Additional Background by VF_Blitz

Arguably one of the most common warships in the galaxy, the Thuveral-Salan class heavy cruiser is the mainstay of any Zentradi fleet. It differs from most other Zentradi warships in its design primarily because of its age; the Thuveral-Salan is the only survivor of the first line of warships built for the Zentradi by the protoculture. It is likely the design survives as long as it has because of the elegance of the configuration. With two main engines set widely apart, weapon systems positioned evenly around the ship for 360 degrees of firing and a well balanced mecha compliment sufficient for nearly any type of operation. The ship is an extremely well rounded and versatile design, capable of undertaking a variety of mission roles including reconnaissance, fire support and planetary bombardment in addition to standard ship-to-ship engagements. The streamlined hull of the ship also helps to maximize the usefulness of its main guns in combat, bringing the largest number of weapons to bear on the most possible targets without having to turn the whole ship to engage them all.

The Thuveral-Salan has been present at every combat action by the Zentradi for the last 500 millennia, and will likely continue in that capacity for many eons to come. At 2.1 kilometers in length it is still larger than any regular warship in either the UN Spacy, but it is important to note that on the scale of the crew for which they were built, the cruiser would be little bigger than the Northampton class frigates. Many Zentradi ships that join forces or are commissioned into the UN Spacy are nearly always redesigned to support a micronian crew, a modification which takes up very little space in retrospect to the ship's original design.

As of 2048, the UN Spacy actively maintains a fleet of about 200 Zentradi warships with the Earth Defense Force, most of which are Thuveral-Salan class cruisers. Over the years a few of these ships have been extensively remodeled for a mostly micronian crew as with the Neo-Nupetiet-Vergnitz class battleships, but even now the majority of these ships are little different than the standard Zentradi version with the exception of some new weapons or technology.

Vehicle Type: Space battlecruiser
Government: Zentradi Army/New Unity Government
Manufacturer: Worquli-Quatafilla/UN Spacey
Crew: 2550

    VF pilots: 610

    Main Ship: 850

    Zentradi Mecha pilots: 340

    Troops: 850

MDC BY LOCATION:

(1) Main Body                                                    90,000
(2) Main Engines (2)    	                                 10,000 each
    Heavy Particle turrets (3)	                                    800 each
    Heavy Laser cannons (18)	                                    500 each

    Secondary beam cannons (32)	                                    150 each
    Anti-Warship Missile Launchers (12)                             250 each
    Anti-Mecha Laser Turrets (48)                                   100 each 
    Anti-Mecha Missile Turrets (20)                                 150 each 
    Airlocks/Access Hatches (70)                                    100 each
    Armored outer hull (per 40ft area)                               60
    Interior walls (per 20ft area)                                   20
(4) Pin Point Barriers (4)                                        5,000 each

NOTES:

1. Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the cruiser out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
2. Depleting the MDC of the main engines will force the ship to rely on its secondary engines. Depleting the MDC of the main engines AND secondary engines will leave the ship adrift in space. If in an atmosphere, the ship will crash (gravity control system cannot function without power from the main engines).
3. Destroying the command tower will instantly kill the command staff and deprive the ship of all forms of long range communications, radar and targeting. The range and targeting capabilities of the secondary systems are equal to that of a VF/A-15E Hellcat The ship can still operate, but is at -3 on initiative, -3 to strike, and number of attacks per melee of the weapon systems are reduced by half. Destroying the main sensory array on top of the command tower will have the same effect, but the command staff will not be killed instantly.
4. The Pinpoint Barriers regenerate at a rate of 2,500 MD per second (5000 MD per melee round). If destroyed, a barrier will completely regenerate within four seconds (2 melee rounds).

Speed (Sublight): 0.20 speed of light (37,200 miles per second)
Speed (Auxiliary Drives): Mach 3.0
Speed (Space Fold): 1 light year every 6 minutes
Planet bound: Can land and take off if necessary but not designed to maneuver in an atmosphere for extended periods of time.

Maximum Range: Unlimited (estimated life span unknown)

Length: 2000 m
Width: 750 m
Height: 510 m
Weight: 80,000,000 tons

Power System: Worquli-Quatafilla Auto Heat Pile System

Fold System: Worquli-Quatafilla Auto Fold System Cluster

Sublight Drive: Worquli-Quatafilla Impulse Drive Cluster

Gravity Control System: Worquli-Quatafilla Internal Inertia Drives
Auxiliary Engine: Shinnakasu Nuclear Pulse Rocket Motor Clusters

Sensor System: Worquli-Quatafilla Standard & Subspace Mass Detector

1. HEAVY LASER CANNONS (8): The most powerful weapon of the Thuveral-Salan class is the laser cannon array mounted on the front of the ship. These 8 powerful lasers are usually fired in a barrage at a single target, and in a full bombardment they can easily damage or destroy the most powerful of Zentradi vessels with just one salvo. Like all Zentradi vessels, the cannons are fixed forward and can only strike targets directly in front of the ship.

   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault

   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship

   • RANGE: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space.

   • DAMAGE: 1D6x1000 M.D. for each laser, 8D6x1000 for a full barrage.

   • RATE OF FIRE: once per round.

   • PAYLOAD: Unlimited.

2. HEAVY BEAM CANNONS (3): The Thuveral-Salan class cruiser is equipped with three turret mounted heavy particle beam cannons mounted on the top of the hull. Each cannon is fairly powerful on its own and can be linked with the other three for a fairly impressive barrage much like the heavy laser cannons. Each turret has a limited line of fire, with 180 degree rotation with a 90 degree arc (forwards only.)

• PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault

• SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship

• RANGE: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space.

• DAMAGE: 1D4x1000 M.D. for a single turret, 3D4x1000 for a full barrage.

• RATE OF FIRE: Each cannon can fire once per round.

• PAYLOAD: Unlimited.

3. SECONDARY BEAM CANNONS (34): The cruiser is armed with several large retractable beam turrets at key locations along the hull, giving the ship additional punch in close to medium ship-to-ship combat. These weapons are similar to the older P-beam turrets found on all older Zentradi warships, but have been greatly enhanced over the years. These turrets are mounted along the flanks of the ship, 16 on each side, with two additional turrets mounted in the nose of the ship. This gives the cruiser well balanced firepower in all directions, either from a broadside or from head on.

• PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship

• SECONDARY PURPOSE: Ship-to-Ship Defense

• RANGE: 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space.

• DAMAGE: 1D6x100 M.D per single blast, 4D6x200 for standard volley or 8D6x200 for a full volley with the forward guns

• RATE OF FIRE: Each turret can fire once per round, but can be linked with 1-16 others in a volley. A standard volley is 8 cannons at the same target. A maximum of 16 cannons can be brought to bear on a single target.

• PAYLOAD: Unlimited.

4. RETRACTABLE LASER TURRETS (48): As a final line of defense, the cruiser has retractable laser turrets mounted at various strategic places along the hull. These short-range lasers were apparently intended primarily for anti-aircraft and anti-mecha defense, but can do moderate damage against enemy spacecraft if they get too close. When not in use gun turrets are concealed within the hull underneath a sliding hatch. At most 15 lasers can be brought to bear on a single target.

• PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Aircraft

• SECONDARY PURPOSE: Defense

• RANGE: 30 miles (48.2 km) in an atmosphere. Double in space.

• DAMAGE: 1D6x20 M.D. each. Several lasers can be directed to fire in volleys of 3 or more. A volley of 3 beams does 3D6x20 M.D., a volley of 6 beams does 6D6x20 M.D., and so on. A full volley of 15 beams aimed at a single target does 4D6x100 M.D. (!) if it hits.

• RATE OF FIRE: Each laser can fire once per melee, and can be combined in any volley combination of 3 or more lasers, up to 15 lasers. Volleys can be directed at different targets.

• PAYLOAD: Unlimited.

5. ANTI-MECHA MISSILE LAUNCHERS (20): In addition to the laser turrets, the cruiser is equipped with anti-mecha missile launchers for close to medium range defense against mecha. Each launcher contains 10 missile tubes allowing volleys of up to 10 missiles to be fired at a single target per launcher. Once depleted, the missile launchers are reloaded by an automated loading system that takes 15 seconds (one melee round) to reload all 10 missiles. Armor-piercing smart missiles are usually used to avoid chances of friendly fighters being shot down by the missiles.

• PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Aircraft

• SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Warship

• MISSILE TYPES: Any type of UN Spacey medium range missiles can be used. Smart missiles are commonly used to avoid hitting friendly aircraft.

• RANGE: Varies, typically 60 miles (80.4 km).

• SPEED: Varies, typically 1600mph (2571kmph).

• DAMAGE: Varies, typically 2D4x10 M.D.

• BLAST RADIUS: Varies, typically 15 feet.

• RATE OF FIRE: Volleys of 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 missiles per launcher.

• PAYLOAD: Each launcher holds 8 missiles. Once the missiles are expended the launcher is reloaded within 1 round via an automated system. The reload system holds 50 missiles per launcher.

SYSTEMS OF NOTE:

• ANTIGRAVITY PROPULSION SYSTEM: The cruisers are equipped with an anti-gravity propulsion system used for planetary landings and liftoffs. The system is good for vertical ascent/descent only and can lift the ship at speeds of up to 1,320 feet (400 m) per minute. The system will function so long as the main engines can supply energy to it
• HYPERSPACE COMMUNICATIONS: Based on the same technology as the space fold system, the hyperspace communications relay allows faster-than-light communication between Gallaron starships and other vessels or planetary bases. Hyperspace communications are still not instantaneous, however. Audio/video communication travels through hyperspace at a rate of about 1 light year per second, so messages communicated over vast distances can still take seconds or minutes to arrive.
• LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: The cruiser has sufficient life support to provide breathable air and comfortable temperatures for up to 70,000 people for up to 20 years (air was recycled). In an emergency the life support system could support up to 140,000 people at one time. The ship contains enough food and water onboard to support the crew for up to 5 years (with recycling).
• LONG-RANGE LASER/SATELLITE RELAY COMMUNICATIONS: The impressive communications array of the battle cruiser can communicate with up to 2,000 craft simultaneously at ranges of up to 900 miles (1,440 km). This range can be boosted indefinitely by using satellites or other spacecraft as to relay communications.
• LONG-RANGE RADAR: The radar array of the battlecruiser is equally as impressive as the communication system, and can track and identify up to 2,000 craft simultaneously. The radar system has a 2,000 mile/3,200 km range.
• SPACE FOLD SYSTEM: For FTL propulsion, the cruiser is equipped with a Worquli-Quatafilla Fold System Cluster, capable of propelling the carrier through hyperspace at speeds up to 3.28x10^10 mps (5.25x10^10 kmps), or 1 light year per 6 minutes. The range of the fold drive is theoretically unlimited except by the life expectancy of the spacecraft.
• SUBLIGHT ENGINES: As a backup to the Fold System, the ship is equipped with Worquli-Quatafilla drive cluster that can propel the craft at speeds up to 0.24 speed of light (38,400 miles per second) in space. Note that these engines are mainly intended for rapid movement inside a planetary system and are not suited for long voyages between star systems. In a planetary atmosphere the ship is limited to speeds of Mach 3 maximum due to hull stress.
• SUBSPACE MASS SENSORS: The cruisers are equipped with subspace sensors, which are based on the same principles as the hyperspace communications array. These sensors can essentially instantly detect mass readings and movement of objects up to 1 AU (93 million miles) distant from the ship, and the readings are used both for early warning and for navigation when traveling at sublight speeds. Readings taken with the subspace sensors are not very detailed (-25% penalty when trying to identify a detected object) and cannot detect objects of less than 60,000 kg (this includes most variable fighters).

MECHA COMPLIMENT (ZENTRADI FLEET):

Regult Battle Pod: 220

Raulon've Fighter Pod: 130

Glaug Officer's Pod: 2

Queajadeul-Ger Zentran Powered Armor: 120

Theatre Scout: 6

Recovery Pod: 4

Re-Entry Pod: 6

Shuttles and Support Craft: 10

 

MECHA COMPLEMENT (UN SPACY FLEET):

VF-11 Thunderbolt: 240

VF-17 Nightmare: 24

VF-19 Excalibur: 120

Regult Battle Pod: 220

Variable Glaug: 60

Queajadeul-Ger Zentran Powered Armor: 40

Queadlunn-Rau Meltran Powered Armor: 20

Theatre Scout: 6

Recovery Pod: 4

Re-Entry Pod: 12

Shuttles and Support Craft: 20

REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN

Macross-II Deck Plans Volume Two: SDF-Macross Entry/ASS-1 Entry

Superdimensional Fortress Macross TV series

Notes:

1. The three heavy beam cannons on the top of the cruiser are mounted in the blisters in about the center of the hull. These weapons do not appear in the Robotech stats for this ship, and their existence is mostly conjecture, but they are included in these stats at the suggestion of a few individuals who are very familiar with Macross animations.

2. The original stats for Zentradi warships from Palladium's Robotech Sourcebooks give the mecha compliment for Regult battlepods at roughly 64 times the number given here and the number of fighter pods at roughly 16 times the number given here. I discovered an alarming footnote in the Robotech sourcebook that indicated Zentradi mecha hangars can fit 64 battlepods for every 235 square feet or 78.8 square meters. That means that an area the size of my apartment could hold 64 Zentradi battlepods. Maybe I'm the only one, but somehow I don't think that would work out. ^_^.

3. Other modifications to the Zentradi warship stats are not nearly as important, but mainly intended to fix dialog/translating error confusion created by Robotech and Palladiums mecha consultants. Send complaints to Newtype_alpha@yahoo.com