Atago-class heavy cruiser

The Atago-class heavy cruiser is among the largest and most modern warships fielded by the CHSF, the Consortium navy, designed with the intention to form the backbone of a multipurpose long-range strike force. Fast, powerful and heavily armed, they have enough firepower to hold their own against any cruiser in any other navy.

Design
The Atago-class cruisers are an improved version of the previous Kibishī-class cruiser design, incorporating technical elements learned with the development of the experimental light cruiser Suzuya. They have a distinctive profile, with a large, raked bridge and clearly-visible main batteries. Intended to address issues with the Kibishī class, the Atago class has thicker armor, dual-purpose main guns which can be used against starfighters, and her "Lancer" torpedo launchers moved to the upper deck for greater safety. However, as with its predecessors, the Atago class is also overgunned and overengineered, leading to excessive strains on the superstructure when operating as landing cover in an atmosphere.

Propulsion is done by numerous Akaneya plasma turbines driving twenty-two impulse and ion engines. The ship is armored with a 180-95 mm (7.08-67 in) side belt, and a 35 mm (1.4 in) armored flight deck; the bridge is armored with 210 to 216 mm (8.2-8.5 in) quantum-crystalline armor plating, making it nearly impervious to assault.

Armament
The Atago class's main armament consists of forty-eight 41 cm/50 Type 46 heavy pulse batteries and thirty-six 41 cm/55 Type 46 heavy maser batteries in dual mounts, the heaviest armament of any cruiser in the Consortium, mounted in several twin turrets. Her secondary armament includes multiple 15.5 cm/60 Type 62 medium ion batteries and 15.5 cm/65 Type 62 medium ion-maser batteries, and twelve 61/90 Type 93 “Lancer” torpedo launchers in quadruple mounts to make full use of their neutron torpedoes.

They were initially very deficient in anti-starfighter capabilities, only mounting a few 12.7 cm/45 Type 89 guns, but the design was repeatedly changed during the initial stages until they mounted eighty not only of those guns but of their larger-caliber 12.7 cm/50 Type 89 maser cousins as well. In addition to these, they carry several hundred corrosion missiles in vertical and horizontal launch cells, for use against starfighters, capital ships, and everything in-between.

The Atago class also carries two Hikari fighter squadrons to assist in fending off enemy starfighters and bombers, and twenty-four STRAIN units for spaceborne assault and defense.

History
Launched as a replacement to the aging Kibishī-class heavy cruisers, the Atago class was designed to combat the outer defensive ring of enemy cruisers and destroyers that accompanies an enemy fleet, in accordance with the warship doctrine of the Consortium navy. As they are to work in concert with the battlecruisers of the fleet—that role later being taken on by the Kongō fast battleships—to that end, they possess better speed and armor than their predecessors.

The warships themselves bear a striking resemblance to the Kongō fast battleships they are meant to fight alongside, with the same narrow needle-like “arrowhead” design and generally similar superstructure, albeit of reduced size. They bear composite reactive armor that, as designed, is capable of withstanding their own ammunition and reducing the stress of a directed energy impact via heat redistribution– “proofing” the warship as standard across all Consortium designs. Considerable effort was put into the class’s ability to handle sustained directed-energy impact.

As with most Consortium designs, the Atago cruisers follow the doctrine of qualitative superiority to make up for quantitative superiority- this leads to many starships being overgunned and overengineered for their size and volume, which can lead to excessive strains on the superstructure when operating in atmospheres or around gravity wells.

Atago
Main article: Consortium cruiser Atago

HSF Atago is the lead ship of her class, laid down and constructed at Kiyoko Orbital Naval Arsenal, over Kure.

Takao
Main article: Consortium cruiser Takao

HSF Takao is the second vessel of the Atago-class heavy cruisers, active with the Consortium fleet. She was laid down and built at Shirasaki Orbital Naval Arsenal, over Nosaki.

Maya
Main article: Consortium cruiser Maya 

HSF Maya is the third vessel of the ​Atago​-class heavy cruisers, and is somewhat different from her sisters in that she was modified to carry several hundred additional corrosion missiles, to be launched from hatches on her upper deck akin to the nuclear submarines of pre-spaceflight Earth. She was laid down and completed at Haresaki Orbital Naval Arsenal, over Enami.

Chōkai
Main article: Consortium cruiser Chōkai

HSF Chōkai is the fourth vessel of the Atago-class heavy cruisers, laid down, built, and launched at Ariake Orbital Naval Arsenal, over the capital planet of Aetan.