Scylla-class heavy destroyer

One of the last ships ever produced by the Colonial Military Authority, the Scylla-class attack destroyer was a heavily-armed high-endurance destroyer.

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 * boasting four Breakwater cannons. Had a turbulent design history.

Originally codenamed as Project Razorback by Kuushan Shipyards, the same company responsible for responsible for the construction of the Lancer-class fast-attack corvette and Mako-class corvette, it was intended to be a pocket cruiser for the Colonial Military Authority in response to their request for modern vessels to replace their aging fleet.

[was originally a deal between corrupt procurement officers and lobbyists for kickbacks?]

Project Razorback was planned to be a scout cruiser that would be both fast and heavily armed.

It would have a principal armament of one Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and four Mark 15 Breakwater cannons housed within dorsal pods on each cardinal point of the ship’s aft, able to selectively aim and fire each Breakwater independently.

This idea was later revised by moving the dorsal weapons pod to the fore of the ship, allowing it to focus all its fire on a single target without the ship’s hull limiting their arcs of fire. This design reminded the designers of (some sort of sea animal. Like a cross between an eel and anemone?) which was what inspired the Razorback Project to be renamed the Scylla-class.

However in the 2480s, the CMA conducted an intense reevaluation of its budgetary priorities and realized that their navy was in desperate need of modernization, especially in its fleet of aging escorts, resulting in a massive reshuffling within procurement offices.

In response the designers radically redesigned the Scylla from a pocket cruiser into a destroyer while keeping the core concepts intact. It would now be an aggressively deployed high-endurance hunter-killer with flag capabilities for leading flotillas.

[a lean hunter, a ship-killer]

In this revised design the MAC was removed to save weight and keep the ship below cruiser tonnage, but the four Breakwater coilguns were retained. Arguably this “downgrade” was a blessing in disguise as the ship made for an impressive destroyer rather than an underperforming cruiser.

The project received the vocal and political support of Admiral Rosario Ortega and her bloc who wanted a fleet of them for their anti-piracy operations. Her involvement prevented the mission creep which plagued the Atlantis-class and kept the design pure and focused. She repeatedly rejected other suggestions that in her mind would dilute its role as a hunter-killer and hamper its overall effectiveness.

The first flight of Scyllas were sent to Ortega’s 14th Offensive Fleet to conduct field trials. After reviewing their combat performance, Ortega gave the Scylla-class her enthusiastic approval and immediately placed an order for more.

[Production hampered? Bottlenecked? Crowded? The CMA’s downfall was accelerating?]
 * Was launched around the same time as the Atlantis-class light cruiser

Operational History

 * Many if not most served with Admiral Ortega's fleet.

Specifications
Beneath its hull the ship possessed one small cramped hangar bay for shuttles and dropships. Underbelly Ventral

Powerful sensor suites to pierce asteroid belts, chaff, and debris

The ship carried a crew of up to 332 sailors and a complement of 50 CMA troops. These troops lived in cramped living conditions and were not ideal for long term habitation.

Propulsion and powerplant
Its Liao-Marquez 31K deuterium fusion power plant was just barely able to power all the ship’s systems at once. In combat situations it often became necessary to shut down some nonessential systems to not draw away from the vital ones.

Ships of the Line
CMA Esmeralda CMA Ioke

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