abstract
| - The APS-class Dreadnaught is a cruiser-size capital ship based on the Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser design. The ship can fulfill many roles, but it is especially suited to three: Attack, Patrol, and Scouting; hence its name the APS designation. Much of the superstructure of the vessel was removed, leaving only the very front part; the rest is bare. This has lessened the weight of the ship significantly, increasing performance and fuel efficiency. The ship was shortened, by taking the engines from the back of the ship and putting them in a ring around the new rear of the ship; this increases the ship's width at that point, but decreases its length. The APS keeps the Dreadnaught's original six engines, but with upgraded engine technology. A new pole extends forward 100 meters from the "chin" position. At the back of the ship, in the newly widened part, are metal plates. These open up like flower petals when the ship is not in combat, to form a giant sensor dish; the hull of the ship and the pole at the front form the emitter. This sensor is, because of its nature, huge, with extreme sensor capacity. However, when extended, the dish is very vulnerable and fairly weak, and the shields have a hard time protecting it adequately; this necessitates the folding in of the dish during combat. In non-combat mode, the sensors draw so much power that the ship can’t fight effectively. The ship has a docking bay, but not the same one that the Dreadnaught has. This bay is amidships, in a bulge in the vessel's belly. This holds three squadrons of fighters. However, the Dreadnaught's troop capacity is almost entirely lost. As on the Assault Frigate, the crew is reduced to a sensible number through automation. As for armament, the quad and single turbolasers of the Dreadnaught have been removed. However, 10 ion cannons mounted in their place, and the ship has 24 quad laser cannons for defense. The ship also mounts four tractor beam projectors, around the mouth of the hangar, all of which can fire forwards.
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