Though the UAS Federal Navy had retired its fleet of Endeavour-class Battlecruisers and other capital-class vessels by the turn of the 44th century A.D, the Navy put forward a new requirement to the Starship Research & Devleopment Branch: a new super-capital class warship. It was deemed necessary by Naval Commanders that the highly mobile Task Forces of smaller RV-AX Type Fleet Cruisers and their escorts needed greater range; during Operation Tempest Liberty, sub-optimal range of the RV-AX's JDA prevented single-transition jumps from UAS Space to designated staging areas in the fringes of the Tempest Nebula.
While the RV-AX was capable of an effective range of around 4 parsecs, the expanse of the Tempest Ridge far exceeded that, forcing UAS Naval Commanders to perform multiple 'hops' between systems - vastly increasing the time to deployment, and as such, reducing the effectiveness of 'Lighting Strike' capability.
The Naval R&D at A.R.A.S Shipyards, Lorentis System, put forward the EV-AX Type design, codenamed 'Evolution', at over 2.7 KM long and weighing in over 3 million tons, it was almost twice the length of the largest capital ship to serve in the fleet, the Endeavour-class battlecruiser, and almost three times its mass. Much of this increased mass can be attributed to the collossal Jump Drive Array; the largest ever deployed on a mobile platform. In addition, EV-AX Type vessels contained a myriad of support facilities allowing it to deploy, maintain and support a small Task Force completely independent of a fixed base.
EV-AX Command Carriers have the capability to externally dock up to four RV-AX Fleet Cruisers, two Destroyers and a dozen frigate-sized vessels. Internal hangars allow the vessel to carry over five-hundred single-seat strikecraft and two dozen corvettes. The external docking clamps utilise powerful Magneto Fields to secure the ~1 KM long RV-AX during a phasic Subspace Jump. As such, a single 'Evolution' Command Carrier can deploy an entire Task Force with a range in excess of twenty parsecs - making EV-AX the only ship in the fleet, and in human history, to be able to pass the Crimson Barrier, above or below, in a single transition. This would give the UAS Navy an incredible first-strike capability to essentially anywhere in known space, provided the exit trajectory was mapped by a recon probe.
The UAS Navy put forward a requirement for 12 vessels of EV-AX designation. As of 4350 A.D, a single ship is in service, named for Legendary Old Federation Naval Commander, Reginald Dennis Webb, with six more undergoing trials, three under construction and two more planned. EV-AX Type vessels are the only ships in the UAS Fleet to officially hold an honuorary name, due to their size and importance to the Fleet.
At 2,720 M long, with a mass of 3,715,220 Tons, EV-AX is the largest and most massive spacefaring warship ever built by humanity in Aquarius. Equipped with eight A-Type Main Battery Turrets, each with a dual-linked Ion-Maser Cannon, the EV-AX is capable of providing incredible long-distance firepower support to its Task Force. Despite a formidble array of B-Type and PDS mounts, the vessel was never designed for open combat at medium or short range, and as such is a fairly large target for concentrated fire.
As with the RV-AX Fleet Cruiser, the EV-AX design lacks an axial armament. In its place, a large open hangar takes up most of the bow structure. Along with a ventral frigate bay, EV-AX is capable of carrying dozens of escort-class warships and hundreds of strikecraft. The primary roll of the Command Carrier is to rapidly deploy a Task Force, and provide a mobile base of operations within the local sector. Powerful, system-wide sensor arrays, long-range stand-off artillery capability, internal repair and resupply systems, fuel and munitions storage, this vessel is essentially a mobile shipyard.
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