====== Hiraga ======

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The experience gained from building the first two truly large vessels in the human fleet, [[xyth:ships:troy|Troy]] and [[xyth:ships:phoenix|Phoenix]], allowed [[xyth:socs:tec|The Eastern Citadel]] (TEC) to perfect its large shipyards. With the exception of [[xyth:ships:phoenix|Phoenix]], there was no true battleship in operation. The destroyers built at the [[xyth:socs:aladayr|Aldayr outpost]] did have plenty of firepower, but sported defenses that barely surpassed those of regular cruisers.

The safezone around [[xyth:socs:tec|TEC]]'s base grew as the [[xyth:caescix|Caes'cix]]-[[xyth:rivii|Rivi'i]] conflict slowly moved southwards, and there was a need of additional mobile offensive capabilities to patrol the growing area. While destroyers were fast, they often lacked operational range. The [[xyth:ships:troy|Troy]] class carriers had the range and could defend themselves, but were incredibly slow ships due to their mass. This eventually led to the design of a ship about half the size of the [[xyth:ships:troy|Troy]] carrier and [[xyth:ships:phoenix|Phoenix]] battleship, but with comparable damage ouput as the battleship, and the operational range of the carrier.

The Hiraga class enjoyed greater mobility than the two larger [[xyth:socs:tec|TEC]] designs, but this came at the cost of defenses, even though the ship was still tougher than the average destroyer. Since the battleship would not be operating alone, its reduced defensive capabilities were never a real issue. The Hiraga focussed on long-range and overpowering offense, thanks to multiple artillery batteries, similar to those on the [[xyth:ships:phoenix|Phoenix]]. The vessel did not inherit the smaller turrets, which had always served a more defensive purpose against smaller and faster attack craft, and left that task to the support squadrons that always accompanied the Hiraga class ships.

====== Related articles ======
  * [[xyth:start|Xyth main page]]
  * [[xyth:humans|Human race overview]]