Database and Lore

The Providence Class Stealth Missile Cruiser

“The revival of stealth vessels has returned. It’s only my hope that they perform well in the service of defense for the UHN.” Scientist Joseph Lee, Lead Engineer of the Stealth Research Institute on Mars. The need to have a stealth warship always made sense in most individuals’ views. However, it was later identified that the principles of stealth technology in space were difficult to achieve. The introduction of the Providence class marked a new beginning in stealth warfare for the UHN. Its legacy cannot be forgotten as it paves the way for future warships of its type. Design The concept of the Providence class was nothing new in the eyes of the Stealth Research Institute on Mars. Prior to the vessel’s introduction, humanity had been experimenting with space stealth composites. The Tench class Stealth Cruiser that was introduced by the United States Space Force in the early 22^nd century was a hallmark of success. Prior to the 22^nd century, it was envisioned that it was possible to create a ship that could be invisible to all radar, satellite, and sensor systems. However, such an achievement was something that was almost impossible to reach. It was highly believed that trying to achieve stealth capability in space wasn’t possible. Every spaceship created heat and had to channel it properly. At the same time, space has a way of being absolutely cold. Infrared scans could pick up even the most minuscule amount of temperature emission generated by a ship. Even if a ship were made out of carbon composites and invisible to radar, the infrared would simply track the vessel and reveal its location. Early attempts at creating stealth-based warships failed. However, in 2115, a scientist by the name of Edward Tench had created a new carbon fiber titanium material. This various combined blend of composites would properly absorb any heat that was emitted from specific equipment. At the same time, the interior space would still be adequately protected for its inhabitants. Further experimentations showed that proper venting and cooling equipment could further mask the ability to generate heat from outside the ship. The combined capabilities would render the vessel invisible to infrared. The Tench class Stealth Cruiser was introduced in 2120, and three ships of its type (The Tench, Gato, and Guppy) would be built. However, despite the introduction of such ships, they proved to be a costly design. The price of having to create the composite was absolutely challenging and expensive. While the Tench was legendary for scaring other nations of a “hidden warship,” may know that there weren’t many. Even other nations simply failed to produce their own stealth warship. The vessels also suffered from short service lives, although the USS Gato would be used all the way up to 2235 when it was finally retired on Deimos. It would take over seventy years before the newly made UHN would look upon stealth technology. While the concept wasn’t lost, the cost of creating a stealth warship cost more than building a typical warship. The UHN was still eager to eventually return to having a quantifiable warship design. The Tench class worked well, and many officers enjoyed the idea of having hidden vessels that could strike targets and remain hidden from radar. In 2300, of the hindsight of increasing expenditures for the UHN, the decision was made to conduct further research of improving upon the design of the former Tench class. By 2300, technological improvements helped further improve the layout of the stealth ships. The same stealth composite material would be used. However, advances in basic replication technology would make production slightly cheaper and easier to make. The Stealth Research Institute made much effort not to create a copy of the Tench but a vessel that reflected 24^th century standards. In 2305, the institute would unfurl the Providence class Stealth Cruiser. Technically, it was almost the size of a battleship but lacked the rotating centripetal ring. The Providence carried eight instead of the six missile tubes that the old Tench class had. The entire hull layout is much longer to help accommodate the large missile loadout. The bow section is considered to be the hardest to track on radar and infrared. The bow is sharp and carries two retractable bow thrusters to help propel it aft. Movement and use of thrusters at certain speeds would make it much easier to see, but in stationary or non- acceleration drives, the vessel can’t be detected. Further improvements to the hull composite make the vessels black in color. The Providence is designed to use missiles as its only means of defense and offense. It carries no AIO turrets to defend itself as it was deemed too costly and impractical for a vessel that is supposed to remain undetected. History The first Providence class construction began in 2304 but wouldn’t be fully commissioned until 2306 to 2307. By then, the UHN staff were impressed with the design and performance. Even with a price tag that cost as much as two Helix Class Battleships, many argued that having a stealth warship helped increase the versatility of the UHN fleet inventory. In fleet formations, the stealth warships would remain at the outer edge. The stealth cruisers would envelop or slip through defenses to attack rear targets when an engagement was made. It looked good on paper, but the sheer cost limited their use. There were also issues with the rear thrusters being too exposed when vessels would scan for them. Usually, the first thing that would be detected was the rear-drive plume of the Providence. At the time, it was argued that the design was to help keep costs down, but it was considered a design flaw that hampered the Providence. Another major flaw was the lack of a rotating centripetal ring. In long-term cruises, this would put stress on the crews’ bodies with the lack of gravity. While constant acceleration could be used to mitigate this issue, the stealth warships would be picked up on other radars as a result. Again, these issues were quite prevalent in the former Tench Class used long ago. One significant way to combat this was to park the vessels on moons. It was not uncommon for the crews and servicemembers to refer to the Providence class as the “Moon hoppers” or “Moon huggers” as a moon would at least provide some form of gravity for crews to operate even if it was marginal. The UHN would construct seven of these warships, and they would see service in the 2310s against the Nova Hamidou Pirates. Interestingly, it would be the Paloran asteroid belt where the Providence would flourish rather effectively. At the time, pirate vessels would use the belt to hide and ambush civilian ships. However, the stealth cruisers couldn’t be picked up by the pirates. It was claimed that 25% of the kills made against the pirate vessels were all attributed to the Providence. The stealth cruisers could hide on the edge of the belt on large rocks or escort important convoys. Sometimes, single civilian vessels would act as “bait” for the escorting stealth cruiser to ambush the pirates that came to attack the civilians. However, even with such an advantage, the Providence couldn’t be everywhere. Its high cost and constant crew rotations still limited their performances and service. Many viewed that further improvements were needed to make the vessel better. Ultimately, the Nation class Stealth Cruiser would account for these improvements. Despite the limitations, the Providence would still be used to help protect the Paloran asteroid belt. By 2340, they had been regulated as training vessels for the more advanced and improved stealth cruisers to come. They are all slated to be retired in 2355.    *Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: The First Peace* It was a mystery how effective the stealth cruisers were when used against the Itreans. Many of the UHN command had fears that the vessels were too costly and ineffective against the countless Itrean vessels. At the same time, others argued that the stealth ships could fight well in battle. It appeared that the Itreans focused less on vessels like the Providence class as they focused their fire on the battleships. It was unknown if the Itreans could properly detect them or not. The truth was ultimately revealed with the UWA/T’rintar clan alliance. It was shown that the stealth cruisers were almost useless. Itrean equipment could still pick up the vessels, although they were somewhat undetectable from certain extreme ranges. What made them effective, however, was the fact that the Itreans considered them as “less valuable targets.” The combat effectiveness of the stealth cruisers was almost on par with the battleships. However, the versatility of the battleships made them worthwhile targets to destroy. Once they were wiped out, the Itreans would have simply moved on and wiped out the stealth cruisers. This, in no way, meant that the Itreans didn’t fear the stealth warships. Prior to two hundred years ago, stealth battleships were deployed by the various clans. However, their long-term warfare and using them had made their equipment more advanced in finding them. If anything, many Itreans have found the stealth cruisers of the UHN to be adequate and impressive for human construction. During the Siege of Cipra, the Providence classes were kept on standby but were mostly used to help reinforce Palora. As of 2350, they remain there to help patrol the enormous belt.