(Cruiser) Tempest-class Missile Cruiser

||Class: Light / Fast Cruiser
||Role: Anti-ship Missile Cruiser
||Mass: 259,800 T
||Length: 720 M
||Crew: up to 290-300
||Max Speed (Impulse Cruise): < 1.2 KM/s
||Max Speed (Hyper Cruise): < 950 KM/s
||Max Range (JDA): < 0.75 Parsec
||Date: 3207 A.D / 969 F.D.S
||Origin: Eris Tier Orbital Naval Yard, Eridonia System

||Primary Armour Plating: Tritanium / Composite Lightweight Construction
||Primary Armour Thickness: =< 2.5M (Main), =< 0.90M (Secondary) =< 0.35M (Tertiary & Pressure)
||Primary Armament: 160x TEMPEST-LRM / Hornet S/M/L Missile Launch Tubes
||Secondary Armament: 2x Dual "C" Type MKI/F FIMD 325mm Cannon Turrets
||Shielding: 1x MOD7 CTM Shield Generator
||Sensors: Quad bow-mast BSA/SDD.FCS/Targeting Sensor System. 2x Main-mast PARALAX Fire Control System and Long Range Tracking Suite
||Propulsion: 3-row HFI Drive System. 4x 4-row HFI Drive System for Auxiliary / Cruise Stabilisation with additional Plasma Recyclers

||Description:
A modification of the Farlease-class Light cruiser design, the Tempest Missile Cruiser is a dedicated, long-range anti-ship missile platform developed by the UTN Federal Navy in 969 F.D.S to augment the Fleet's long-range strike capability, provided by the then-aging Hercules-class Heavy Cruisers. The requirement for a faster, smaller, lower-cost alternative to heavy anti-capital ship capability once again lead Federal Navy engineers to look to the highly versatile Farlease-class hull. The Tempest-class features major design modifications. The kinetic battery armament is almost entirely removed, save for a pair of dual FIMD cannons for point-defence against frigates and corvettes, considered an essential bare-minimum for a cruiser. One could be forgiven for believing Tempest-class warships were lightly armed on first inspection; but that would be a mistaken view; the cruiser's internal superstructure was extensively refitted to carry launch, arming and munitions storage facilities for some 160 semi-concealed launch tubes that were not only compatible with the standard Hornet S/M/L missiles used by almost every other class in FN service (allowing munition interchangeability); but also designed with a new Long Range Missile system known as 'TEMPEST-LRM' for use with this class exclusively.

The modifications to the existing superstructure were so extensive that an entirely new ventral 'belly' compartment was added to the design to accommodate the additional launch tubes and facilities, giving the Tempest-class its unique appearance compared to other Farlease derivative designs. The 'TEMPEST-LRM' missile system included a brand new Fire Control System and Target Acquisition / Tracking system that, upon its introduction in 969 F.D.S, was the most advanced long-range weapons system in the Federal Navy's arsenal. Due to the increased mass from the missile systems, the Tempest was slower than other vessels of its class, falling under the 1000KM/s Hyper Cruise threshold considered a "staple" of fast cruiser designs, leading to crews nicknaming the class the 'Barge' for its shape, size and slow movement. The propulsion system was upgraded with additional drive-plasma recyclers allowing for an increase in output efficiency, but it was not enough to offset the increased mass; thus the classes' power to weight ratio shifted considerably in a negative capacity.

Despite the sluggish movement, relatively light shielding systems and weak kinetic main-battery, the Tempest-class saw extensive deployment in almost every major conflict fought by the UTN Federal Navy, up the later 4th millennium where it was slowly replaced by the Vengeance-class's Series 3C in long-range guided missile strike capability. Over this time, it had garnered a reputation for being able to bring unparalleled levels of long-range firepower to an engagement in a relatively compact package. While enhanced versions were planned, including a proposed Series 2 iteration with vastly upgraded drive system, the requirement for a light-cruiser class anti-capital ship platform with guided missiles had diminished as the highly flexible and versatile Vengeance-class Heavy Cruiser entered service; which was able to carry the launch facilities for Tempest-LRM systems alongside significantly more powerful drives, defensive capabilities and firepower to boot.

|| Variants:
N/A (S2 Planned, cancelled)

||Legacy:
The Tempest-class Missile Cruiser entered service in relatively significant numbers with the Terran Loyalist Navy in 4042 A.D, after its formation, mostly from exhausted Federal Navy fleets returning from the Radacri front in the Tempest Ridge. Though not manufactured since the mid 4th millennium, the class saw limited use with the TLN and later the United Aquarian Systems Navy between 4299 and 4402 A.D. During this time, it was often deployed as lighter, less strategically inflexible asset for countering capital ships such as the Tigersharks' converted Endeavour-class battlecruisers; of which lacked advanced counter measures and were often easily overwhelmed by the Tempest's Hornet LRM barrage. The class is no longer in service with the Aquarian military as of 4402 A.D: and the role of dedicated missile cruiser was taken up by the development of the significantly more capable RV2M-class missile cruiser developed by the Aquarian Imperial Navy and deployed in 4408 A.D.