This page is a repository for examples of military spacecraft formations within the Ecumene.


Third Attack Fleet "Osprey", Andatin Prefecture (43)

Attack Fleet "Osprey" has 820 actual and 930 accounted ships, making it one of the larger forces used by a prefecture- though this is muddled by the fact that most prefectures are less unified than Andatin, and even those that are similarly unified often have most of their military power invested into other interpolity organizations. Attack Fleet "Osprey" is an example of nearly fully separated fleet organization- each division consists of spacecraft of similar, if not the same, superclass.

The Fleet can be divided into 3 sections-

In an actual battle, whether realistic simulation (war games, reenactments, most fighting) or genuine the-explosions-aren't-on-purpose fighting, the escortees and escorts would arrive at various locations within a system- the supply tail stays behind in other systems with scouts deployed. Escorts would form up in clouds around escortees, using their combined sensors to find enemies. Battleships would recieve most of the larger escort ships- strike cruisers are nimble enough that escort fighters are a better choice for defending them.

Battleships are made to go against other large craft and in-system defenses, but can be overwhelmed fairly easily- so each battleship is generally accompanied distantly by a cruiser or three. Cruisers are made to take on both larger and smaller craft, and often protect both battleships and destroyers from similar-sized ships. Destroyers are on occasion made to confront other destroyers, but truly excel in elimination of gunboats and fighters. Gunboats operate like miniature cruisers- they can attack fighters and even destroyers, but flounder when facing one another. Fighters are made for sheer overwhelming swarm capability, and have on occasion mission-killed dreadnoughts. Carriers are often set one size larger than the spacecraft they carry, although for most craft this means that rather than being three times longer than the spacecraft being carried the carrier is six or more times longer.

Ninth Construction Fleet "Tinkerer", Stellar Alliance (Confederation in Sectors 320, 322, 323)

Mobile docks and construction yards are often themselves too slow or too important to be included in proper fleets, even in the supply tail. As such, militaries often sort them into their own fleets- less prestigious, but just as important as battle fleets. Where battleship squadrons would be there are the docks, yards, fabricators, and factories themselves; where cruiser and transport squadrons would be are the mining rigs, scouts, surveyors, and prospectors. All else is largely similar, although the escort group is often more devoted to larger craft which can buy time for escape and the supply tail is considerably more integrated into the fleet proper.

Construction Fleet "Tinkerer" is an example of partially-integrated fleet organization- each squadron contains both escortees and some of their escorts, though divisions are often separated. However, not all escort craft are included, most often screen craft. Note the use of superheavy carriers, or supercarriers, in this fleet- these carriers are often built to carry superlative numbers of fighters, but just as often give over their extra capacity to gunboats or even destroyers. Supercarriers, especially those built to accomodate a destroyer or two, can require their own escorts- whether because they are built as main combatants or stay-behind craft rather than escorts, or because they are large enough that independent escorts are a good idea. While normal carriers are often larger than their main-combatant counterparts- Attack Fleet "Osprey"'s carriers are the size of small cruisers and supercruisers respectively, while Construction Fleet "Tinkerer"'s heavy carriers are the size of small supercruisers and its supercarriers are the size of small pocket battleships.

Construction Fleet "Tinkerer" consists of 578 actual and 933 accounted ships, making it fairly large. However, unlike Attack Fleet "Osprey" much of this is noncombatant spacecraft, especially small ones- so its logistic load is considerably less than a battle fleet of similar size. The composition of Construction Fleet Tinkerer is as such-

39th Cruiser Squadron, Combined Alliance of Peoples, Sector 324

The 39th is an example of supply-first integration- tenders are part of the divisions to which their charges belong. Escort spacecraft in this organization scheme can be either fully-integrated with their escortees, or separated into their own divisions. The 39th takes the first path.

11th Battleship Squadron, Free States, Sector 411

The 11th is an example of partially separated fleet organization- only the supply divisions feature multiple types of spacecraft that do not directly depend on each other, but the supply and escort spacecraft are part of the same squadron.

3rd Transport Squadron, Free Republic of Independence, Sector 043

The 3rd is also an example of partially separated fleet organization- while the escorts are part of the same squadron as their escortees, the supply ships are separate.

First Interstellar Armada, First Dominion Defensive Line

The Ecumene itself, as well as all six of its dominions, maintain multiple armadas- each a vast collection of fleets on the scale of the total naval capacity of many of the real polities within the Ecumene. As one would expect for such gargantuan- and old- organizations, especially within the Ecumene, these armadas are extremely ceremony-oriented. Despite their vast resource consumption- partly because its components are, in fact, functioning warships- very few of the component squadrons are stuck in reserve, and almost all ships are supposed to be active at one time.

This is because they all go on simulated campaigns- full "military" incursions where worlds within the Ecumene are host to war reenactments. The full armada will travel from one significant star system to another, often crossing at least a prefecture on the way, ceaselessly. Along the way, the fleets will visit various stars in a mock invasion- penetration fleets will do initial "raids" on secondary targets, strike fleets will "soften up" systems on the way, battle fleets will proceed to their ultimate destinations, invasion fleets will conduct surface battle reenactments, and the blockade and holding fleets will create pathways for the construction and supply fleets. These processions are often treated as holidays in the systems fleets pass through.

The First Interstellar Armada, once one gets past its size (106936 actual and 203869 accounted starcraft), is an example of large-scale integration but not small-scale: Divisions and Squadrons are composed of a few closely related superclasses, with non-front line Squadrons recieving Divisions with immediate supply craft, but Fleets proper contain practically every ingredient necessary to keep the fleet operating. Within the Armada there are four types of fleet- Battle Line (battle fleets and strike fleets) fleets made for full-fleet heavy-hitting combat, Blockade (blockade fleets and holding fleets) fleets made to keep lines of communications open, Penetration (penetration fleets and invasion fleets) made to seize or raid infrastructure and Support (construction fleets, courier fleets, exploration fleets, and support fleets) Fleets made to keep the other fleets alive.

Fleets within Armadas also tend to have support squadrons that in some places would simply be part of support fleets within them. In the case of the First Interstellar Armada, this mainifests itself in several ways:

Pending

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