The Terran Self-Defense force was originally built in response to space piracy and other rebellious forces within the sphere of dominance possessed by Earth. However, the spread of humanity was not without consequence. Sectors were colonized that were too far away for Earth to effectively extend its reach to, and these various frontier states began to swell, becoming nations in their own right. Border pushed against border, and while the situation was tense, there was never any thought about interstellar conflict between the various star nations that had sprung out of the void. However, the other national forces began to test the patience and resolve of Earth- buzzing a comm station here, destroying a stray satellite there- soon enough Earth was locked in a cold struggle with its various neighbors. While it hasn't developed into total interstellar war, low-level combat has broken out over disputed zones between nations. Nobody says they're at war, but the form letters that come home to people across Terran space speak otherwise to the bloody reality of duty on the fringe.

The Terran fleet has its roots in policing, but as interstellar war seems to be a non-zero possibility, ships for high-intensity conflict are being commissioned at a rapid rate. Carrier ships and battleships are being produced for the first time since the inception of the Terran SDF, vessels whose only purpose is to  wage long-term conflict against the navies of an organized star nation.

Dynamic-class DN
The Dynamic-class is the first attempt to build a large battleship- a vessel that both carried the defenses and firepower for sustained fleet engagements against the navies of other star-faring nations. The massive layers of armor on the vessel, as well as its shield generators give the vessel incredible survivability against enemy warships. it is the first vessel to mount the Mod-2 Fusion-Bore cannon, carrying six of them and being able to reliably put three on any enemy vessel. The deadliest feature of the weapon, however, is it's ability to defeat the defenses of other ship, giving it an even greater chance to score significant damage. Its other features, however, are wholly unremarkable- Unlike other vessels, it possesses no real anti-fighter defense. It's secondary guns, while powerful, are far to inaccurate for anti-fighter work, being built for when, presumably, the battleship mixes it up in knife-fighting range. While it mounts twelve plasma cannons, only four can realistically be brought to bear at a time, and are generally ineffective except as almost the shortest of ranges. It is largely dependent on other vessels for fighter defense, meaning that using one for independent missions is risky at the very best.

(708) Dynamic-class Terran Dreadnought

Hull: 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1         
Engines: 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1         
Shields: 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1         
Weapons:
1:XY 2:XY 3:X 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Fusion-Bore cannon Mod-2: 5/10/15, 1/4+/3/2
Piercing
[AC][AC][AC][BD][BD][BD]

Y: Plasma bolter: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based DMG
[CE][CE][CE][CE][DF][DF][DF][DF][AB][AB][AB][AB]

Special: Hyperdrive; Armor Plating, Marines (10)

Churchill-class BC
Until the beginning of the "Shadow War", the Churchill-class Battlecruiser was the largest vessel in use by the Terran SDF- Indeed, it was the only vessel classified as a capital ship in production for over thirty years. It is not an elegant ship, having a boxy, angular aesthetic that, while efficient, is thoroughly unpleasant to the eyes.  It isn't even technically equipped for fleet engagements, instead being built as a flagship for counter-pirate operations. Its three fusion-bore cannons, while powerful, do not deliver the same weight of long-range fire found on more line-of-battle oriented ships. It's main firepower is in a set of eight fast-firing particle-cannon batteries, designed to engage and shoot down the more nimble, short-ranged raider ships that had caused the more big-gun oriented Norway-class BC so much grief. The ship has two saving graces, however- First, the ship is that it is packed with as many electronics as the Terran SDF could cram in, increasing its probability of survival if caught unawares, as well as the accuracy of the notoriously unreliable particle cannons (The weapon's volleys are so innacurate that only one-third of its shots are considered to have a chance of scoring hits at its longer ranges). The second is that it "Has more engines than sense", possessing a massive drive section that, while precluding it from carrying any rear-facing heavy weapons, allows it an impressive acceleration profile usually only found in smaller cruisers.

(383) Churchill-class Terran Battlecruiser

Hull: 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1           
Engines: 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1           
Shields: 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1           
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Fusion bore gun: 5/10/15, 1/4+/3/2
[G][AC][BD]

Y: Particle cannons: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based ROF
[AB][AB][AC][AC][BD][BD][EF][EF]

Special: Hyperdrive; Fire Control; Countermeasures; Marines (10)

Hecatonchires-class CV.
Fighters have traditionally been the domain of system-defense stations. The logistics train involved in keeping fighters supplied on-board carrier ships has meant that they have generally been deemed useless for anti-piracy operations due to the swift speed required in undertaking such missions. They do remain excellent patrol-craft for in-system duties, however, capable of greater acceleration profiles than all but the most nimble warships. With the prospect of full-scale war, however, the firepower that the TD-34 Redtail attack ship can provide in larger engagements has been deemed too valuable to ignore. The Hekatonchiries-class was built, essentially, as a box to carry this small craft to other systems where it might do some good. The carrier has little offensive firepower for its size, carrying six particle cannon batteries to protect it from smaller vessels, but it's almost entirely helpless in the face of anything better-armed than a light cruiser. Most of its mass is devoted to huge hangar bays to house its compliment of fighters- And to alleviate the logistical troubles, the vessel carries a some supplies on its own for extended operations. These features greatly limits the capacity of the vessel to defend itself, so it is reliant on protection from its fighters as well as other vessels.

(829) Hecatonchires-class Terran Carrier

Hull: 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1             
Engines: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1             
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1             
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:X 4:X 5: 6:

X: Particle cannon: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based ROF
[AC][AC][BD][BD][EF][EF]

Special: Hyperdrive; Carrier (600); Marines (10); Cargo (50)

Carries eight squadrons of the following-

TD-34 Redtail attack ship (75)
Size-5 Speed-10 Attack 4+ Def: 1, Increased DMG-2

Alexander-class CA
The Alexander-class is an older model of cruiser that's normally used for close escort in the most dangerous areas of the buffer zone, though it has evolved into one of the most dependable warships in the fleet. There is little remarkable about most aspects of its design, save for the fact that it mounts the heavy fusion beam, the predecessor to the Fusion-bore cannon. it doesn't have the same range, nor the same ability to defeat screen defenses, but the sheer amount of power that is pumped into it makes it absolutely devastating upon hull-contact. over time, however, the weapon has been deemed utterly wasteful for inclusion in further designs due to its space inefficiency, and its continued construction is scheduled to be shut down within the next few years in order to re-tool the line for further construction of fusion-bore cannons. The sheer amount of damage that this vessel can do to an enemy's hull with each strike commands respect- Most raiders usually give convoys protected by an Alexander a pass unless they have some method of disabling the ship from beyond its attacking range.

(222) Alexander-class Terran Heavy Cruiser

Hull: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1               
Engines: 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1               
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1               
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Heavy Fusion Beam: 4/8/12, 1/4+/2/2
Extra Hull Damage
[AB][AB]

Y: Particle cannon: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based ROF
[AC][AC][BD][BD][AB]

Special: Hyperdrive; Marines (5)

(211) Alexander MkII (Projected Refit?)

Hull: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1               
Engines: 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1               
Shields: 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1               
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Fusion-Bore cannon: 5/10/15, 1/4+/3/2
[AB][AB][AB]

Y: Particle cannon: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based ROF
[AC][AC][BD][BD][AB]

Special: Hyperdrive; Marines (5)

Custodes-class CL
The Custodes-class, in some form or another, has served in the Terran SDF for the past century in some form or another for the past 100-years. Admirals reminisce over the good-old days, recalling their tours on this manner of vessel perhaps more fondly than they should. The cruiser has been pressed into military service, upgraded with fusion beams and particle cannons, and forced into providing defense and supplemental firepower. The vessel, however, was not designed as a line-of battle ship- It's main weapons have a comparatively narrow set of firing arcs, and carry no heavy broadside armaments, meaning that they must be deployed in squadrons to cover each other's blind-spots in larger engagements. Its speed, while impressive for its size, is still mediocre when it comes to patrol ships- while it might keep pace with some raiders, it isn't one of the most nimble vessels around. As with all SDF vessels, cooperative tactics are essential to survival.

(145) Custodes-class Terran Patrol cruiser

Hull: 7 6 5 4 3 2 1                 
Engines: 6 6 5 4 3 2 1                 
Shields: 3 3 3 2 2 1 1                 
Weapons:
1:XY 2:XY 3:XY 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Fusion beam: 4/8/12, 1/4+/2/2
[AB][AB][EF]

Y: Particle cannons: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Variable ROF
[AC][AC][AC][BD][BD][BD]

Special: Hyperdrive; Marines (5)

Acheron-class DD
The Acheron is the newest vessel in the fleet- A modern destroyer equipped with state-of-the art weapons for patrol and defense. The ship is serving as a test-bed for the stabilized particle cannon- a revision of the weapon that should produce greater accuracy and a more consistent chance of hitting and scoring damage on enemy vessels. This has, however, come at the cost of any other useful ancillary systems. The lack of any electronics means that the vessel is actually more vulnerable to attack than its predecessor, the more offensively-oriented Erebus-class. Both destroyers are being kept in service until the field-testing provided by the Shadow War is complete.

(102) Acheron-class Terran Destroyer

Hull: 5 4 3 2 1                   
Engines: 7 6 5 3 2                   
Shields: 2 2 2 1 1                   
Weapons:
1:X 2:X 3:X 4:X 5:X 6:X

X: Stabilized particle cannon: 3/6/9, 2/4+/2/1
[AB][AB][AC][BD][EF]

Special: Hyperdrive; Marines (5)

(97) Erebus-class Terran Destroyer

Hull: 5 4 3 2 1                   
Engines: 7 6 5 3 2                   
Shields: 2 2 2 1 1                   
Weapons:
1:XY 2:X 3:Y 4:Y 5:Y 6:Y

X: Fusion beam: 4/8/12, 1/4+/2/2
[G]

Y: Particle Cannon: 3/6/9, 1/5+/2/1
Range-Based ROF
[AC][AC][BD][BD]

Special: Hyperdrive; Marines (5); Countermeasures</r>