Hammerhead

The Aegis Hammerhead is a light, fast patrol ship bristling with six manned quad-linked turrets for optimal anti-fighter and anti-ordnance defense. It is also suited to support larger capital ships in a fleet or act as a flagship for fighter groups.

Specifications
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Project MONITOR
In March 2765, High Command issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking a dedicated anti-fighter platform that could serve as both a key element of the standard fleet screen and as a cost-effective patrol ship to replace the aging Guine-class. Aegis Dynamics was tasked with developing this new warship, then identified as PROJECT MONITOR and began ground-up development that November. Six initial prototypes were built by Aegis, only two were converted to full-scale articles and delivered to the UEE Navy. Structural development lasted eighteen months, followed by three years of construction on the first of six testbed articles. The result of the prototype program was a highly successful new spacecraft design. Aegis had built a fast warship nimble enough to properly support a battle group's baffles while remaining inexpensive enough to be constructed in large numbers.

Flight I
In 2773-08-09, the first production and Flight I model of Hammerhead, UEES Hammerhead was transferred to the UEE Navy. After six months of space trials proved uneventful, an additional five Flight I hulls were approved and allocated to the Fifth Fleet to serve as a proof-of-concept for newly developed carrier warfare doctrine. The Navy was pleased with the Hammerhead's proven combat capability and its new role in fleet operations, UEE doubled their initial hull order with Aegis and six months later signed an additional expansion that requested permanent production.

Fall of Messers
After the fall of the Messers in 2792, the Hammerhead was considered by many to have been the 'official' ships of the Messers, Aegis not only found themselves publicly disgraced but many called for them to be charged for their role in the fascist regimes war crimes. As the new government sought to distance themselves from Aegis' warships in an attempt to rebrand their military and sought contracts from other manufacturers like RSI and the new Anvil Aerospace. Luckily for Aegis, the military had not negotiated an exclusive license on the Hammerhead design, which allowed them to adapt the spacecraft for civilian use in a variety of roles without governmental oversight in an attempt to remain solvent.

Flight II and IIA
In 2782, UEES Tiburo, a Flight I Hammerhead was involved in a collision while undergoing refuel/rearm operations. As a result of the incident, the Navy requested Aegis to implement major sensor changes in the Flight II models. In 2817, the Flight II models were released, in which replaced a radar emplacement with an additional turret and redesigned the internal deck layout in response to readiness reports from gun crews operating in the field.

In 2854, the Flight IIA models began to deploy as the first wave of Flight II were found to have a blind spot.

Flight III
The Flight III models, which focused on an overall upgrade to modern command and control surfaces, were introduced between 2854 to 2915, and it replaced all extant Navy earlier Hammerheads by 2915.

Flight IV
The Flight IV models are the modern version of Hammerheads in UEE Navy as of 2947. Compared to the Flight III models, it has multiple additional remote turrets and tools for increased modularity.

Flight V
Aegis has begun early jump tunnel development of the theoretical Flight V, though there is no naval contract in place and it is unlikely to see a service opening in the next decade.

Trivia

 * The in-lore development of the Hammerhead is featured in a memoir written by spacecraft designer Cassie H. Larbig called Forging Ahead!. For the operational history of individual Hammerhead spacecraft, James Hasburns covered the content in Forged with Honor: The Hammerhead at War.

Gallery
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Development
The Hammerhead was released in Star Citizen Alpha 3.3.0.