Annihilation - Class Frigate

Small, very fast frigates of the Cypher Dominion.

The Annihilation - class is designed to be used alongside the fleet disc shields of the CD military. Though the Annihilation class lacks in protection, it has a lot of firepower, such as the spinally mounted plasma cannon, as well as many other weapons in turrets. The sheer amount of weapons makes it relatively slow for its size but can easily make its cost in enemy starship kills when they are supported properly. When they are used with fleet disc shields, it is important to support and screen the fleet with anti missile defences, otherwise missile strikes may be ordered around the shield to hit the CD flank. Subspatial starships are also sometimes used to attack these formations in the flanks so they should be supported by more conventional ships. These formations would struggle to exist while orbiting large bodies because objects in shorter orbital radii will orbit at higher velocity, so these formations are only formed in orbit if there is an immediately or shortly present threat. They are also much more common in higher orbits as the very low orbital velocity means that the formation will decay much slower. The ship has an extremely aggressive design philosophy and intended role. Almost all of its turrets can fire forwards as well as its spinally mounted cannon, which can penetrate much heavier ships. This very aggressive nature gives it many nicknames in various faction militaries and in many cases also makes it a priority target. The CD military should take this into account when using the Annihilation - class.

Like most CD ships, it receives power through a wormhole from a larger facility well inside CD territory. The ship will also dissipate waste heat through this wormhole, and heat is much more easily removed while on a planet than on a starship. These types of generators hold many advantages over equipment like conventional reactors, as CD ships are no longer limited by the amount of fuel they can store. This gives most CD ships a virtually infinite operational range and time. This wormhole also allows for excellent communications.

It has also shown a lot of effectiveness used in an ambush strategy or to flank enemy positions where possible. Though it has relatively low acceleration, they will orbit planets at the same speed as any other ship and may make for good evasion in low planetary orbits and could also cause great damage that way too. Without an escort, the Annihilation is particularly vulnerable to missiles. It has only 2 laser CIWS turrets located at the top and bottom of the ship, which may not be sufficient to defend against swarms of missiles.