Kaveni Empire Navy

The Kaveni Empire Ship branch or simply navy of the Kaveni military is the biggest military force of the Kaveni Empire and it works closely together with Kaveni Empire Fighter branch.

Divisional Levels

Battle groups

A battle group is 5 frigates, 2 destroyers, and 1 cruiser. (8 ships). Battle groups can be lead by captains.

A battle group is the most common formation for ships to fly in.

A battlegroup, when operating alone relies on speed, the cruiser often engages the hostile formation with it's main cannon or laser, while being flanked by the two destroyers who often choose to use their Hollow Beam laser. They stay far away from the enemy while the frigates get close, in the first run the frigates ignore the hostile ships and destroy as many of the Fighters as possible with Smartbombs, they stay close to each other while doing this because the middle frigate scans the enemy ships for weak spots and all other possible information. They do this a couple of times until the hostile fighter force is destroyed when that is done they swich to their torpedoes.

Flotillas

A flotilla is 4 battle groups, lead by a command unit of 2 heavy cruisers and 4 additional cruisers. (38 to 40 ships). Rear Admirals command flotillas.

Squadrons

A squadron is 3 flotillas, augmented by two scout battle groups and a command group of 1 dreadnaught, 5 heavy cruisers, and 1 carrier. (140 to 150 ships). Vice Admirals command squadrons.

Fleets

A fleet is 5 squadrons, lead by a dreadnaught or carrier, occasionally with a few extra battle groups thrown in. (800 ships). This is commanded by admirals, and is usually a significant portion of the entire navy.

Ships

Frigates

The battle tactics of frigates depend entirely on the theater they operate in. Single ship and small unit actions see frigates as the front line , using speed and maneuvering to bring their missile batteries and light cannons to bear. Lightly armored , frigates cannot take much damage, and as such most battle groups use them to pressure enemies out of the line of battle.

In larger fleets, frigates serve as scouts and carrier defense. Nimble enough and fast enough to keep up with fighters, frigates are also a fleets primary defense against bombers and heavy fighters. The occasional heavy missile frigate is used primarily as a stand-off multiplier, providing heavy cover for other frigates.

Frigate tactical options are almost endless. Frigates can serve as flankers, as scouts, force multipliers, distractions, screens, or more. Frigate commanders are chosen for aggression, quick decision making, and the ability to be willing to sacrifice themselves to support larger , more important vessels. That being said, few frigate commanders graduate to anything beyond destroyers - even a few years in the role makes a CO too reckless for cruiser or dreadnaught command.

Frigates are piloted by a single Flight Lieutenant, and are used in almost all sorts of operations.

Destroyers

Heavy enough to have some issues with lighter vessels, but far too light to go toe to toe with cruisers, destroyers are the light middleweights of space combat. Since most were built from the frames of light cruisers, they share basic structural toughness with that ship. Destroyers are the backbone of a battle group, providing the covering fire with heavier weapons to allow frigates to close.

Destroyer strategies are limited by the platform's design. A destroyer has a much harder time landing on planets, and will usually have poor airspace maneuverability. That means it's uses are limited mostly to space. Additionally, the destroyer has some of the heavier firepower of a cruiser, but neither the heat dissipation or power levels to maintain such heavy fire at length. They are good at oblique flanking and pressure tactics. They retain some but not all of the flexibility of the frigate, being more useful in the direct line of battle and less so in smaller units where they must take the brunt of the fighting.

As a result, destroyer CO's tend to go for the alpha strike, firing off everything at once and hoping to cripple the opponent. The captains are chosen from the best of the frigate commanders, and given additional training in target management.

Destroyers much large than frigates, but still are piloted by a single Flight Lieutenant.

Cruisers

Larger still than standard cruiser hulls, these three cruise classes are intended solely for deep space combat. They can enter atmosphere, however, for ground bombardment purposes, but are sluggish in doing so. Boasting both heavy internal and external armor, as well as segregated weapons, life support and combat support systems, heavy cruisers are difficult to knock out with a single strike, except by direct hit from a dreadnaught main gun.

These ships often form the core of medium sized units and are the primary striking power of any fleet. They have a full array of weapons.. Despite this, almost all cruisers of this weight utilize very standardized tactics. On offense, these cruisers form a single line, presenting an unbroken front of direct, heavy missile and cannon fire. When the range closes, they present a broadside and being opening up with fire of opportunity. Defensively, they use staggered positions to cover each other in their broadside arcs, and tend to use their shots to attempt to disable and slow enemy ships rather than kill.

Heavy cruiser captains are usually chosen from successful cruiser captains, or are trained in the academy after service on dreadnaughts. The hallmarks of the cruiser captain are more pronounced here - caution, long range engagement, use of supporting assets, and reluctance to close range until needed. The heavier armor and greater durability of these ships is offset by their threat . As such, heavy cruiser captains also take damage control courses and attempt to retain the services of experienced damage control officers when they can.

The Battle Cruisers extremely heavy armament does allow it further flexibility, in that it can place firepower downrange that can destroy other cruisers in two or three shots. It's greater threat, however, means it rarely gets the chance to do so, often having to maneuver to avoid counter-fire.

Carrier-Cruisers, more fragile than other carriers due to the large flight deck and amounts of fuel and explosive ammunition on board, have stronger shields and much stronger damage control systems. This does limit weapons load, and lower top speed.

Cruisers of this size have onboard minifacturing capability. The larger crew, usually around 500 or so (800 for carrier cruisers) is planned for with larger supply storage areas. This means cruisers effectively have nearly unlimited endurance.

Dreadnoughts

classed in the same range due to their size and sluggish nature, these behemoths have to be assembled in space and cannot land on any planet. They typically do not even think about entering an atmosphere, although it is theoretically possible, albeit with almost no real maneuverability.

The armor of dreadnaughts is honeycombed with damage channels and repair bots.

The armor of a dreadnaught , and it's staggering weapons load, mean that it's tactical options are both devastating and blunt. Dreadnaughts act as the firepower, focusing their shots on points of enemy resistance, leveraging broadsides in close quarters battle that can tear down a cruiser's shields and riddle it's hull with holes in seconds. Capable of pumping out dozens of torpedoes and literally hundreds of missiles in multiple salvos, dreadnaughts also field fighter spacecraft to add to their ridiculous firepower.

Carriers field 160 fighters, while the rare Dreadnaught Carriers dock over 600 fighters.

The marine contingent is a regiment (800 marines). Some of these are pilots , others ground troops, still others tank drivers or on-ship security. Carriers have smaller marine units but more crew given over to fighters.

Dreadnaughts have a crew of roughly 1,500 to 3,000, mostly manning the many guns and maintaining the ship's engineering and ops spaces. The ships boast a complete bar, onboard haptic entertainment facilities, hydroponic gardens for fresh fruit and vegetables, barbers, a full size gym.

Endurance is not even remotely a factor of these large ships, and often times dreadnaughts provide resupply to smaller ships in their fleet.