UNMC Battlecruiser

Overview
The UNMC Battlecruiser is the third largest type of warship fielded by the UNMC, and one of the two types currently capable of arming itself with a Tier 3 Shock cannon. The battlecruiser is usually deployed to the front lines of a battle right at the start, escorted by destroyers and frigates to protect them from missile fire and fighters, although the battlecruiser is fully capable of protecting itself with little to no escort. These heavily armored ships form the heavy foundation of most UNMC space engagements, giving smaller ships vital cover and focusing on larger targets first, making the fight easier to handle for other allied ships.

Roles
UNMC Battlecruisers charge ahead with destroyers and frigates when combat begins, supplemented by many fighters to swarm over enemy ships. Battlecruisers then become the main heavy assault dealers, and focus on disabling or at least damaging heavy tonnage enemy vessels. Once larger ships are dealt with or have retreated to longer ranges, battlecruisers will then focus on any ships still in range, and against smaller starships they are nearly suicidal to face. A single shot from their main tier 3 shock cannons can completely ruin most vessels, and with their escorts of destroyers any enemy ships in the area can usually be dispatched with relative ease. Battlecruisers fulfill a similar role to battleships when not in the thick of combat, serving as command platforms for higher ranking officers. When battleships are not available or not a part of the fleet, battlecruisers become the central command ships and will not charge immediately into the frontlines, instead taking up the long range bombardment roles of battleships. Small or medium sized assault fleets can expect to have several of these ships, with heavy assault fleets having a dozen or a few dozen. The UNNF's 1st fleet has been known to field more than 25 battlecruisers at a single time, usually for battles where enemy presence is expected to be significant.

Armaments
Battlecruisers wield a single tier 3 cannon, which while not as devastating as a battleship's dual tier 3 layout can still put out an incredible amount of power everytime the weapon is fired. In addition, the battlecruiser's secondary armaments consist of 2 tier 2 cannons, usually seen to be utilized to finish off heavy tonnage enemy ships or to engage medium-small ships at closer ranges. The ship's vast array of smaller defenses ensures that any enemy vessel that gets too close will be shredded by railgun and missile fire immediately. Battlecruisers are also known to be surprisingly agile for their large size due to extra secondary thrusters stationed around the hull, allowing the ship to perform complex maneuvers in zero-g combat. This extra agility is very valuable to the battlecruiser and fitting to its frontline/trailblazer style of fighting, allowing it to keep up the pace with smaller ships with little difficulty.

Variants
Avignon-class battlecruiser

Known ships

 * UNS Avignon
 * UNS Fallow
 * UNS Times Square
 * UNS Israel
 * UNS Spartan