Class: Whip Class
Operators: American Union
Manufacturer:
Length: 70 Meters
Diameter: 20 Meters

Crew: 10 Crew

Propulsion: ULA Mark 16 Small Fusion Drive
Maximum Acceleration:

Range: 3g

Sensors:
Armament:

The Whip was originally developed and procured in small numbers for local defense, training, and general use as a support ship for use around Earth or other well-developed American-Union territory. The ship was built around the idea of minimal manning, requiring the least amount of people to conduct an operation. Instead of specialists, the crew is often made up of generalists geared towards conducting the basic operations, weapon usage, and navigation with repair and maintenance work conducted primarily when the ship is docked at a space station. As the crew compartment is isolated from the rest of the ship, repairs to the weapons or engines require a spacewalk.

Following the New Years Revolution and the disastrous battle of Reiss the American Union found it needed to rethink its combat strategy. The loss of six Statesmen class ships at once left the American Union entirely unable to continue operations in the Hawking System AND Atlantica, which would lead to the loss of the 6th fleet as an organization entirely. The long production times required for new Statesmen would also prevent the Union from replenishing their losses. The answer would be to 'surge' smaller ship classes like the Whip, as they could be brought up to modern standards and then mass produced in a relatively short amount of time with new hulls being commissioned in the middle of 2320 and numerous older hulls being updated with modern equipment by the end of 2320, promoting backline and training units to full combat roles.

The Whip has a conventional stack style layout, with a weapon segment at the top of the ship, followed by a crew module, fuel tanks, and then a propulsion system.

The Whip is a lightly armored ship, with a front-facing armored plate and additional anti-laser protection along one side of the ship. There is a minimum amount of protection wrapped around the crew compartment in the center of the ship and the lack of easy damage control requires the ship be returned to a dock for repairs should it be heavily damaged. This ultimately fits the design goal of making a 'disposable' ship.

A single point defense coilgun is located on the nose of the craft and can cover the forward and rear face of the ship along one side.

For more see: UG-301

A pair of UG-311 Railguns are mounted in the nose of the ship, and can track targets up to 15 degrees off center.

For more see: UG-311

By 2310 Union ships were using a launch cell derived from the Magnetic Assembly’s containerized component modules. Each cell can hold 2 9m long missiles, and with 8 cells total the Whip can house 16 missiles.

The Mk 23 Naval Bastille Frequency Generator is an Electronic Warfare Support system originally designed for naval ships that operated in and around civilian shipping lanes on Earth. It was hardened for use in space after the loss of the AUS Lord Palmerston in 2320 to Cyber-Attack so that American Union ships could be refit with new Electronic Warfare systems as fast as possible.


The system itself was originally designed for short range electronic attack, primarily to jam short range communication systems such as civilian wifi, cellular, and other data networks. The original intended use was for frigates near the coast to be able to safely overtake commercial shipping. While this makes the system somewhat useless in the extreme range combat of space, it does make the system suitable for suppressing communications on starships that are about to be boarded. More importantly, it allows a ship to suppress and control the civilian grade equipment that might be brought onboard by the ship’s own crew. This helps maintain electronic security inside of the ship during operations.

The Whip uses a ECLSS type life support system developed by the Union Launch Alliance designed to provide a breathable atmosphere for the crew through use of Oxygen Generation, air filtration, and Carbon Dioxide Removal. The system can support 20 people for six months, at 0.5 atm of pressure inside of the ship.

The ship also includes a grey-water treatment system capable of supporting 10 people almost indefinitely.

Food and other material goods must come from the ship's internal stores.