Zeus
Class: Battleship
Operators: TOG Navy
Mass: 2,122,537 tons
Cost: 14,396,670,000 talents
Engines: 120,000 total power
Right Engine Rating (40,000)
Center Engine Rating (40,000)
Left Engine Rating (40,000)
Thrust: 3
Weapons:
Type (Location)
50-gun 37.5/5 (F)
50-gun 37.5/5 (F)
100-gun 37.5/5 (R)
100-gun 37.5/5 (R)
100-gun 37.5/5 (R)
100-gun 37.5/5 (R)
100-gun 37.5/5 (L)
100-gun 37.5/5 (L)
100-gun 37.5/5 (L)
100-gun 37.5/5 (L)
50-gun 37.5/5 (A)
50-gun 37.5/5 (A)
Type E Missile Launcher (3 shots at 150 points)
Fighters: 144 at 300 tons (Two Groups)
Small Craft: 24 at 2,000 tons
Cargo: 50,000 tons
Crew: 1,762
Marines: 500
Passengers: 238
Extras: High Thrust Option
Overview[]
The Zeus-class battlecruiser is the latest design to emerge from TOG shipyards. Built by Chandler Fleet Systems in their massive yard complex orbiting Nova Terra in the Orion district, these Leviathans are designed to deal with increasing Commonwealth and Renegade Legion incursions into TOG rear areas. However, disputes over the proper doctrine to deploy this class at the highest levels of the TOG Naval Command have so far resulted in the production of just twenty-three vessels to date.
The original design proposal called for a ‘fast Battleship’ similar to the rapidly aging Mars-class vessels with a greater ability to engage targets at extreme range, while keeping mass and costs within reasonable limits. Despite the success that CFS had in meeting the design criteria, various Overlords have criticized the project, citing that the modern front-line TOG Navy should be an offensive arm rather than concerned with reacting and responding to rebel raids.
As a result, production has been temporarily halted until full combat evaluations of the design have taken place.
Capabilities[]
At just over 2.1 million tons, the Zeus is just half the displacement of the main TOG ship-of-the-line, the Shiva-class. Power production is also lower, although production costs have stabilized at just under 54% . . . a feature appreciated by the Imperial Treasury, to be certain. The Zeus devotes a high proportion of its power production to an increased thrust, allowing for a standard acceleration of 3-g’s . . . and an emergency thrust of 9-g’s for limited periods of time! Equal to that of most Frigates in service today, this high thrust capability allows the Zeus to rapidly maneuver and match velocity with the fast wing of Renegade and Commonwealth Fleet elements.
CFS decided against using the standard TOG mixed battery of differing laser types in the design; instead, the Zeus carries a uniform battery of Karpov-Lassiter ‘Nova’ 37.5/5-class lasers. Although the lightest weapons of the 37.5-series, CFS installed one thousand on the Zeus divided into twelve bays (eight 100-gun bays and four 50-gun bays). This has given the new battlecruiser unparalleled reach and damage potential for such a high-thrust vessel. A Jankowski Mark IV Type D Spinal Mount provides hard-hitting forward firepower, while a Hellstorm missile battery (Type E) gives added punch that no one cannot characterize as battleship-level firepower. A standard anti-fighter/anti-missile turret system rounds out the weapons configuration.
One key difference in the design of the Zeus versus most standard TOG battleships is the fighter complement . . . CFS provided twin hanger bays each capable of housing an entire fighter group (72 fighters), plus two squadrons of small craft (12 vessels). Twice the complement found on the older Shiva, the fighters allow the Zeus to maintain an impressive CAP or conduct anti-shipping strikes at ranges beyond those of the onboard weapon systems. The small craft bays are capable of housing vessels of up to 2,000 tons in mass, allowing the newest TOG battlecruiser to embark FTL capable Corvettes for long-range recon and courier duties.
Five hundred Marines are embarked, along with the capacity for 238 passengers and more than 50,000 tons of bulk cargo. A separate Flag deck has been provided to accommodate an Admiral and his staff as well.
However, the first production units to reach the Fleet have been soundly criticized for the cramped onboard conditions for the crew and officers. Internal volume has been cut dramatically by eliminating many of the amenities that Fleet personnel are long accustomed to (although the Flag quarters are spacious and well-furnished (indeed, some might say lavishly so) in comparison) resulting in cramped quarters and small (almost miniscule) spartanly equipped recreation facilities. CFS has proposed addressing those concerns by eliminating possibly as much as the 20% of the cargo volume in order to expand crew living quarters and add larger and more robust recreational areas.
Source[]
This is an original design by master arminas of the Battletech Forums, based on the once-mentioned (and never again seen or heard from) Zeus-class Battlecruiser from the TOG Interceptor Briefing.