# Naval Combat in the 26th Century

Naval combat in the modern age, as defined by Jane’s Fighting Ships, 2532, is based on a doctrine that could almost be reminiscent of that once seen on the seas of Terra in the mid-20th century, mixed with aspects of undersea cat and mouse games of the latter part of that era. Even as ships have grown in tonnage once combat in space became the norm, and the ‘protected cruisers’ of the War of 2195 would now be considered little more than up-armored corvettes, the general tactics of naval forces of the human sphere have stayed the course of the design paradigms established in that era.

### Missiles
The primary armament of the modern naval ship takes on many forms, but it can be broken down to these primary categories. The “Missile” might be a slow, big torpedo weapon that can cripple a small capital ship with a single blow, to the swarms of anti-missile-missiles mounted in large cells on the side of major combatants, the concept of the naval missile is quite alive in the 26th century, with all the inherent advances of electronic warfare and active defenses that correspond to it. With the rise of structural reinforcing fields that limit ship damage to localized areas and shielding tech coming to the fleets that sail the black in the late 2300’s, missiles have lost some of their prevalence over the years due to the cost of their ammunition in comparison to less expensive munitions, but they are still quite the threat to the modern naval combatant.

### Guns
The old standby that has ruled since the days of the ancient sail. Though falling to the wayside during the latter portion of the 20th and 21st century, as naval combat transitioned to the stars and tonnage was no longer defined by what could be made to float upon the waves, passive defenses like heavy armor plate once more made an appearance on monsters of the night sky that protected the trade lanes and kept planets safe. Furthermore, the appearance of shields in the 2300’s made the idea of a single nuclear strike achieving a mission kill on a major combatant a thing of the past. Thus, ships returned to an older paradigm, using a good portion of their tonnage for railguns, projected plasma, and chemically fueled lasers to overwhelm these passive defenses through weight of fire and accumulative damage. Battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and so on mount large numbers of these in both turret and spinal mounts, in addition to the missile batteries they field along their flanks.

### Fighter, Bombers, and Drones
Drones and manned space fighters are also a major component of naval doctrine, and thus the fleet and escort carriers are still a common sight in naval yards and as the center of strike forces and task groups. This includes planetary assault ships and the forces needed to force a landing on a contested planet, that support the dropships, air-breathing fighters and logistical train required to put those boots onto the ground.

### Classification
When it comes to classification, the navies that comprise the Orion Confederation’s JSDF Naval branch have fallen back on a traditional system - which, if one has looked into how these were defined in the past, is just as arbitrary as any other over the past six centuries. As such, when it comes to ‘rated’ ships, that is, ships over ten thousand tons (Which by common agreement is the point at which a ship must have a unique name, not a number or letter designation), ships start at the low end with the “Corvette” and grow from size from there as follows (Author’s note: This is not a hard and fast rule, as many exceptions have existed throughout the centuries):

1. Corvette
2. Frigate
3. Destroyer
4. Destroyer Leader/Light Cruiser
5. Heavy Cruiser/Battlecruiser/Escort Carriers/Light Carriers
6. Battleship/Fleet Carrier

Please note that, even if a ship is of the same tonnage as another, it could vary greatly in speed, firepower, range, or capacity. And, this does not cover things like escort carriers, armed fast transports, assault ships, mobile space docks, or the other myriad types of vessels that make up any of the major human naval forces, nor does it cover how the Hegemony or the Combine classify their ships or their roles. For further information on these ships, please see the appendix provided in subsection-[File not found]

(Things to add: Fighters and long range strikes, How FTL effects naval tactics, Things like FTL sensors, the role of each type of ship, etc.)