Post

Region: Empire of Andrew

Edited

Chernobog Class Strategic Stealth Vessel:
Length: 5,000 meters
Armament: 3 Singularity Cannons, 1 Tachyon Arrow, 8,000 Quad Dark Matter Cannons, 5,000 missile pods.

The Chernobog was the result of decades of arguments between Imperial Navy staff and Torchwood over the Navy having stealth ships. The Chernobog was a compromise; the Navy would be granted access to high tech Torchwood stealth equipment but on a few specific vessels, and it would be modified to “better serve the mission of the Navy”. The end result was named for the Slavic god of darkness, because the Chernobog Class leads fleets, cloaked against all sensors, into the enemy heartland to strike a lethal blow.
The main feature of the Chernobog is a single device known as the Veles Field Generator, named for the Slavic god of trickery. The Veles Field uses an artificial element crafted by Torchwood known as Velesium. When an energy shield is exposed to Velesium, it adopts highly unique properties. While no longer able to absorb enemy fire, the shield can easily absorb any and all signals of lesser intensity; almost every sensor will fail to register anything within the modified shield. The Veles Field can be extended for up to 25 miles in every direction, allowing a small but hard-hitting force to be kept near-totally concealed from enemy sensors. However, gravimetric distortion sensors can detect an anomaly, but are unable to pinpoint the location of said anomaly, and tachyon sensors can generally determine a direction but are still unable to provide a more precise location of the anomaly. Because such sensors are no doubt rare, generally Chernobog vessels can operate with complete impunity, or with the support of more conventional Prowlers working to create fake gravimetric and tachyon anomalies to confuse or distract enemy sensors. In addition, there is another flaw; conventional Imperial communications cannot travel out of the Veles Field, nor can sensors. Communication can occur within the field, but not with outside assets unless FTL communications such as a Gilman Transmitter is used. Thus, systems must be scouted very thoroughly before a Chernobog is sent in with a fleet. The Chernobog also has a “muffled” Jaunt Drive, which means the travel time is longer, but the portal created upon exit has a far smaller energy signal.
While the main attribute of the Chernobog is the Veles Field, that does mean it is a support vessel. The Chernobog is equipped with no less than three Singularity Cannons and one Tachyon Arrow as it’s main guns, with 8,000 Quad Dark Matter Cannons and 5,000 missile pods as support weapons. It holds up to 300 small craft, and is equipped with no less than 6 conventional (that is to say, not impacted by the Velesium) shield generators and 100 feet each of ACE and ERA armor. The vessel is equipped with Velesium panels as well as Torchwood’s signature active camouflage systems.
The Chernobog is intended to lead strike teams on surprise raids or act as a spearhead of a fleet, catching the enemy off guard or targeting strategic assets. There is a limited number of Chernobogs in existence, but more are being created over time:
CCS Chernobog
CCS Veles
CCS Loki
CCS Nyx
CCS Nox

Thoughts?

Absorption/disruption is not stealthy, as it disrupts the environment in a way that can be detected and with multiple reference points could pinpoint the exactly shape, size, and positioning of the stealth fields.

The best stealth would absorb the signals/particles, then remit them on the other end with a differing strength or other properties (as well as the right timing) that an onboard quantum computer would detect would be the normal difference had the signals/particles had it passed through the typical area of space had there been nothing out of the ordinary to get in their way. (This requires extremely fast computing speeds and faster-than-light wiring to achieve, meaning most civilizations would settle with redirecting particles and signals around the vessel and trying to align them as best they can on their way out to cover their tracks, even if such leaves imperfections.)

A system that doesn't remit the signals or particles on the other end will create a blind spot in the usual phenomena they would observe around them in their environment -- generating from the perspective of the sensor a "Cone of Uncertainty" where objects could possibly exist along the cone depending on what size the object is. Allowing metrics like the usual sizes of ships or projected energy fields from ships to be used to narrow down the potential positioning of the object even from a single observer's lone sensor data. With multiple sensors in other locations, they can interlock their cones and generate the real exact positioning of the disruption as well as it's exact shape and size as well as it's rate of travel and it's trajectory.

This is a significant enough amount of data that it could be used to direct weapons fire against the stealth field even if the exact positioning of objects within the stealth field is impossible to know.

However, the speed of light is an important metric for the stealth of spacecraft. As this system's traits cannot be detected if it drops out to a different stealth method more appropriate for immediate field work at the right distance and the light doesn't catch up to the sensors in time before the operation is completed. (Making the system as described very useful as a counter to Faster-than-light radar/sonar analgoues and allowing the fleet to not immediately be detected from extremely long ranges)

Cybus1

Context • Report