User:RelentlessRecusant/Hermes-class gunship

Hermes-class Gunship

The Aegis-class frigate, colloquially known as the Aegis-class fleet escort, was a light frigate classification operated by the UNSC Navy during the Galactic Era. Lightly armed, the Aegis-class frigates were largely relegated to anti-fighter and anti-missile roles, acting as escorts to UNSC task forces.

Specifications
The Aegis-class frigate was the result of a futuristic iteration in UNSC naval doctrine; while its predecessor, the UNSC Frigate of the Human-Covenant War, was a highly armed attack ship, during the Galactic Era, the UNSC Navy would largely sponsor the Mjöllnir-class destroyers and Cyclops-class main battle cruisers in these attack roles. Instead, the Aegis-class frigate would play a supplementary and auxiliary role, providing specialized anti-fighter and anti-missile activities for UNSC task forces.

The frigate was smaller than its predecessor, nearly half the size of the 478-meter-long UNSC Frigate. Its novel primary battery was a Aegis-class free-electron laser turret, a futuristic and high-powered point-defense laser optimized for intercepting enemy missiles and enemy fighters at longer ranges. The free-electron laser is also active against Covenant plasma torpedoes; by superheating the plasma charge, it induces thermal incoherency that leads to disintegration of the torpedo even despite a guiding magnetic field. Furthermore, the frigate bristled with forty Mk. 16 Flurry-class Close-In Weapon Systems against enemy fighters and missiles at closer ranges.

Although optimized for a point-defense role, the Aegis-class frigate also carried secondary armaments against capital ships; these included a single Mark IV Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and twenty SSM-42 Crossbow-class Missile Pods.

Twenty-four starfighters (two full squadrons) were also carried onboard to supplement its anti-fighter role; these fighters often consisted of the agile F506 Piranha-class interceptors.

Ships of the Line
Aegis-class frigates were conventionally named after defensive pieces of armor or in remembrance of past battles in UNSC history:


 * UNSC Aegis (FEF-001)
 * UNSC Cuirass (FEF-002)
 * UNSC Memory of Midgard (FEF-003)
 * UNSC Memory of Beryl (FEF-004)
 * UNSC Memory of Emerald Cove (FEF-005)
 * UNSC Memory of Eriandus (FEF-006)

Behind the Scenes

 * The Aegis-class frigate classification was named after the Aegis, the legendary shield of Pallas Athena in Greek mythology, reflecting the frigate's largely defensive role in standard fleet doctrine.