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Japan-class Space Colonization Vessel (SCO)

Names and Disposition:

(NNS = Newport News Shipyard)

Ships' Complement:

(Battle Section)

• Ships' crew (1300 men)
• Space Naval air group (1200 men)
• Space Marine unit (1500 men)
• Life support limits are for a full combat complement and about 9,820 supernumeraries (10,000 men total).

(City Section)

• Ships' crew (11,000 men)
• Space Naval air group (460 men)
• Space Marine unit (35,000 men)
• Civilians (350,000)
• Life support limits are for a full combat complement and about 768,000 supernumeraries (800,000 men total).

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

Dimensions:

Propulsion Systems:

(Battle Section)

• Main power system: RRD Mk 8 anti-matter-fueled Reflex furnace. The powerplant of the Japan-class Battle Section vessel can deliver up to 180 Petawatts of power, and can operate for two hours minutes at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering thrusters (40): Overtechnology MRT-5 Fusion-plasma reaction thruster clusters with steerable nozzles.  Mounted on the sides(10 per), the bow (8), dorsal surface(2), and ventral surface (10).
• Reaction-mass thrusters (2): Shizuma Drive MRE-10 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer. These engines are mounted in the engine blocks or legs of the ship one per block.
• Secondary thrusters (4): Pratt&Whitney ARE-7 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer mounted on top and below the main engines, two per block.
• Anti-gravity system: 6 Shizuma Drive Samson anti-gravity pods.
• Gravitic displacement drive (2): Shizuma Drive GDD-8 local, monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion drive.
• Space fold (1): RRD Mk18b spacefold. This system is conformal to the vessels surface. The problem with the vast majority of the previous generation of fold systems was that the fold bubble weakened the state of the structure to the extent that they needed a refit after only five years of service. As such the RDF mandated the use of conformal systems similar to the old Zentraedi systems which also allows for much higher speeds.  The Mk18b was created by placing two Mk18 drives in tandem.
• Planetary capabilities: The Japan-class Battle Section has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. The hull has sufficient structural strength for the ship to make a cold landing on it. Note that the ground underneath should be as firm as possible. The ship will float in an ocean, and this is the preferred landing in the absence of landing infrastructure.

(City Section)

• Main power system: RRD Mk 9 anti-matter-fueled Reflex furnace. The powerplant of the Japan-class City Section vessel can deliver up to 20 Exawatts of power, and can operate for ten hours minutes at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering thrusters (42): Overtechnology MRT-05 Fusion-plasma reaction thruster clusters with steerable nozzles.  Mounted on the sides(10 per), the bow(8), dorsal hull(4), and ventral hull(10).
• Reaction-mass thrusters (20): Rolls Royce MRE-12 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer. These engines are mounted in the engine blocks of the ship two per block.
• Secondary thrusters (60): Pratt&Whitney ARE-7 Fusion-Plasma Reaction Thrusters with anti-matter energizer mounted on top and below the main engines, six per block.
• Anti-gravity system: 200 RRD Minotuar anti-gravity pods.
• Sublight drive (10): Shizuma Drive GDD-9 local, monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion drive.
• Space fold (1): RRD Mk18t spacefold. This system is conformal to the vessels surface. The problem with the vast majority of the previous generation of fold systems was that the fold bubble weakened the state of the structure to the extent that they needed a refit after only five years of service. As such the RDF mandated the use of conformal systems similar to the old Zentraedi systems which also allows for much higher speeds.  The Mk18t was created by placing twenty Mk18 drives together to increase the fold mass.
• Planetary capabilities: The Japan-class City Section has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. The hull has sufficient structural strength for the ship to make a cold landing on it. Note that the ground underneath should be as firm as possible. The ship will float in an ocean, and this is the preferred landing in the absence of landing infrastructure.

Endurance and Mobility Units

(Battle Section)

• The dry stores endurance is limited to six months with a full crew complement. The extensive recycling installations ensured that only incidental biomass losses needed to be replenished. Water stores were recycled almost completely. The hydroponics are quite extensive and can continue to provide the crew with a supply of fresh fruits for an extended period of time, but not indefinitely.
• The mecha consumables supplies (mainly missiles) are fairly extensive and can sustain continuous combat operations for two months against an enemy. However, battles against the powers with capital ships will exhaust the anti-ship missile supplies at a faster rate, and the Japan-class Battle Section cannot sustain those operations for more than two weeks.
  The ship launched missile magazines should suffice for six large battles or about fifteen smaller skirmishes.
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 400 Giganewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 7.8 Giganewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Battle section can achieve a maximum delta-v of 624 kps at the cruising acceleration of 0.1G, a maximum delta-v of 124.8 kps at the battle acceleration of 2.1G, and a delta-v of at most 33.7 kps at the flank acceleration of 5.3G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• Sublight drive acceleration is 1100 g, but the vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .31 c.
• The fold systems are not navigationally guaranteed for any single jump beyond 5 kiloparsecs. If longer voyages are required, the ships must conduct multiple fold jumps.
• The maximum sustained atmospheric speed is limited to sub-sonic speeds. A higher speed could be attained while accelerating to orbit, or in emergencies, but this stressed the engines to above their sustainable heat tolerances. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems was limited only by maintenance requirements.

(City Section)

• The dry stores endurance is limited to only two months with a full crew complement. The extensive recycling installations ensured that only incidental biomass losses needed to be replenished. Water stores were recycled almost completely. The ship however needs to be constantly supplied foodstuffs and usually is by one of the many colony ships that accompany a colony fleet such as the Sunflower-class.
• The mecha consumables supplies (mainly missiles) are not very extensive, and can only sustain continuous combat operations for one week against an enemy. However, battles against the powers with capital ships will exhaust the anti-ship missile supplies at a faster rate, and the Japan-class City Section cannot sustain those operations for more than two days. The ship launched missile magazines should suffice for two large battles or about four smaller skirmishes.
• The reflex furnace can function for about 40 years at normal usage levels before an energizer rebuild is necessary.
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 400 Teranewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 7.8 Teranewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Japan-class can achieve a maximum delta-v of 351 kps at the cruising acceleration of 0.1G, a maximum delta-v of 70.2 kps at the battle acceleration of .83G, and a delta-v of at most 19 kps at the flank acceleration of 2.0G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• Sublight drive acceleration is 500 g, but the vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .15 c.
• The fold systems are not navigationally guaranteed for any single jump beyond 5 kiloparsecs. If longer voyages are required, the ships must conduct multiple fold jumps.
• The maximum sustained atmospheric speed is limited to sub-sonic speeds. A higher speed could be attained while accelerating to orbit, or in emergencies, but this stressed the engines to above their sustainable heat tolerances. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems was limited only by maintenance requirements.

Weapon Systems:

Circa 2063

(Battle Section)

• RRD MRC-05 mini-reflex cannon (1): This smaller, less powerful version of the reflex cannon makes up a large portion of the battle section's hull. The effects of these weapons against planets equaled the heat and blast effects of the detonation of a fusion weapon of 35 MT, if the cannon was fired at full power which requires 30 seconds to charge. The maximum range of the cannon is 100,000 km.  The weapon is located in an aperture in the center forward body. If utilized against starships, only smaller vessels could be destroyed with the beam. A direct hit would vaporize the target vessel. The weapon could also be set to a wider dispersal. In this setting, it was capable of clearing a wide area of fighters and other mecha, although starships in this area would only be blinded. Unlike in previous ship designs, the Japan-class battle carrier's cannon is contained in a completely separate starship unit from the rest of the vessel. This allows a better range of motion and more accurate firing in battle mode, as well as the ability to completely eject the cannon in the event of an overload or serious malfunction. The cannon unit is commonly referred to as the "Gunship", and even contains separate power systems, engines, and life support systems that allow it to function as an independent spaceship if necessary. The gunship can carry a crew of four (pilot, copilot, engineer, and communications expert) but is usually piloted by remote control when necessary. The gunship does not have sublight or fold capacity and cannot fly in an atmosphere.
• Krupp EMRC-10 heavy rail cannon (4): Mass driver cannons in dual turrets are mounted on the shoulders. The cannons can accelerate a 400 kg projectile to velocities approaching 200 kps. The ammunition supply for each cannon is 3,000 projectiles. The turrets can rotate in the horizontal plane through 140 degrees, and elevate 15 degrees upward. Combined with the capacity for 360 degree rotation at the shoulder joint, these weapons can be unmasked on all possible target bearings.  The impact energy for one projectile is 8 TJ with a sustained rate of fire of 45 shots per minute.
  The available ammunition consists of KCP Kinetic Core Penetrating (hull penetration rounds), KPI Kinetic Penetrating Incendiary (plasma incendiary rounds) and MKEP Multiple Kinetic Energy Penetrator (flechette cluster rounds), the latter as anti-mecha formation weapons.
• Bofors RIC-9 reaper ion cannon (12): As a secondary anti-ship and bombardment cannon, the Battle Section mounts a series of reaper cannon.  Each turret has two cannon with a total discharge of  2.4 GJ per salvo with a range of around 100,000 km once per second. The cannon delivers charged atomic particles that impact a target and release radiation and large amounts of heat melting the armor. This cannon is also very effective against shields because the radiation interferes with the harmonics of the shield by delivering EM pulses with the radiation.  These cannons are mounted behind movable panels on the bottom of the hull.
• Bofors PL-7 point defense turrets (30): Mounted behind movable panels in the main hull. These standard RDF weapons can fire 53 MJ of particle energy four times per second at a range of up to 20 km.
• Lockheed SLBM launchers (8): The missiles are specialized Lockheed SLBM-11 Archer (Space Launched Ballistic Missiles) with nuclear warheads in the 5 MT range. The delta-v capacity of the missiles is 351.6 kps, and the magazine can store 8 missiles per launcher. These launchers are mounted on the sides of the main body, four per side.
• Raytheon Mk.270 missile launchers (12): Each launcher has 10 individual launch silos. The silos each contain 6 ready missiles in a rotating mechanism, which can be reloaded while firing. The ready magazines store 420 missiles per launcher. These launchers typically fire Avatar and Savior missiles. Typical warheads are anti-mecha cluster munitions, nuclear reaction anti-warship and nuclear reaction re-entry capable weapons.  These launchers are located on the bow (3 per side), on the legs (2 each), and in the front of the bridge (2).
• Lockheed Mk 267 surface to air missile launchers (20): A missile launcher mounted in a twelve tube pop-up turret, firing anti-mecha/missile missiles, though the projectiles can guide on point-blank enemy ships. When the missiles are released they are already on their intercept vectors, or very close to them.  The launcher is designed to fire the SA-12 Arrow medium range surface-to-air missile. Each turret has a reload time of 6 seconds and a magazine with a 240 round capacity.  These turrets are mounted behind armor plating and pop up when firing and are mounted on the main hull(16) and in front of the bridge (4).

(City Section)

• Bofors PL-7 point defense turrets (70): Mounted behind movable panels in the main hull. These standard RDF weapons can fire 53 MJ of particle energy four times per second at a range of up to 20 km.
• Lockheed SLBM launchers (20): The missiles are specialized Lockheed SLBM-11 Archer (Space Launched Ballistic Missiles) with nuclear warheads in the 5 MT range. The delta-v capacity of the missiles is 351.6 kps, and the magazine can store 12 missiles per launcher. These launchers are mounted on the sides of the main body, ten per side.
• Raytheon Mk 267 surface to air missile launchers (50): A missile launcher mounted in a twelve tube pop-up turret, firing anti-mecha/missile missiles, though the projectiles can guide on point-blank enemy ships. When the missiles are released they are already on their intercept vectors, or very close to them.  The launcher is designed to fire the SA-12 Arrow medium range surface-to-air missile. Each turret has a reload time of 6 seconds and a magazine with a 1200 round capacity.  These turrets are mounted behind armor plating and pop up when firing and are mounted on the main hull(40) and in front of the bridge (10).

Air group and mecha complement:

(circa 2055)

Battle Section

(Space Naval Air Group)

• 360 VF-11 Thunderbolt Veritech fighter
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 3 EC-12 Eagle Airborne early warning and control aircraft
• 3 SC-45 Hawk Personnel and cargo shuttle
• 6 VC-25 Samson Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 14 VC-27 Hercules Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine Unit)

• 200 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 200 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone
• 200 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone

City Section

(Space Naval Air group)

• 60 VF-11 Thunderbolt Veritech fighter
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 5 SC-45 Falcon Personnel and cargo shuttle
• 20 VC-25 Samson Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 56 VC-27 Hercules Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine Unit)

• 60 MBR-15 Atma Heavy battle destroid
• 240 SDR-14 Tiger Missile destroid
• 240 ADR-14 Razor AAA destroid
• 10,000 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 10,000 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone
• 10,000 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone

(circa 2063)

Battle Section

(Space Naval Air Group)

• 255 VF-19 Excalibur Veritech fighter
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 90 VA-14 Falcon Veritech bomber
• 3 EC-15 Lynx Airborne early warning and control aircraft
• 3 SC-52 Vulture Personnel and cargo shuttle
• 6 VC-37 Perseus Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 14 VC-39 Ajax Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine Unit)

• 200 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 200 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone
• 200 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone

City Section

(Space Naval Air group)

• 60 VF-19 Excalibur Veritech fighters
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighters
• 5 SC-52 Vulture Personnel and cargo shuttles
• 20 VC-37 Perseus Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 50 VC-39 Ajax Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine Unit)

• 60 MBR-15 Atma Heavy battle destroid
• 200 SDR-14 Tiger Missile destroid
• 200 ADR-14 Razor AAA destroid
• 10,000 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 10,000 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone
• 10,000 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone

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

Electronics Systems:

(Battle Section)

• Hughes DSP-5 pinpoint barrier defense system(1): Uses four movable disks of force field, conformal to the ship's surface, to repel light torpedo attacks, or particle beam fire.

(City Section)

• RRD DSO-6 omnidirectional barrier defense system(1): An advanced forcefield system which covers the full four pi steradians around the ship with a yellow-greenish forcefield (or if desired, only part of the ship). This field will stop all solids and directed energy weapons (except lasers through a narrow band). However, excess energy which cannot be shunted from the field will be stored in the virtual structure of the field itself. The storage wattage is high but not infinite, and when the barrier overloads the field will discharge the stored energy particles. This discharge will have the force of a high-yield (>45 MT) fusion bomb. However, as the discharged energetic particles' vectors will be away from the field and its generating vessel, the vessel will survive, though it will suffer severe damage to its internal electronics and power systems, and will not be battleworthy until repairs are made .
• Hughes DSP-5 pinpoint barrier defense system(5): Uses four movable disks of force field, conformal to the ship's surface, to repel light torpedo attacks, or particle beam fire.

Design Notes: 

Following the conclusion of the Third Robotech War in late 2044, the Earth began the road to recovery.  Soon after this process began, the United Terran Government was established and immediately began two tasks, rearming the RDF to defend human civilization and its allies, and ensuring humanity's survival.  To accomplish the latter task, several officials within the government created the idea of spreading humanity rapidly using large ships and support fleets to travel outside of known space, and seek out homes far from Earth.  The idea was that by spreading ourselves out over great distances, these humans may survive should the Earth and its colonies be destroyed.  The plan, eventually known as Project Outbound received congressional approval and funding in 2049 with the first fleet scheduled for launch in 2050.  Newport News won the lucrative contract to design and build all the colony ships involved in the project and delivered the flagship for each colony fleet, the Japan-class Colonization Vessel.

These new vessels are designed to be the flagships of colonization fleets carrying well over 1 million civilian settlers. The colony portion of the Japan vessels (usually called the "City" part) alone can carry over 350,000 people. In addition the City block provides excellent  protection for the civilians. The semi-transparent dome covering the city can be enclosed by a heavy projection shield that completely protects the colony from attacks (except for external areas, see below). When not in danger, the shield can be lifted off the dome to provide colonists with an awe-inspiring view of the stars. The raising and lowering of the shield gives the impression of a giant clam opening and closing its shell, which has led to ships of this class being nicknamed "clamshell ships" and "clamshell colonies".

The Japan-class vessels are also intended to serve as the flagship for the colonization fleet's military escort forces. The Japan-class vessels are actually two starships in one. The front part of the ship is a military Battle Carrier which can separate from the colony part and engage in battle separately when necessary. The carrier (usually called the "Battle" section)  can carry over 350 veritech fighters at maximum capacity and contains sophisticated communication and radar systems which allows it to effectively coordinate the fighter wings and escort ships in battle. In addition the battle section is transformable (has two modes of operation, Cruiser and Attack mode) and is armed with an impressive array of anti-warship weaponry, including missile launchers, rail guns, and a reflex cannon. The reflex cannon is of particular interest, as it is a self-contained spaceship that can be released from the battle section and maneuvered and fired under its own power if necessary. 

The interiors of the city sections contain large metropolitan areas that are over 50 square kilometers in size. These cities are usually extremely clean and well kept, and feature many parks and public areas for use by citizens. Most colony residents enjoy a high standard of living, which helps to offset the boredom of long-distance space travel. The only exceptions to this rule are residents living in the external habitation modules of the city section. Each city ship can have up to 5 external living areas attached to the main hull. These areas are not protected by the projection shield and are therefore much more vulnerable to attack. Usually these areas are used for agriculture or additional parks, but occasionally they are used to house additional settlers who are added to the mission at the last minute. These areas usually become havens for "second-class citizens" and can resemble the slums of most major cities.

When a Japan-class ship is launched it is accompanied by a fleet of special-purpose colony ships that make up a self-supporting community in space, allowing the ships to operate for years without contact from home. (current estimates are that a Japan-class colony fleet can operate for up to 30 years without resupply.) The accompanying colony fleet usually includes at least one of each of the following ships; Henry Ford-class mobile factory ships, Riviera-class resort ships, Hollywood-class amusement ships, Einstein-class research ships, Beginhill-class military training vessels, and Sunflower-class agriculture ships. These ships are in addition to a moderately large military escort fleet made up mostly of Nile-class light carriers, Hurricane-class light cruisers, and Raptor-class heavy destroyers.

History:

The first Japan-class colony vessel, SCO-01 UES Japan slipped from its moorings at the Newport News Shipyards on Luna's surface in March of 2050, one year after construction began.  The vessel was soon joined by its fellow colony vessels near the L-3 point and on July 10, 2050 it folded toward the galactic core.  After this, new colony vessels were launched every year with no shortage of volunteers seeking adventure in the vastness of space.  The success of Project Outbound has been tremendous.  Seven new systems have been found with hundreds more charted and targeted for terraformation by the RDF Science Division.  

Eight of the ships which colonized systems returned just as the Fourth Robotech War began and were enlisted in an extremely important mission, evacuation.  These massive ships had there interiors gutted out to serve as massive holding ships to carry billions of humans from the outlying worlds to refuge planets to escape the atrocities of the Marduk who did not leave survivors. Of these evacuation ships, only one fleet was lost that being the 9th colonization fleet when a Marduk fleet lead by a starbase folded in and destroyed the fleet along with 40 million civilians.  However, this program saved countless human lives.

Another side note is that of SCO-05 UES Israel which meet a mysterious end after landing in the Rex System in 2064, more than likely at the hands of the Varauta Empire.  The most famous ship in this class however is SCO-07 UES Germany which encountered and defeated the Varauta Empire single-handedly in 2064 thanks to the help of her legendary Capt. Maxamillian Sterling and Mayor Miriya Parino Sterling and the rock and roll band Fire Bomber.

After the war ended, no further colony vessel were constructed, and those in service helped out with repatriation efforts and by 2070 were loaded up with a new batch of colonists to take toward the galactic core.

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