The Zephyr is either going to be replaced, or cease to exist alltogether come 4.86. Your concerns are already being handled.:)
Also: It's a carrier, not a battleship. Not meant to go toe to toe with a dread.
[Edit] If you stay >3KM range and strafe up and down, you should win the mortar pong contest. Trick is to DODGE the enemy mortars.
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.