Corvette
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This article discusses a subject with undecided "Canon". The Swarm Cycle writers need to discuss this on the email list, come to a decision, and then update this article to let readers know what Swarm Cycle "true canon" is.
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or "rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate. The Confederacy types of ship below a corvette are patrol craft and scout ship.
A corvette is typically used for patrolling local space and is not generally used for extended patrol or fleet operations. They carry limited stores, so their use in extended operations is problematic. Their limited armament, fragility and inability to effectively engage larger targets is a serious liability.
On the plus side, a corvette is cheap (in resources) easy to build and staff and is so small it is hard to detect. They are well suited for scouting, picketing and reconnaissance.
The normal employment of corvettes was complicated by the fact that they were the first ships of the Confederacy, with significant numbers of Castle class corvettes donated by the Darjee in the early years. When they were the "only game in town" they were used for everything, whether they were suited to that role or not. Early Confederacy doctrine used them extensively, and that habit has endured.
The Sa'arm use Vacuna corvettes extensively for scouting and reconnaissance.
The only ships that fear encountering a corvette are smaller vessels, or those that need to remain hidden. A corvette is likely to detect a larger ship before that ship will detect a corvette.
A corvette is fearful of encountering anything larger than itself, where its limited armament and armor will most likely leave the corvette on the losing side of the engagement.
Listing of Corvettes
(Someday this will be a navigation template. It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links. Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))
