Scout

Scouts are the smallest starships that players can pilot in Darkspace, and are the only combat oriented ships available to midshipmen.

Scouts are also known as corvettes. Technically, Corvettes are scouts that are geared towards more direct warfare (shooting the enemy), however as time and conflict has progressed the two terms have become almost interchangeable.

UGTO

ST-1 Covert Ops Scout

The ST-1 scouts are the primary reconnaissance and intelligence craft employed by the UGTO. Their heavy ECM loadout allows them to venture deep into hostile territory, while their long-range scanner allows them to monitor enemy activity from a safe distance. Modified variants of this ship class are also employed by the UGTO intelligence agencies HUGIN and MUNIN, for covert operations both at home and abroad. Rumor has it that their variants carry a single Quantum Singularity Bomb in place of a conventional self-destruct charge, to ensure that state secrets never fall into the wrong hands.

Role: Recon

• Weapons: 2 Extended Range Lasers
• Gadgets: 1 Beacon Launcher, 1 Scanner, and 6 ECM Devices
• Defenses: 5 Standard Armor Plates
• Rank Requirements: Midshipman
• Badges Requirements: None

The Covert Ops Scout is capable of light skirmishing and beacon deployment while remaining under the shroud of it's quad ECM emitters. This stealth can be easily broken by planet sensors and minimal ship ECCM, however.

ST-2 Assault Corvette

ST-2 corvettes are potent light attack ships. Between their high mobility, small size, and heavy guns and torpedo launchers, they can make short work of any rag-tag pirate raider. The sight of them guarding regular shipping lanes has become a welcome sight to both civilian and military traffic -- civilian because they protect against piracy, and military because it frees them up to deal with actual threats instead of just pirate scum.

Role: Assault

• Weapons: 6 Proton Torpedo Launchers and 1 Extended Range Laser
• Gadgets: None
• Defenses: 5 Standard Armor Plates
• Rank Requirements: Midshipman
• Badges Requirements: None

The Assault Corvette excels at fighting larger combat vessels such as frigates and destroyers. Between its small size, high speed, and well-rounded armament, the damage dealt will be a highly one-sided affair.

ST-3 Interceptor Corvette

The Interceptor Corvette is a light patrol corvette, adept at engaging other light warships from medium range. It also Modest electronic warfare payload.

Role: Gunboat

• Weapons: 1 MiRV Bomb Launcher and 1 Extended Range Laser
• Gadgets: 1 Scanner and 3 ECM Devices
• Defences: 5 Standard Armor Plates
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman
• Badges Requirements: None

ST-4 Blockade Corvette

A relatively new tool in the UGTO's grab-bag of dirty tricks, ST-4s are built to sneak behind enemy lines and deploy their payload of mines at strategic locations -- like, say, the approach lanes for jumpgates -- with the intent of disrupting civilian shipping. Though they cannot carry very many mines compared to larger ships, their small size and ECM array makes them quite difficult for ICC patrol ships to track down and destroy. Since their introduction they have wreaked havoc on shipping; the Confederation economy is still struggling to recover.

Role: Minelayer

• Weapons: 2 EMP Mine Launchers and 1 Extended Range Laser
• Gadgets: 1 Scanner and 3 ECM Devices
• Defenses: 5 Standard Armor Plates
• Rank Requirements: Midshipman
• Badges Requirements: None

Blockade Corvettes can lay EMP mine traps that will disable internal systems once shields and armor have fallen. One possible technique is to lay dense mine traps along heavily used jump routes, well out of range of enemy sensors. A more likely tactic, however, is swerving in front of an enemy Dreadnought while it is being damaged by friendly dreadnoughts.

ST-5 Bomber Corvette

ST-5 Bombers are dangerous little ships. With as few frills as possible they amount to little more than an engine and jumpdrive onto a bomb bay. They are fast, cheap and unbeknownst to their crews, expendable. For many years now they have been used to slow the expansions of the Confederation by attacking newly-founded colonies, wiping them out before they can ever get basic defenses up. In many cases their targets never even get a distress call out, so their fate is a mystery until patrol ships arrive .. and find nothing but craters remaining.

Role: Bomber

• Weapons: 1 MiRV Bomb Launcher and 1 Extended Range Laser
• Gadgets: 1 Scanner and 3 ECM Devices
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman
• Badges Requirements: None

Bomber Corvettes are useful in the routine bombing of unguarded planets, primarily for clearing off enemy troops. Because scouts are so fuel efficient, one could jump directly into the distant enemy back sectors while remaining undetected. However, it is rendered essentially obsolete by the Bomber Frigate.

ICC

M-23E Customs Corvette

The M-23E is a light escort ship equipped with extra point-defense beams to defend against missile or fighter attack.

Role: Point Defence

• Weapons: 3 Pulse Beams
• Gadgets: 1 Scanner and 3 ECCM Devices
• Defenses: 4 Active shields and 1 Composite Armor Plate
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

M-24S Recon Scout

The M-24S Recon is the purest descendant of the original M-20 series. The early M-10 corvettes were considerably larger and heavier than their modern counterparts and a smaller, faster ship was need for forward reconnaissance--thus the M-20 was born. As the role of corvettes changed into smaller, faster attack ships the M-10 series was eventually retired and M-20 variants were designed to fill combat roles. The lead class of the series is still the Recon Scout, equipped with stealth systems and long-range scanners for covert surveillance of enemy forces.

Role: Recon

• Weapons: 2 Pulse Beams
• Gadgets: 1 Scanner, 1 Beacon Launcher, and 6 ECCM Devices
• Defenses: 4 Active shields and 1 Composite Armor Plate
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

M-27T Stealth Corvette

The M-27A Stealth Corvette is one of the newest innovations of the Confederate Navy. It carries a sophisticated ECM array to help it avoid detection and five torpedo launchers to rapidly dish out death and destruction. Si far it has been used to great success in attacking UGTO logistical targets--their transports, engineering and supply ships--rather than their front-line forces. On a few occasions, large squadrons have brought down battle-damaged Dreadnoughts--but not without casualties.

Role: Assault

• Weapons: 1 Pulse Beam, and 6 Fusion Torpedo Launchers.
• Gadgets: 2 ECM devices.
• Defenses: 4 Active shields and 1 Composite Armor Plate
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

M-25L Sensor Corvette

The M-25L is a highly mobile light attack ship employed both by the Confederate Navy and many local police forces. It is among the most heavily-armed ships of its size in known space, and carries a well-earned reputation for lethality. Many a pirate or privateer has tried to meet this little buzzsaw head-on and not lived long enough to regret it. It also carries a modest electronic warfare suite, to help it locate and identify its targets.

Role: Gunboat

• Weapons: 1 Pulse Beam Laser and 3 Heavy Railguns
• Gadgets: 2 ECCM Devices.
• Defenses: 4 Active shields and 1 Composite Armor Plate
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

M-24B Bomber Corvette

The M-24B is a light orbit-to-surface bomber. While its limited payload makes it ineffective against a target with even minimal defenses, its high mobility allows it to reach trouble spots rapidly. Rather than attacking enemy planets, this ship is far more often called on to take out UGTO troops that have landed on outlying colonies which will be otherwise unable to repel them. A well-developed network of rapid response bases puts these nimble little bombers within a few minutes' response time from any potential target. In many cases, the response is so rapid that enemy forces are dispatched before allied troops ever catch sight of them.

Role: Bomber

• Weapons: 1 Pulse Beam and 1 MiRV bomb launcher.
• Gadgets: 3 ECM devices and a Scanner.
• Defenses: 4 Active shields and One Composite Armor Plate
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Bomber Corvettes are useful in the routine bombing of unguarded planets, primarily for clearing off enemy troops. Because scouts are so fuel efficient, one could jump directly into the distant enemy back sectors while remaining undetected. However, it is rendered essentially obsolete by the Bomber Frigate.

K'luth

Flea

The Flea is a light attack corvette intended to attack other light warships at close range.

Role: Beam

• Weapons: 1 Point Defence Beam, 1 ELF Beam, and 5 Disruptor Devices
• Gadgets: Cloaking Device.
• Defenses: 4 Organic armor plates.
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Talon

The Talon is the standard K'luth Raptor, roughly equivalent in size and function to human Corvettes. Unlike the humans, who have unarmed Scouts and armed Corvettes, all Raptors have a combat role. The Talon in particular is a fast, light attack ship, intended to engage and destroy enemy craft of roughly the same size. It also carries a long-range scanner, allowing it to monitor human colonies while cloaked and report back to the fleet on potential targets.

Role: Gunboat

• Weapons: 1 PD beam, 2 Psionic cannon, and 3 Heavy Psionic cannons.
• Gadgets: 2 ECM device and a Cloaking Device
• Defenses: 4 Organic armor plates.
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Extruder

The Extruder is a light bomber Raptor, equipped with biowarfare weapons to attack human settlements. In the early days of the conflict, before the humans were aware there was an alien presence in the sector, Extruders were able to induce considerable strife between the human factions by attacking outlying colonies on both sides, making them blame one another and provoking tensions between them. Even years after the discovery of the K'luth, human intelligence agencies have not fully sorted-out their level of involvement in starting the Fourth Interstellar War.

Role: Bomber

• Weapons: 2 Point Defence Beams and 1 Bio Bomb launcher.
• Gadgets: 2 ECM Devices, 1 Scanner, and a Cloaking Device
• Defenses: 4 Organic armor plates.
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Wasp

The Wasp is a light attack corvette optimized for stealthy approach. It's Torpedo payload allows it to engage larger ships effectively.

Role: Torpedo Boat

• Weapons: 1 Point Defence Beam and 8 AM Torpedo Launchers
• Gadgets: 2 ECM Devices, 1 Scanner, and a Cloaking Device
• Defenses: 4 Organic armor plates.
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Antenna

The Antenna is a stealthy recon ship. It's Ideally suited for covert surveillance of enemy forces.

Role: Electronic Warfare

• Weapons: 3 Point Defence Beams
• Gadgets: 7 ECM Devices, 1 Beacon Launcher, 1 Scanner, and a Cloaking Device
• Defenses: 4 Organic armor plates.
• Rank Requirement: Midshipman.
• Badges required: None.

Pirates

C-55 Type A "Ray" Scout

Role: Scout/Recon

Weapons: Unknown

C-55 Type B "Stingray" Scout

Role: Gunboat

Weapons: Unknown

C-55 Type C "Mantaray" Scout

Role: Bomber

Weapons: Unknown