History

During the 3rd Rio Plata War Argentina's Piedra Buena class Frigates placed a terrible logistics burden on the AEA, and work was commenced on a nuclear powered replacement. The Espora used the best technology available to Argentina. Unfortunately Argentina is behind in fusion technology, and the Espora is powered by a fission plant.

Armament on the Piedra Buena included a powerful particle beam weapon, but this has been replaced by a pair of heavy submunitions launchers, offering a massive close range punch. Long range armament is provided by 6 EM-10 missiles, these missiles use a much smaller power plant than European missiles, but this allows for a much greater rate of production.

The adoption of a single large class of ships has resulted in an extremely large and flexible escort and raiding force, stiffened by the Capital Ship force (2 Cruisers and a Carrier). Half are currently on assignment to the colonies, Tirane or merchant protection. The rest are based at the Argentine Fleet Base at La Grange-4.

Statistics

Design Date: 2279
First Example Laid Down: 2279
First Example Completed: 2280
Fleets in Service: Argentina and Mexico
Number in Service: 24 in Argentine Service (Espora, Almirante Brown, La Argentina, Heroina, Sarandi, General Belgrano, Rosales, Spiro, Parker, Robinson, Gomez Roca, Drummond, Guerrico, Granville, Piedra Buena, Santissima Trinidad, Venticinco de Mayo, Cochrane, O'Higgins, Hipolito Bouchard, Comodoro Py, Hercules, Rivadavia and Perone); 6 in Mexican Service (Puebla, Baja, Durango, Cuba, Sonora and California)

Performance
Warp efficiency: 2.52 (standard load) (2.86 unloaded)
Power Plant: 15 MW Fission
Fuel: none
Range: 7.7 light years
Endurance: 18 weeks
Mass: 2,283 tons (unloaded)
Cargo Capacity: 1,052 cubic meters
Crew: 48 (14 Bridge, 8 TAC, 13 Engineering, 10 Troops, 1 Steward and 2 Medical); Passengers: none
Comfort: 0;
Emergency Power: 168 hours
Total Life Support: 48 for 180 days
Cost: MLv84.292, excluding ordnance

Ship Status Sheet
Move: 5 (6 unloaded)
Screens: 0
Radiated Signature: 2(5)
Radial Reflected: 5
Lateral Reflected: 6
Target Computers: +2;
Radial Profile: -2
Lateral Profile: 0
Armour: 4
Hull hits: 43
Power Plant Hits: 20
Active: 7
Passive: 10
Manoeuvrability: 3
Other: External Sling for Sensor Drone or Spaceplane

Weapons
2 x1+1 double mounted lasers on gun towers (12388, 12345)
2x Submunitions Launcher (4 shots, 10x2 warhead)

Ordnance Load
6 EM-10 missiles, 2 communicators

Sensors and Electronics:
Phased Active-7
Spherical Passive-10
Navigation Radar
DSS
Gravitational

Crew Hits:
Bridge: Captain, Navigator, Helm, 2x Communications, 2x Computer
TAC: 4 Fire Control, Phased Active Operator, Spherical Passive Operator, 2 Remote Pilots

Damage Control: 13 (5 DC parties)

Argentine EM-10 Missile

Design Date: 2278
First Example Laid Down: 2278
First Example Completed: 2278
Fleets in Service: Argentina and Mexico
Number in Service: ~400

Combat Performance Data:
Movement: 7, Radiated Signature: 1, Radial Reflected Signature: 1, Lateral Reflected Signature: 1, Radial Target Profile: -4, Lateral Target Profile: -4, Hull Hits: 1/1/1, Power Plant Hits: 1/1, Armament: one 10x2 detonation laser, Active Sensors: none, Passive Sensors: 3 Forward Looking

Design Characteristics:
Warp Efficiency: 3.26, Power Plant: 0.05 MW Fuel Cell, Fuel: 0.068 tons, sufficient for 3 hours of operation, Mass: 7.8 tons, Length: 10 meters, Diameter: 1 meters, Price: MLv8.2

Bay Volume/Mass: 8.3 cubic meters