LNC Dauntless

The Dauntless-Class is a next-generation Frontline Cruiser. It is the first ship class in the Luminarian Navy to adopt the next generation adaptive nanomesh defense alongside the upgraded FORESIGHT strategic communications and sensor fusion. It has a complement of 1000, with 700 crew required to keep the ship running and the remaining 300 crew to support the hangar bay.

The Dauntless class served as a testbed for some experimental technology, although not to the same extent as the Maelstrom-Class. Lessons learned from the construction and design of the Dauntless would be used for the upgrade and refits of Schism era ships like the LNBs Claymore and LNC Oculus.

The Dauntless-Class would begin its OPEVAL period after the Attack on Nu-Zartar, participating alongside the 2nd BattleFleet during the 2nd Battle of Norsus. The Dauntless-Class would officially begin mass production and integration within all BattleFleets during the 2nd Battle of Norsus.

Origin
Lessons learned during the Schism and Zaretian Campaign would show that the lethality of the current battlescape made frigates unviable for the role of frontline combatant. Cruisers are now the frontline combatant for many races, their versatility, firepower, and survivability have allowed them to thrive in the current battlespace. However, the LNC Oculus could not fulfill the role of a frontline combatant, as it was designed as a rear line combatant, that role would fall upon the aging LNC Halcyon, a pre-schism era ship that despite the many refits, was not flexible enough for the current naval doctrine.

6 years after the first battle of Norsus, Admiral Zircha formally requested for a next-generation frontline combatant. The new ship had to be capable of fulfilling multiple mission profiles, able to operate independently for long periods of time and also capable of serving as part of a battlegroup as well as being tactically flexible and mobile.

Project GLADIUS
A team from the Luminarian Naval Design Bureau would undertake the project under the codename GLADIUS. The design requirements were both vague and flexible, leading the team to draw inspiration from the LNBs Claymore. Many design philosophies utilized when designing the Claymore would be used during the design of the Dauntless. The team had already identified several key features the Dauntless needed to have to fulfill Zircha's requirements


 * A powerful torpedo salvo to allow the ship a long-range attack option
 * Strong front facing beam weaponry to allow it to serve in a shock jump capability
 * Large amounts of Plasma Pulse Cannons to allow it to deal with multiple types of hostiles
 * A hangar bay to allow it to run its own strikecraft escort
 * An intrasystem subspace drive for tactical mobility within a star system

The proposed design would actually be a scaled down Claymore, which was approved by Admirals Zircha and Cyrillus. Prototype vessels would be constructed and finalized after the Attack on Nu-Zartar.

Finalized Prototype
Initial OPEVAL tests against Zaretian Monarchy ships proved promising. Considered one of the smoother OPEVALs, with only a change to elevate the front plasma pulse cannons to add their firepower to a shock jump.

The resulting ship would be primarily armed with 2 ER Spinal beams on the front, secondary armament would be 7 QuickFire Beams, tertiary armaments would consist of 10 plasma pulse cannons, 5 small plasma pulse cannons. Long Range Firepower would consist of 5 torpedo launch bays, giving the Dauntless an opening salvo of 20 torpedoes. Point Defense would be geared towards warhead interception, with Pulsar AAA beams littered all over the ship, alongside Plasma PD cannons. All in All, the Dauntless could fulfill multiple mission profiles just through its weapons alone. To further enhance it, the Dauntless has a hangar bay that can contain 35 LNF Orphidans, allowing it to run its own escort or deploy its fighters to support other friendly ships.

Production
During the 2nd Battle of Norsus, Mass production of the Dauntless Class was undertaken by Sirdariim shipyards. The prototype vessels were kept by 2nd BattleFleet, where they saw action during the 2nd Battle of Norsus. Data gathered from those vessels would prove instrumental for the preparation of the block 2 upgrades.

SOC Variant
Much like its smaller cousin the LNFg Vigilant, the Dauntless would be one of the few ships that are in use by Special Operations Command due to its versatility. The SOC variant reduces the ship's shield generators, removes 2 QuickFire Beams and the adaptive nanomesh to mount an intersystem subspace drive and the next generation stealth nanomesh.