LGV-215 Seraph

The LGV-215 is a midweight spacecraft class built largely for patrol, reconnaissance and expeditionary purposes. Due to it's frequent use by assorted mercenary orgs, it is far and away the most frequently seen warcraft outside of the Qhevak region. Like many modern patrol cruisers, it has the armament and performance to serve as a reasonably effective frontline combatant, and it's size, heavy armament and electronic warfare capability allows it to serve as a flagship for smaller fleets.

The Seraph is a somewhat old but reliable and frequently updated design, with the original LGV-215A-2 production model first entering service in 1971. The LGV-215-E2, which first entered service in 2014, is the most advanced variant currently in widespread operation. Roughly 72,000 Seraphs of all types are currently estimated to be in operation across the galaxy.

Specifications
Like most warcraft, the Seraph has a thin, ridged pyramidal shape to minimize particle beam incidence, with propellant slurry mostly stored towards the front to provide greater shielding against penetrating electron radiation. It carries four sizable internal cargo bays aftwards with a maximum combined payload capacity of 50,000 tons, allowing it to carry a sizable ground assault force or a small fleet of light patrol craft for greater area coverage. The large cargo bays have occasionally also lead to use of Seraphs as freighters for transporting emergency supplies into wartorn areas. The AGI crew operates in a compact computer block in the ship's core, with additional layers of shielding to maximize probability of crew survival even in the event of total destruction.

Armament consists of a standard 3.5 terawatt ultra-relativistic electron beamer, typically firing 350 GJ pulse trains at 2 TeV and 10 Hz, as well as an 1.9 TW multispectrum smartmatter phased array for ECM and point defense, capable of projecting a wide range of emissions between the near-UV and radio bands. This is backed up by turret-mounted point-defense macron accelerators and electron beamers for last-ditch defense against drones and kinetics. External provisions allow the Seraph to carry a large number of long range standoff missiles, usually Super Genie NSWR standoff cluster missiles. Primary heat rejection is provided by a 2500K Ni Curie-Point radiator, which sprays droplets of heat-pumped molten metal from the craft's prow before collecting it with magnetic fields once sufficiently cooled and recycled for further use. Effective radiating surface area can be multiple square kilometers, at relatively low radiator mass and vulnerability. 4000K Diamondoid radiator panels provide backup cooling in combat, and operate at much lower temperatures for cooling ambient operational loads out of combat.

Version History

 * LGV-215-A: Initial production variant, introduced in 1971. Had a 2.5 TW X-ray laser spinal instead of an electron beamer - the relative effectiveness of the two weapon classes on sub-kilometer warcraft was still in dispute at the time. 5,401 built; none are still in military operation in Qhevak, though many are in civilian use and it continues to see use in other areas of the galaxy.
 * LGV-215-B: Introduced 1979, the first variant to feature a spinal electron beam, with a 3.01 TW output. The LGV-215-B3, introduced 1986, solidified the design's popularity, and is the variant with the largest total production run. 34,229 built; many are still in operation.
 * LGV-215-C: Modification of the B variant for use by organic crews, with spacious internal accommodations. Introduced 1985; 9,505 built.
 * LGV-215-D: Introduced in 1996; general upgrade of the B variant. 27,438 built.
 * LGV-215-E: Introduced 2010; upgrade of the D variant with a 3.5 TW electron beam spinal using plasma wakefield acceleration to achieve greater penetration. E-1 variant's spinal had minor accuracy issues owing to thermal expansion, which were fixed in the E-2. 23,609 built.
 * Helion Sidewinder: 1989 third party redesign of the B variant by Helion Stratodynamics, intended for use as an armed freighter. The most popular third party Seraph, with 4,031 built.
 * Seraph Diamond: Third party Seraph variant redesigning the LGV-215-C as a luxury cruise craft. Introduced 1992, frequently updated since. 209 built.
 * Barai Gevurah: 1999 third party redesign by Barai of the LGV-215-D as a planetary assault craft. 509 built.