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Designation:

Ford-class Space Factory Vessel (SFV)

Names and Disposition:

(NNS = Newport News Shipyard)

SFV-01 UES Ford Commissioned NNS, 2051 In service.
SFV-02 UES Morgan Commissioned NNS, 2052 In service.
SFV-03 UES Carnegie Commissioned NNS, 2053 In service.
SFV-04 UES Vanderbilt Commissioned NNS, 2054 In service.
SFV-05 UES Rockefeller Commissioned NNS, 2055 Destroyed Varauta War, 2064
SFV-06 UES Guggenheim Commissioned NNS, 2056 In service.
SFV-07 UES Ishikawa Commissioned NNS, 2057 In service.
SFV-08 UES Harold Commissioned NNS, 2058 In service.
SFV-09 UES Dupont Commissioned NNS, 2059 Destroyed 4th Robotech War, 2066
SFV-10 UES Rolfsen Commissioned NNS, 2060 In service.

Ships' Complement:

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number of personnel varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Dimensions:

Propulsion Systems:

Endurance and Mobility Limits:

Weapon Systems:

Circa 2063

Electronics Systems and Special Equipment:

Air group and mecha complement:

(circa 2055)

(Space Naval Air Group)

(Space Marine Unit)

(circa 2063)

(Space Naval Air Group)

(Space Marine Unit)

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number and type of mecha varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships. Additionally there are always a number of mecha in storage awaiting delivery to various locations across the fleet.  These mecha can be made combat ready in a short period of time, though there is a lack of trained combat pilots onboard the factory as most pilots are shuttle pilots or ferry pilots.

Design Notes:

Maintenance and repair is a major problem facing all long range colony missions. Typical colony missions are expected to last anywhere from 10 to 100 years, however the expected endurance of colony ships without refits is only 20 to 30 years. Carrying a large enough supply of spare parts for all mecha and starships in a colony mission was unfeasible, so the Newport News Shipyards needed to come up with a way for fleets to manufacture their own parts and supplies on a continual basis while light years away from the nearest supply depot. The Ford-class Space Factory Vessel is designed specifically to fulfill this role in colony operations.

As the name implies the Ford-class facilities are floating factories in space. The lower levels of the ship contain a complete refinery that can extract all necessary metals and raw materials from space debris such as asteroids and comets. These materials are then raised to the core of the starship, which contains a complete manufacturing facility based on technology recovered from the factory satellite captured by the RDF in October 2013. The automated factory can manufacture almost any component, from miniaturized microchips to complete mecha. The factory can even manufacture from scratch capital starships. However this process can take months depending on the complexity of the starship (a Japan-class battle section will take almost a year to build from scratch while utilizing the complete resources of the platform during that time). The Ford-class facility is of course capable of conducting routine repair and maintenance on starships as well to prolong their active lifespan. A large beam is mounted from the rear of the ship which serves as a drydock for starship repair, refit, and construction.

The Ford-class facilities are also capable of developing new products and weapons. The crew complement of the ship includes a trained engineering staff of over 1,000 along with the most advanced CADAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing) systems available to the RDF. In addition Ford-class maintain constant contact with other colony missions as well as RDF headquarters via the Galaxy Network communications net, allowing new designs to be quickly disseminated across the RDF Space Navy fleet as they are developed. This permits even the most distant colony missions to keep their equipment and mecha up to date with the latest technology available.

The largest drawback to the Ford-class platforms is their lack of defensive systems. Unlike other colony ships they can only mate with a single Raptor-class Heavy Destroyer for protection. For this reason Ford-class are always escorted by a small fleet of ships to protect them against attack. 

History:

Ford-class have become a critical part of the colonization strategy, and every colony mission for the past 25 years has included a manufacturing platforms as part of their fleet.


Return the RDF Space Navy Vessel Index
Robotech (R) is the property of Harmony Gold. This document is in no way intended to infringe upon their rights.

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner
Copyright © 1998-2002 Jeffrey R. Spillner

Page Last Updated on January 21, 2002 @ 14:00 GMT