Ferrus-class Heavy Destroyer

Balder-class Heavy Destroyer

"Move aside, war god coming through!"

- Captain of the UNSC Balder

The is a heavy destroyer classification used by the UNSC. Utilised in hunter-killer formations free of regular Battlegroup formations, the Balder is a high-strength combat ship designed to hound and take down enemy ships. Heavily armoured, and fast, the Balder dominates enemy escorts in terms of raw power.

Weaponry
The Balder packs an incredible punch, mixing heavy payloads of missiles and cannons, allowing it incredible head-on fire power.

It's main armament comes in the form of 2 Mark VIIB Heavy Coil Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Capable of firing within 30 seconds of one another, they cause catastrophic damage. Capable of accelerating a 600 ton slug to 60,000 metres per second. A single round can annihilate an opposing SDV-class Corvette.

It's secondary weapons consist of a number of cannons designed for closer-ranged fights. It backs up the main weapon battery with 3 M5 Renegade Heavy Naval Support Gun, capable of delivering a punishing hail of 350mm slugs to a target. This is further supported by a network of M41 Monarch Guns, capable of laying down impressive salvoes of fire. These are further supported by M54 Lancer cannons, high-energy laser weapons.

For salvo fire, it possesses two classification of ship-to-ship missile. First off, it carries a large payload of Archer missiles. These missiles can be quickly fired off in large salvoes, swamping enemy defences with a mass of fire. Its second missiles are Emperor SHRAMs high-power missiles that are fired from the ship's prow in massed rounds, allowing it to hammer targets in a charge.

It further carries massed arrays of air defence weapons, allowing it to fend off starfighter constellations.

It also carries a small amount of seldom used nuclear weapons, intended for nuclear bombardments against enemy star ships.

Role
The Balder-class is primarily a hunter-killer, travelling in roving wolf packs, attacking enemy escorts. While lacking enough punch to attack larger vessels, at least individually, the Balder is lethal against anything in a similar tonnage range. However, being a design meant for absolute combat, and little else, it has little other utility.