Svalinn-class Assault Carrier

”Fine, we’ll do it ourselves” 

-Captain Dratheus of the UNSC Sentinel before engaging a Covenant Remnant Flotilla in the Outer Colonies after its escorts and been destroyed

The Aegis-class Assault Carrier is the replacements to the Xerxes-class Assault Carrier fielded in 2535. Created to fulfill the much needed niche of a large fleet support/carrier vessel, the ship was based on and heavily improves upon its predecessor and is far better suited to its role. Ships of the Line are given the Hull classification of CVA.

History
Proposed by the Reyes-McLees Shipyards on Mars as direct Successors to the outdated Orion-class Assault Carriers. The Aegis-class Assault Carrier's design was started in December of 2549 and completed in January 2551, several months behind schedule due to redesigns to accommodate a more advanced reactor package and targeting/sensor array.

The first hull however was laid down in July 2550 but while the hull itself was constructed by the time of the Battle of Earth, by when orders had been placed for five more ships with the new reactor and sensor packages, there were delays in having to redesign the power grid and sensor array to accommodate the new reactors and array.

The other vessels of the line were minorly damaged by the Covenant attack on Mars but nothing sufficient to warrant long term repairs, as such the ships were slated to meet their late-2556 completion times. However this was not to be as in February 2556 an addendum was made to the design to bolster its ability to clash with capital ships by the addition of two Mark 15 'Breakwater' Naval Coilguns which had set back their completion times to early 2557.

The first four ships began trials in March 2557 and were commissioned in November of the same year. However two ships of the six ordered were to undergo a major redesign and were to become their own subclass.

Design Specifications
The ship exhibited several advantages in design over previous Assault Carriers such as the Orion-class and later Xerxes-class. The ship was designed to both support and lead fleet actions as well as planet side operations and unlike its predecessors which sported thin and excessive armor respectively the Aegis was designed with reasonably thick armor with a unique Semi-Honeycomb Internal structure which further bolsters survivability.

In a similar theme the Aegis-class was lengthened for increased internal capacity for both supplies and carried forces allowing a far longer deployment time without need of resupply. The Aegis sports the latest in shipboard foundries which increase the speed of production while maintaining quality.

Armaments
The Aegis's primary ship to ship weapons are its two Rapid Fire Mark IV Heavy Coil MAC's which fire specialized 'Shredder' rounds which shatter on impact with either a ships hull or its shields alongside Shield Penetrating Rounds. However the version used on the Aegis is an improved version which is fired at a higher speed with a heavier projectile to improve its performance against ship hulls and offer deeper penetration. The ship is also loaded with standard MAC rounds.

Supplementing these and building on the methodology of the Xerxes-classes 'Barrage' attack method are 10, Mark 40 Spitfire Naval Coilgun Batteries. Thanks to the redesigning of the ships hull all the guns can fire through the front of the ship and can turn 180 degrees and face the side of the ship and perform devastating ground bombardment or broadside barrages against lighter ships. The Spitfires also have unique ammo choices of which there is high explosive for ground targets and ships and a EMP round which when hitting a targets shield would set off a small EMP pulse which would further weaken the shield and bring it down, However the rounds themselves only serve to disable shields with little practical use against targets without them other than minor disruptions of targeting systems. The final type of round being more traditional Solid Projectiles for use against ships or as more precise ground bombardment.

As a result of their competitively weak ship to ship capabilities but far better support and utility purposes the Mark 40 Spitfires are supplanted by 2 x Mark 15 'Breakwater' Naval Coilguns which could decimate ships but themselves had a slower fire rate.

The combination of the Rapid Fire MAC's, 'Spitfires' and 'Breakwaters' allowed the ship to perform barrage attacks against enemy ships depleting shields and shredding hulls by sheer volume of fire. By using such tactics the Aegis found particular usefulness in accompanying Battlegroups and Fleets where it would serve as a support vessel using its ability of near constant and devastating fire to keep ships suppressed or even several ships while remaining mostly safe thanks to its impressive armor and shielding.

While it's primary weapons are capable of taking down similarly sized or smaller Covenant vessels when a larger target or conversely a swarm of targets presents themselves the ship requires a bit more to bring them down.

For this purpose the ship, unlike other UNSC ships, uses it's missile complement as a secondary to its gun array. Most UNSC ships use Archers in tandem with their MAC to devastating effect. The Aegis has more numerous and more accurate gun array which when combined with their special ammunition can make short work of ships leaving missiles as a secondary backup armament to be used when a particularly large target or numerous targets risk overwhelming the ship.

For this the ship carries 140 M58 Archer Missile Pods which is far less than the Xerxes which carried 200 but greater than the 60 of the Orion. However these are supplanted by 20 M4020 Bident Missile Pods which excel at taking out larger Covenant ships. Aside from its Missiles the ship has 14 M66 Sentry Autocannons which fulfill a similar purpose to the Spitfires but thanks to advanced sensors can even be used to target small ships and fighters with high velocity flak rounds which act as a scaled down 'Shredder' round as well as HE and shield depleting rounds to complement the Spitfires in both ground support and taking down shields.

As a complement to both the M66 'Sentry' autocannons and the Anti-Starfighter ability of the ship it is also equipped with 20 M40 'Suppressor' Naval Coilguns. These serve to fill the gap between a light ship to ship gun and heavy anti starfighter gun. They are capable of taking on smaller ships and can also fire the array of ammunition that the M66 can but excel particularly at taking out small ships and fighters which it can do with minimal effort thanks to the advanced targeting systems on-board.

The Aegis builds upon it's predecessors impressive anti-starfighter coverage. This being done due to the slightly thinner armor across the ship and the increased size requiring more guns to maintain a full coverage of the ship. However it was thought to increase the point defense guns even further to allow for the ship to safely hang in low orbit when conducting ground operations as well as act as an effective support ship.

For these purposes it has a very large amount of point defense guns in the form of 60 M870 'Rampart' Point Defense guns which provide massive overlapping fields of fire across the ship making it arguably one of the best protected ships from a Anti-Starfighter perspective. However their sheer number and coverage also makes them ideal for providing anti-starfighter coverage for its fleet or battlegroup by virtue of sheer numbers and advanced targeting systems

Complementing the Ramparts are 260, M340A5 'Streak' Missile Pods which provide longer range, more precise Anti-Starfighter defense. The model used on the Aegis has a longer range and higher speed allowing them to more quickly and effectively shoot down hostile fighters before they can harm the ship

The vast Anti-Starfighter Defense as well as the advanced targeting and tracking systems on-board the ship makes it an ideal ship to form the centerpiece of Fleets and Battlegroups. Thanks in no small part to its ability to protect other ships and itself which make it a challenge to take down or even get near for any enemy.