Avant-garde Initiative

[Montluc Advanced Engineering]

AVANT-GARDE INITIATIVE (STAGE I)
Enhance and/or develop new cruiser-class weapons

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Enclave patrol cruiser equipped with freshly-constructed Marteau-class cannons

When Warwolf-type weapons were removed from most of the remaining Triumphs for safekeeping, the Gallic Royal Enclave Command faced a problem. Old Royal Navy combat doctrines relied on numeric and technological superiority. They didn't suit the reality that the Enclave had found itself in.

The lack of human capacities and resources around has forced the Enclave High Command to develop a new, more flexible tactics that included refit of multiple ships remaining in Enclave hands to serve better their new purposes. Moreover, following new doctrine, these ships should remain able to keep serving even in the case of unforeseen changes of ships' purposes.

However, even despite some number of Triumphs remaining equipped with planet-killing weaponry, most of them are serving now as light and fast picket destroyers, acting as heavy support craft for patrol fleets or light support in a cohort for remaining Valor-type warships, providing these giants with so needed for the protection from a small craft.

Standard MAE manufacturing plant

The Montluc Advanced Engineering, in their attempt to monopolize the Enclave industry and throw out any opponents that turned their back off Enclave in grim times for it, was looking for their place in the development in Enclave doctrines and found it as weapon manufacturer. To ensure the stable flow of the advanced weapon to the Enclave, the corporation built a specialized space complex in the Roussillon system, with personnel being focused around development, enhancement, construction or refitting of weaponry for Enclave Fleet.

The experience of the Second Galliс War and its following escalation into a war with Allies has shown the main weakness of the Gallic Royal fleet - lack of flexibility. Unfortunately, this drawback still persists among the Enclave the ships of which remain effective in meticulously planned battles yet find themselves at odds in unexpected skirmishes which now constitute the majority of all armed encounters of the Enclave.

The so-called Avant-garde Initiative is the project started by MAE in cooperation with Enclave engineers. The primary goal of it is to develop a new weapon line for Triumph-class destroyer, capable of increasing the performance for the ship in question and its multirole capacity. For this initiative the Enclave carved out finances, allowing MAE to ensure that the project has enough workers, recourses and place (or places) where it shall be performed. However, the initiative would be not full without the latest engineering development - CADG-M1 in particular.

Schematic of CADG module placement in the example of Mitrailleuse-class defence turret

The CADG-M1 (short for Cruiser Automatic Defence Grid Model #1) is a module developed by mixed teams of MAE and Enclave engineers in an attempt to answer some of the flexibility-related issues. A VI-controlled auto-tracking system allows rapidly throwing a wall of projectiles from all canons installed at the attackers whether those attack from the rear in ambush or from the sides with deadly machine precision and with minimum input of the human gunner.

CADG-M1 is also an attempt by the engineers to scrutinize the construction of new cannons and ships in favour of utilizing already existing assets and upgrading them. Producing a small high-tech VI requiring tedious programming and a minimum of semi- and superconductors is economically more viable than producing new canons. CADG-M1 is compatible with most Enclave guns and makes especially deadly combination with any class of rapid-fire cannons, providing flexibility to fighting adversary vessels of any size.

The list of weapons already available for construction by MAE is the following:

• Coup de Grace (Blaster Turret)
  
• Suffoquant-M1CC (Ion Blaster)
  
• CRFC-M1 (Repeater Turret)
  
• Marteau-M1 (Mauler Turret)

↑ Coup de Grace-class Blaster Turret

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Probably, the most powerful cruiser weapon ever made by mankind

Technical characteristics:

• Optimal firing range: 1300m
  
• Projectile speed: 900m
  
• Refire: 1.33s/s

This Gallic weapon is a rare controversial weapon that has a bad public image due to its hits resulting in 100% casualties for the hostile crew most of the time. Because of this Gallia and the Enclave resorts to using it either against Sirians about whom few and far between in Gallia care or in extremely dire situations. A mix of Glaive-class heavy assault cannon and heavy plasma turrets, the cannon throws magnetically charged plasma at the enemy at temperatures comparable to those half of cold stars. The plasma effectively melts most alloys and if pierces the armour, immediately combusts the air inside of the ship, effectively evaporating every living creature inside in seconds.

Brief description by,
DR V. A. Raza, MAE

↑ Suffoquant-M1CC Ion Blaster Turret

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Suffoquant-class cannon requires no less than 30 seconds to recharge

Technical characteristics:

• Optimal firing range: 1800m
  
• Projectile speed: 1500m
  
• Refire: 0.03s/s

The new war conditions called for the adaptation of Enclave doctrines not only in terms of offence or defence but in mean control of the enemy ships. Disabling of hostile ships may provide allied forces with the ability to take said ships under assault. The massive ion charge neutralizes the target's power supply lines and discharges huge amounts of energy accumulated in the ship's generator, creating a short-term blackout or huge power losses, depending on the size of the target.

Brief description by,
SR ENGR J. G. de Lafontaine, ESED-XI

↑ CRFC-M1 Repeater Turret

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Except for lower potential damage the CRFC-M1 is also suffers of minor projectile dispersion

Technical characteristics:

• Optimal firing range: 1800m
  
• Projectile speed: 1000m
  
• Refire: 3.03s/s

CRFC-M1 is an advanced multi-purpose cruiser weapon developed for a rapid advance against Sirian fleets during the invasion. CRFC-M1 uses a continuous supply of gas to be heated up for plasma, allowing to increase the rate of fire significantly at the expense of increased use of energy for continuously heating up plasma and cooling off the chamber. CRFC-M1 is excellent for a quick deadly attack, especially when installed on multiple ships, for breaking fortified enemy formations, yet its effectiveness decreases significantly in long tedious fights wherein increased energy consumption can render the cruiser vulnerable.

Brief description by,
ASP J. B. Lapierre, MAE

↑ Marteau-M1 Light Mass Driver

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Marteau-class cannon uses a matrix of volatile charges that spread a reactive payload over a wide area

Technical characteristics:

• Optimal firing range: 1800m
  
• Projectile speed: 750m
  
• Refire: 0.5s/s

This weapon was developed to act as a hammer, crushing the skulls of our enemies. The Marteau-class is a smaller-scale version of the battleship class "Mons Meg" turret. Based upon the same core principles, it was designed to be fitted on cruiser vessels.

In order to deliver devastating strikes against hulls, the Marteau-type still uses the working principles of its elder brother of Mons Meg-type. A series of highly-conductive electromagnetic coils around a smoothbore barrel are discharging in sequence, to rapidly accelerate a projectile to the speed close to theoretical 750m/s. The Marteau's projectiles consist of a bunch of highly-volatile charges that spread a reactive payload over a wide area. It causes severe fractures in armour plating at the expense of reduced effectiveness against shields.

Brief description by,
ENGR M. J. Beaudet, ESED-XV