| This is the article on the frigate used by the Kushan and Taiidan Empire. For other similarly named ships, see Ion Cannon Frigate. |
The Ion Cannon Frigate was a Capital Ship designed against other capital ships used by the Kushan and Taiidan Empire in Homeworld.
Background[]
Kushan[]
The frigate is a simple design, basically the Assault Frigate with all the bulk around the central hull removed along with all the turrets. Instead, there is just the basic, thin frigate chassis with a long particle accelerator unit running down its centre spine, a fusion power plant, the engine, and crew space. The ship has no secondary weapon to speak of.
Even so, despite this simplistic design the Firelance is a force to be reckoned with and possesses immense firepower used to tear through a frigate or super capital ship hull when used in greater numbers; even a careless fighter pilot can be shot if it zooms past the barrel. Its main weakness comes from its lack on maneuverability and speed and the fact that its single Ion Cannon has a slow fire rate and can only fire in one direction due to the concentration of its beam. This leaves it very vulnerable to strike craft and should never be deployed without an escort. Traditionally, the first sign that a battle is lost is when the Firelances, under heavy fire, begin to pull back and retreat.
Taiidan[]
The Sajuuk Cor was realized thanks to the Taiidani scientists who managed to configure the Ion Cannon to fit into a frigate hull. The Cannon itself was so large that it barely fit into the frigate-sized hull, yet it was the one true threat to vessels such as enemy cruisers. The project to develop this frigate was marked as Weapon X, and during combat trials the frigate received the name Sajuuk Cor, which can be translated into "God's Wrath" or "Sajuuk's Wrath".
When the Sajuuk Cors entered normal service they were manned by combat veterans, and these crews became the most eager to serve their Empire in Taiidan Fleet. However, this eagerness caused many troubles for Taiidani admirals, as Sajuuk Cors tend to fly into the middle of the battle just to pin down the largest enemy ships. The frigate lacked anti-strike craft weaponry, so raids on these groups often led to severe losses amongst the frigates. Despite various attempts, no one could prevent such actions and eventually Ion Cannon Frigates were sent into battle only under heavy escort of Field Frigates and Multi-Gun Corvettes.[1]
These frigates also had a significant impact on military morale, therefore they were commonly used by the Taiidan Elite Guard, most notably to secure hyperspace inhibitors around Hiigara. The most vulnerable inhibitor station was secured by over 100 of these frigates.[2]
Overview[]
Ion frigates are a specialised type of combat ship whose weapon of choice is a single ion cannon, which is exceptionally potent and deadly to any ship who passes through the beam or is the target. They are one of the most common ships within fleets on all sides, mainly to deal with the capital ships of their enemy.
However, with such power comes weaknesses and limitations. The ion frigate can only attack vessels that are in its coverage area, i.e. those ships immediately in the path of the beam. Compared to other ships, ion frigates have the lowest coverage of all combat ships, and with no other weapons on board, it is vulnerable everywhere else, making the ship useless against fighter-class vessels.
Despite the fact that the ion frigate has such a narrow coverage area, the technology remained a key advancement throughout the Homeworld War and beyond. Indeed, the ion cannon frigate led to the development of Destroyers and Heavy Cruisers which had much more flexible and powerful beams that improved on some of the limitations found on the frigate-class version. By the time of the Beast War, both sides continued to make use of ion cannon frigates as a strategic part of defending larger vessels, with such ships being used to defend Hiigara and even a Research Station in the Kadiir Nebula. However, by the time of the Vaygr War, the ion frigate had started to fall out of favour, with the Hiigarans the only people continuing to use them, as the technology was better served on larger combat vessels such as Destroyers and Battlecruisers.
Trivia[]
- In the Homeworld: Cataclysm manual, the Kushan ship is codenamed Firelance and the Taiidan ship is codenamed Sajuuk Cor.[3]
- During the Beast War, Kiith Naabal regularly chose to refer to ion frigates as Firelance frigates, denoting their importance within the fleet.[4]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Homeworld: Cataclysm manual pg 113
- ↑ Homeworld Mission 14
- ↑ Homeworld: Cataclysm manual
- ↑ Homeworld: Cataclysm Mission 01