Laurasia-class

"The Laurasia Class Frigate, is the first so-called 'Mobile Warship' Type which combined a hefty mobile suit compliment with dedicated anti-ship weapons. This is something never really seen before thanks to earlier warships either being a pure warship or a carrier, however with ZAFT only having a small fraction of the resources and manpower of the Earth Alliance would see ZAFT introduce this concept to the Earth Sphere. It would then be the basis for every single 'Mobile Warship' hereafter."

- Taken from Jane's Space Ships and Warships, CE72 Edition "The Laurasia Class Frigate by far is one of the more iconic ships of the Bloody Valentine Wars. It was just a ship that started a whole new way of combat. It alongside the GINN mobile suit would be the genesis of the modern combat doctrine..."

- Captain Fredick Ades, ZAFT

The Laurasia Class Frigate is the mainline combat ship of the ZAFT organization and would take part in every single space combat operation of ZAFT. It would be the first of the 'Mobile Warship' Style Ships which would be something every single new warship afterwards would attempt to beat. It was the start of a new way of space combat.

General Overview
The Laurasia Class Frigate is ZAFT's first frontline warship and is developed entirely by the engineers at the Martius Colony Shipyards. At first these ships where to be defense ships only and never really supposed to outside of Lagrange Five and the Coordinator Homeland. However this all changed when the Bloody Valentine War began on February 14, CE70 and these ships where thrown into the fires of war. They would be the thin green line between the newly formed Earth Alliance and its massive fleets.

All in all the Laurasia Class is a simple warship and a bit under-armed for a complete warship, but this is a product its development. While the weapons of the ship where on par with Earth Alliance warships, they where still somewhat lighter then their Alliance counterparts. The Laurasia true real strength laid in the ship's hanger and the six mobile suits it is able to carry into battle. When combined with its mobile suits a single Laurasia Class was on par with an Earth Alliance Cruiser Group. Therefore when you combined these ships together you could theoretically take on a complete Earth Alliance Orbital Fleet.

However as the war dragged on and the Earth Alliance started to devise better ways to counter ZAFT superiority during Fleet Battles the Laurasia was left behind. Not to mention the Alliance breaking out the powerful but aging Atlas Class Battleships and introduced them into their Orbital Fleets. This was rightly shown during the Battle of Nova where sixty percent of the ZAFT fleet where destroyed. Therefore ZAFT would start looking into furthering their fleet with new ship designs which would lead to the Nazca Class Destroyer, and Luna Class Corvette. Even the Laurasia would remain at the front lines fighting alongside the newer ZAFT ships as they were introduced.

While these newer ships where superior over the Laurasia ZAFT would continue to build ever more ships of the class as the war continued to drag on till by the end of the war ZAFT would have built just over a hundred fifty of these ships. By the war end the Laurasia would remain in service well into the Second War and afterwards thanks in part to the adaptability design while other ships would fall into the hands of others including a handful of mercenaries and a few other third parties.

Armaments

 * XM22 937mm Duel High Energy Beam Cannons - The main anti-ship weapon of the Laurasia and while it is a bit underpowered compared to other beam cannon designs its still able to contend with enemy ships.
 * M6A9 450mm Dual Railgun - The main secondary weapon of the ship and is mainly to counter enemy anti-beam fields during combat along with the single barrel version of the weapon.
 * M6A3 450mm Single-Barrel Railgun - The single-barrel version of the M6A9 and are unique along the weapons due to them being in ball turrets along the front of the ship. These are mainly used for some close-in work against approaching enemy warships.
 * M7A3 125mm Duel Cannons - The last of the ship's cannons are mainly to back up the ship's CIWS network just in case they needed something with a heavier punch. Later in the war these cannons where quite useful in countering enemy mobile suits as they tried to attack the ship.
 * M3A1 58mm CIWS Cannons - These small weapons are spread across the ship to help prevent enemy missile attacks on the ship. However like some of the other weapons on the ship they are bit underpowered but are still enough to do their jobs.
 * 4-Cell VLS Launcher - One of the only missile weapons on the ship and is mainly for counter missiles along with the odd anti-air missiles.

Notable Ships and Crews
ZS Laurasia

The first ship of the class and is quite famous for it being able to hold off the Alliance of Sponsor Nations Blockade Forces as they tried to move further into the PLANT Airspace all by itself. Only later did its three sister ships joined the small battle.

ZS Colombia

One of the ships that took part in the Battle of Yggdrasil where it would use it's own hull as a shield against a nuclear missile aimed at the Yggdrasil Colony. While the ship was destroyed and the colony damaged it still managed to cover the remaining evacuation transports attached to the colony's airlocks from the worst of the damage from the nuke.

ZS Galvani

The first command ship of Commander Rau Le Creuset and his team which they use during the Endymion Campaign which would made the Commander so famous. It would be heavily damaged during the later Battle of Nova and would be scrapped instead of being repaired. The Commander and his team would later transfer to the new Nazca Class Destroyer Vesalius.

Variants and Subclasses
Hercules Class Modular Armed Transport

A refit/variant that turns some of the older Laurasia Class ships into a transport for the PLANTS and ZAFT after the end of the war. It was a way for ZAFT to follow the tenets of the Treaty of Junius Seven but at the same time it was so they could still keep some of their ships active when they would be needed. Since it wasn't that difficult to convert a Hercules back into a Laurasia.

Laurasia Kai Class Frigate

A new variant/refit of the original Laurasia Class that adds a new Type-0E Expanded Hanger Pod which increases the ship's mobile suit capacity to eight machines and the addition of new weapons, including XM25 beam cannons replacing the older XM22 cannons and the addition of two more M7A3 Guns to support the CIWS. These ships are basically both new builds and a refit that was started around the last months of the war. The remaining ships of these class would remain in service after the war while the older Laurasia Class would be refitted into Hercules Class.

Miscellaneous Information
Design Notes: A dedicated profile for the Laurasia Class Frigate which we really don't get all that much in the series. Some of the changes I made due to my observations of the design throughout the two series.