Montana-class

The Actiom-class battlecruiser is the Earth Federation's primary battlecruiser line in Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha.

Appearance
Looks like an enlarged Ra Cailum-class battleship from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Not much difference between the original and current design, aside from the change in color scheme to standard grey and dark blue.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
First and foremost, the Actium-class was constructed to make use of mobile suits, so it incorporates a large hanger that carries twelve mobile suits and two launch catapults to quickly launch the machines into its design. The Actium possesses four two-barrel main beam cannons, twenty-four beam phalanx for point defense, and twenty missile tubes. And finally, the Actium also has eight high-grade Apollo Engines, which grants the battlecruiser exponential speed for its type. As a result, the Actium was more equivalent to the "fast battleships" of Earth's later Anno Domini era as opposed to traditional battlecruisers, especially when its ability to carry mobile suits came into play. From this, the Actium also served as a model for the Federation's Eurymedon-class cruiser, which were constructed around the same time as the Actium-class.

Armaments

 * Mark XXX Dual Beam Cannon
 * Main armament. As one can see from the name, these cannons are more powerful than standard beam weapons, such that they hold enough destructive force to obliterate a cruiser in a single barrage. Alongside, that same power also allows them to be used against targets well beyond visual range. However, this is offset by their slower rate of fire, which makes them highly ineffective in the point defense role.


 * Mark XXIII Dual Beam Phalanx
 * Secondary armament. While far less powerful than beam cannons, these smaller guns have a greater rate of fire, making them especially suited for point defense against enemy mobile suits, missiles and other small craft, as well as against other warships at close-ranges. The Actium-class in particular carriers twenty-four of these around its hull.


 * Mark XXVII Missile Launcher
 * Secondary armament. The Actium-class carries twenty missile tubes in its bow, allowing it to enact full on missile barrages against enemy fleets. As well, these tubes can hold and launch a wide number of missile types, from standard high explosive weapons to beam diffusion warheads to even nuclear missiles. Its targeting system is also particularly advanced, such that very few unit types are able to evade a lock on.

System Features

 * Mk. IX Warp Drive
 * The Actium-class carries a Mk. IX rated warp drive, one of the higher rated, thereby allowing it to travel along entire stellar routes in only a matter of days' time. This also goes toward marking the Actium as a "fast battleship" type, as they are capable of responding to enemy incursions faster than most other Federation ships.

History
The main battlecruiser of Star Force. Created as a replacement for the aging Esperance-class battlecruiser, the Actium-class was a series of heavily armed and armored ships, all created around the ancient "big guns" concept that dates back to 1700s AD. At the time of their commissioning, they were the most powerful ships in the galaxy, and even with the commissioning of the Trafalgar-class dreadnought and the Midway-class fleetcarrier, their sheer power has allowed them to continue playing a vital role in Star Force.

Traditionally armed with four dual beam cannons, two dozen dual beam phalanx, and twenty missile launchers, the Actium-class was a force to be reckoned with for most other classes, even those of Zeon origin. And as a new standard per capital ships, these battlecruisers were equipped with mobile suit hangars and catapult decks, with enough room to hold and launch up to twelve mobile suits (one squadron). While they were not as effective as dedicated carriers in the deployment of their mobile suits, these battlecruisers could still be used as a command ship for mobile suits if need be, although they were far better suited as fleet flagships.

At the outbreak of the First Galactic War, Actium-class battlecruisers were among the ships that were targeted by Zeon preemptive strikes due to their being commonly used as flagships by the Federation admiralty. Fortunately they were armed well enough to hold off against the enemy surprise attacks, but many of these battlecruisers were still sunk. From that point forward, the Actium-class would be a common sight in fleet scale battles, where their heavy firepower proved effective against both Zeon warships and mobile suits. However, as the war continued to progress, more and more of these ships would be lost, and by the time the war ends, only a handful of Actium-class battlecruisers would remain in operational status compared to large numbers that were in service at the beginning.

The Actium-class battlecruiser is named after the Battle of Actium from the Final War of the Roman Republic, one of the greatest naval battles in Earth history. It was during this battle in which the Octavian loyalist fleet under Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa defeated the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, thereby allowing Octavian to consolidate power within the Republic as well as the titles of Princeps and Augustus, eventually paving the way to his coronation as Rome's first Emperor and the formation of the Roman Empire.