The current destroyer line and by far the most numerous vessels in the entire Union Navy are the Tanken-Class Destroyers. The name comes from the old Japanese word for “dagger,” and the Tanken represents the current pinnacle of Union space naval technology despite the design being more than 30 years old. The Tanken can be found at any populated location in Union space and can regularly be seen patrolling logistical and civilian routes. Like most Union vessels, the Tanken is larger than most other destroyers in the star cluster at 348 meters long, putting it more in line with cruisers from other nations in terms of size. The Tanken is moderately armed in terms of the number of offensive weapons compared to its foreign counterparts, but the reality is that additional weapons would require more storage for capacitors (for the laser turrets) and ammo (for the missile launchers), and thus it was deemed necessary to not “overdo” its weapons complement. The Tanken is equipped with 4 quad missile launchers mounted above and below on each side of the base of the engine pylons. These launchers generally house missiles used for medium- to short-range engagements and the Tanken will have up to 192 missiles on board for those launchers. The missiles’ flight range is up to 45 kilometers. The Tanken’s main batteries consist 8 triple-barrel “light” laser turrets mounted on the dorsal and ventral axis with 6 forward facing turrets and 2 rear facing turrets. These laser turrets are larger and more powerful than the laser turrets used by the Novus Initium Republic, though they lack the short-range pulse laser mode found on Republic ships. Their effective optimal range is 75 kilometers before their lethal potential begins to fall off. The Tanken can easily broadside its targets by bringing up to 4 turrets to engage either to port or starboard. If the target is large, all 8 turrets can be used on a single target. The type of damage produced by the laser turrets is the same as Republic ships resulting in electromagnetic and thermal damage to targets. The Tanken possesses a primary heavy weapons system in the form of 4 forward mounted heavy laser cannons. These laser cannons have the power output equivalent to the heavy laser turrets found on Republic Paladin-Class Battleships and require just as much power to fire. These cannons are used for extreme long-range engagements against targets up to 250 kilometers away before the lasers’ lethal potential begins to fall off. They require the ship to turn in order to aim, but the power requirements mean that the turrets cannot fire in conjunction with the heavy laser cannons. The main shuttle bay is located in the forward central section of the ship between the heavy lasers. This bay is also used for docking as an extendable docking arm at stations connects to this section to allow cargo and personnel to quickly load and unload. Engineering, the bridge, and auxiliary systems are found in the center of the ship. Energy capacitors, missile storage bays, cargo holds, and shield systems are located in the forward side sections of the ship. Crew compliment is 450 with accommodations and amenities are in the rear of the vessel along with the escape pods. This low number in crew based on its size is thanks to automation handled in several areas of the vessel.
To allow for larger accommodations aboard the Tanken, the destroyer has two warp drive units mounted externally on each side of the ship. These are the main faster-than-light drive units of the ship and are based on the current engine design introduced 30 years ago by the Proxima Engineering Company. Located in the ship’s mid-section is the DAMIWE system, the ship’s main power source which also powers the warp drive units. The warp manifold coils are located under armor plating on each of the drive units to optimize the warp field. The speed of the drive is comparable to the Novus Initium Republic’s warp drive and, because of how far apart star systems in the Northwest Region are, can take a few days for ships to travel between star systems. However, unless on patrol to other systems or reassigned to a different fleet, a Tanken will rarely leave the star system it is assigned to and will usually use the warp drive to reach other locations within the same star system in a hurry. The ship’s 4 pulse ion sublight engines are installed in pairs on the sides of the warp drives, providing the main sublight thrust for the Tanken with secondary drives installed in the rear section for emergencies.