Nimouth-class light destroyer

The Nimouth-class was an old model of warship commissioned for use by both the United Nations Space Command and Colonial Military Authority that predated the invention of both the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and even Titanium-A battleplate.

For more than sixty years it was one of the most common warships in the human sphere, acting as the workhorse for both interstellar navies. Even after it became outdated and was phased out of the UNSC it continued to serve in many colonial defense fleets, functioning almost a hundred years after its introduction.

Specifications
The Nimouth-class design was a staple of contemporary ship designs and naval philosophy; simple, sturdy, utilitarian, and with optimizable load-outs to its arsenal.

Armaments
Built before the introduction of the Magnetic Accelerator Cannons or Archer missiles, its original standard armament consisted of fifteen pods of M31 Loki light missiles with six single M655 Vanguard 20mm/35 cal point defense guns providing defense against fighters and missiles.

In 2480, the CMA refitted the entire class replacing the older Loki missiles with seven powerful M35 Ares anti-shipping missiles and retained two Loki missile pods, with an optional loadout of two Scorpio fusion missiles. By modern standards, this arsenal can be considered laughably small but at the time was considered the standard for a destroyer-class vessel.

In 2525, as the Human-Covenant War erupted, the Nimouth-class were among the many classes of older ships rushed into emergency refits to face the threat. Each Ares silo was replaced by a pod of M58 Archers and its obsolete Vanguards were upgraded to M910 Rampart 105mm/45 cal point defense guns. Despite this undoubtably being an upgrade, it proved almost useless against the Covenant. Most damning of all, the Nimouth's hull simply could not fit a MAC within its hull, nor was its reactor powerful enough to power one even in an outrigger mounts. Without one, its meager firepower simply was simply useless in the war in which it found itself in. This inadequacy essential doomed the the Nimouth-class as a warship.

Operational History
<!-- The Nimouth was the workhorse of the UNSC for more than sixty years, serving as one of the most common naval vessels in human space. It was almost ubiquitous to the colonial power of Earth itself, at the forefront of colonial security operations, merchant escort, search-and-rescue, and anti-piracy missions.

They would see action during many conflicts, such as the Blackwater Incident, the Omicron Eridani conflicts, and the the Eridanus II Insurrection. Several of them would be appropriated and used by the secessionist navy during the Falkirian War for Independence.


 * They were perfect for their era. Rugged, simple, long ranged, and equipped for the job they were expecting. But times had change.


 * Eventually the UNSC mostly phased it out in favor of more modern designs but the CMA kept it.

During this time there was one notable incident in which a rebel-piloted Broad instigated an attack on the UNSC Mekong, where it fired two anti-ship missiles and one of them managed to evade the Mekong's point-defenses and struck the hangar bay, almost destroying the ship.

The Callisto Incident in 2494 would mark the end of the Nimouth's glory days and the beginning of the end to its service as a whole. The incident resulted in the embarrassing loss of three Nimouths at the hands of Insurrectionists, and revealed critical inadequacies in the design. For starters, its armor was simply insufficient to stop modern anti-ship missiles, its sensor suite was out of date, and its old hot fusion reactors were painfully obsolete.

From there on, the Nimouth would be steadily phased out as more modern designs were introduced that were effective in this new age of warfare. Many still served as part of colonial defenses forces and in reserve fleets while others fell under the control of Insurrectionist forces and pirates.


 * The Callisto Incident pointed out majors flaws in the ships. Its armor was insufficient, its sensors didn't detected the nuclear device, they had insufficient speed to avoid debris, though no ship is really designed with that event in mind.

During the Human-Covenant War, the Nimouth-class proved almost completely ineffective/useless, as most notably displayed during the battles of Gamma Aurigae and Midvale. Their arsenal of just seven anti-ship missiles was laughably pitiful against the highly advanced technology of the Covenant, almost always being shot down before they can hit and doing almost no damage to the shields if they do. In 2525, many Nimouths were slated for emergency refit. However most were destroyed in the initial years of the conflict before they could be rearmed. A number were able to be successfully refitted in time for battle with Archer missile pods, but this was still proved almost useless for many of the same problems.


 * During the HCW they were absolutely useless against the Covenant, even after getting refit. They couldn't fit a MAC.

By the end of 2527, almost all the remaining Nimouth-class light destroyers would be scrapped and the class officially retired. Some examples would continue to exist, but only those found in the hands of Insurrectionist rebels and pirate fleets, but even these became increasingly rare sights in human space.

In service even after almost a hundred years. -->