed by the horizon, the system can track out to 250 miles (402.3 km) and can simultaneously track and identify up to 512 targets at one time. The system controls missile launched from the long range missile launchers and the system track and guide each individual missile to an individual target for up to 128 targets. If a target is eliminated, missiles are automatically guided to a new target. The system can also control missiles launched from other linked vessels as well and can also act as fire control for gun mounts. The system gives a +10% to read sensory rolls, +2 on initiative, and +1 to strike.
• Sonar Masking System: The ship uses water bubbles to form a barrier against sonar as well as a shrouded propeller and sound absorbing materials. Gives a -10% penalty to any Read Sensory Instrument rolls to detect this ship using sonar.
• Command and Control Facilities: The carrier carries extra communications equipment and command facilities, to enable the ship to operate as the flagship for a flotilla. When operating in a flotilla, all ships get a +1 on sensor rolls, +1 to strike on all weapons, and +10% on communications.
• Radar Defeating Profile & Radar Absorbing Materials: The ship superstructure is designed so that the radar profile of the ship is reduced and the ship is covered with radar absorbing materials. Because of this, attempts to detect the ship using radar are made with a -30% penalty to read sensor rolls when attempting to detect this ship. Go to General Detection Penalties for more information on penalties and bonuses to use with stealth.
• Combination Radar Detectors and Active Jamming System: Combination of radar detection system (ESM) and an active jamming system. The system can detect another radar system at 125% of the range of the transmitting radar. In jamming mode, causes -25% to detection but when it is active, other vehicles/ bases can detect that it is jamming, and some missiles will home in on jamming signals. Jamming also causes a -4 penalty to all radar guided weapons.

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