Other (sub-)classes or designations exist, such as "Troop Cruiser" or "Pursuit Cruiser", though they can usually be placed in one of the above classes. Typically, Dreadnoughts are very powerful but also very expensive and possibly inefficient, and are not deployed in any significant numbers instead, they tend to be unique or one-off designs. The word is often used to describe a cutting-edge ship class that can outfight any other contemporary WarShip.
Dreadnoughts - Arguably a classification denoting the largest, most powerful and/or technically most advanced class(es) of WarShips. The pride of the SLDF Navy, the McKenna-class battleship, massed almost two million tons, a record that was not broken until Clan Ghost Bear launched the 2.4 million ton Leviathan-class ship. They often serve as fleet flagships, hitting the most dangerous and determined opposition to break through and create opportunities for their smaller companions to exploit. This is achieved through sheer size, and consequently they often compare poorly to smaller vessels on a ton-per-ton basis. Battleships - The largest regular ship class, battleships boast massive weapon payloads and armor protection combined with sufficient speed to bring the battle to the enemy. Large and powerful thrust engines are often considered another defining factor, exacerbating the reduction in armor and secondary functions. Battlecruisers - These large ships are designed to punch above their weight class, usually sacrificing armor and any other features. Clan toumans typically use these as command vessels. Heavy Cruisers - These ships tend to trade away some of the light cruiser's speed for additional firepower or armor, and are usually in the 800,000 to 1,000,000 ton range. Light Cruisers - Comparable to destroyers and frigates but somewhat larger, they serve as escorts, raiders, and picket ships, but outperform the other two ship types in one or more areas (speed, firepower, armor and/or endurance). As a whole, cruisers typically mass between 600,000 and 1,400,000 tons. Most cruisers pack enough equipment and supplies to operate away from technical support bases, making them ideal raiders. In the original sense of the word, cruisers were supposed to be more durable than smaller ship classes and capable of prolonged independent operation. Vessels in this class are typically further subdivided into light cruisers, heavy cruisers, and battlecruisers. Cruisers - The most diverse ship category in any fleet, cruisers are even larger than destroyers. (This is unlike the Age of Sail-era classification, where frigates were typically slightly lighter but also faster and more maneuverable than a destroyer.) Frigates - In the 500,000 to 750,000 ton mass range, these ships can roughly be described as extra-large destroyers, often adding an additional capacity over standard destroyers such as integral fighter support. They typically mass between 250,000 and 550,000 tons. Destroyers - Larger and more heavily armed than corvettes, these ships perform the same raiding and escort duties, but also serve as guardians of orbital installations. They are not expected to stand up to other WarShips, except in a support role. Lightly armed and armored but swift and equipped for extended tours of duty, corvettes are ideal for commerce protection and raiding. Corvettes - Typically the smallest WarShip category, with the typical mass range given as 150,000 to 250,000 tons the heaviest known corvette design masses 412,000 tons but seems to be an outlier, as no other known Corvette design masses more than 240,000 tons. (Notably, though, the only class explicitly referred to as a "raider" is the 175,000 ton Fredasa class.) Raiders - Massing between 100,000 and 150,000 tons, this WarShip category can arguably be regarded as the lower end of the Corvette class. 10, WarShip classes are roughly defined thus: It has no impact on game-play.Īccording to Strategic Operations, p. Because of the somewhat diffuse criteria associated with each class and role, the classification is arbitrary and ultimately rather subjective. Most of these terms have survived since the Age of Sail, and were updated to reflect the realities of space combat. In BattleTech, space-going WarShips are often classified with the following terms, based on their role.
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