Tigress class Dreadnaught

Although some older battleships of greater displacement remain in service, the Tigress class dreadnaught is the largest line-of-battle vessel currently in service with the Imperial Navy. Each BatRon of Tigress class vessels is virtually a fleet unto itself, as each ship carries thirty squadrons of Fury class heavy fighters (with ten per squadron). A BatRon of eight ships carries 2,400 heavy fighters.

Tigress class BatRons are generally assigned one per sector. In war, the ideal deployment of any BatRon is together as a unit. In peace, various Tigresses are often scattered throughout a region on peacekeeping missions or to show the flag. Several individual Tigresses have been deployed among the worlds of the Five Sisters subsector to enforce the amber zone blockade of Candory and Andor.

Construction: The Tigress class is produced using an armoured spherical hull with a single spinal meson gun mounted centrally. A large armoured port protects the gun during non-combat operations; the port itself contains focussing equipment for the weapon beam.

Within the sphere, layered decks hold the various on-ship functions such as quarters, computer and electronic equipment, fuel treatment, and maintenance areas. Appended to the back of the sphere is a large, heavy fighter launch and recovery installation. Fighters are launched to the rear, to starboard, and recovered from the rear, to port; this arrangement prevents them from entering the meson beam when it is in use, as well as providing some armoured bulk between the fighters and the enemy.