Scout Vessel
S-class Scout Vessels are a starship supraclass used to investigate uncontrolled astrographic areas.
- The grouping includes Scout/Couriers, Stealth Scouts, Military Scouts, Far Scouts, Fast Scouts, Fleet Scouts, Scout Tenders, and many others.
- All scout vessels are traditionally considered paramilitary ships even if under specific civilian or military taskings.
- Almost all scout vessels are constructed as ACS vessels between 100 to 2,499 tons in displacement.
- The Supraclass designation is also known as Ship Mission, Ship Mission Code, Mission, or Ship Hull Designation.
- It is a starship supraclass.
Library Data Referral Tree[edit]
Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Starship:
- Advanced Ship Classifications
- Ship Mission Code / Supraclass
- Ship Type Code / Superclass
- Ship Class Code / Class
- Model (TL)
- Bloc (Lot)
- Basic Ship Classifications
- Adventure Class Ship (Auxiliary Class Ship)
- Battle Class Ship (Bulk / Subcapital Class Ship)
- Capital Ship (Capital Class Ship)
- Fleet Class Ship (Capital Class Ship)
- Size-Role Classification
- Subcapital Ship (Small & Large Battle Class Ships)
- QSP
- USP
- World Class Ship
- Astronomical Unit (AU)
- FTL
- Light Speed (c)
- Light-week (lw)
- Light-year (ly)
- NAFAL (STL)
- Parsec (pc)
Description (Specifications)[edit]
Scout vessels serve a wide variety of missions from civilian to paramilitary to military taskings. The scout ship is traditionally considered a paramilitary vessel. Scouts often serve survey functions for a private or commercial entity, and military reconnaissance missions for military owners. The difference between such hulls is typically minimal. It's the mission that differs, not the craft. [1]
Scouts: Scouts are survey and exploration ships normally employed in the scout service. They are transferred to naval duty in time of war or when otherwise necessary. Many scout ships are couriers for the navy. [2]
Image Repository[edit]
This image repository contains a selection of scout vessel images:
- A typical Type S class Scout/Courier scout ship preparing to enter jumpspace.
- A Gibson class with winglets and a top end sensor suite.
- A Henrick Krueden class Scout/Courier in orbit around a gas giant.
- A Marcus class Scout monitoring a rogue brown dwarf system.
- A Type-S in front of a nebula.
- A Sulieman class Scout/Courier under spaceflight orbiting a yellow star.
- An Inchworm class Scout/Courier landed upon a barren vacuum world.
- Ship computer image of a stock Vraktagh 6H-class before being reengineered at Lunion (world).
Type SG Gunned Scout / Military Scout:
- Two Ninz class Scouts approaching target on a strike mission.
Type SI Surveillance Scout / Intelligence Vessel:
- A Lauritson class Picket Ship deploying MOLRASP class Sensor Drones.
- The cobbled together but highly functional Telemon class Survey Scout.
- No image yet available.
- A Serpent class Scout/Courier landed on the surface of a planet.
Strategy & Tactics (Doctrine)[edit]
Scout Vessels are not intended for combatant roles. The role of a scout is to reconnoiter star systems, deep space, and the enemy's movements, relaying vital intelligence back to combat fleets, thus enhancing their combat effectiveness. While many scout vessels are armed, such armament is mostly to discourage piracy, raiders, and other vessels from taking advantage of small, lightly armed vessels. Many scouts fulfill a variety of other roles including small team insertion, exploratory functions, communications functions, courier duties, and many other functions. [3]
However, the basic tactic for a scout vessel is to avoid, evade, and escape combatant exchanges. [4]
Supraclass Roles[edit]
Scout Vessels typically serve the following roles:
Largecraft & Bigcraft:
Size-Class Roles for Scout Vessels[edit]
- Utility Craft (U) (1 to 99 tons)
- Recon Smallcraft (UQS) (1 to 99 tons)
- Light Scout (SL) (100 to 999 tons)
- Medium Scout (SM) (1,000 to 1,499 tons)
- Heavy Scout (SH) (1,500 to 2,499 tons)
- Super Heavy Scout (SS) (2,500 or more tons)
- Destroyer (D) (2,500 to 99,999 tons)
- Capital Ship (Various) (100,000 or larger tons)
Military Subcraft[edit]
Military subcraft (...both smallcraft and bigcraft) are carried by some of these vessels:
- Battle Rider (BR)
- Combat Barge (WBG)
- Combat Transport Smallcraft (UI)
- Fighters (F)
- Militarized Utility Craft (UQ)
Supraclass Archetypal Roles[edit]
These vessels typically serve the following archetypal roles:
S-class Scout Vessel Supraclass Archetypes | |||
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Archetype | Type Code | Exemplar | Remarks |
Scout Vessel | S (Namesake) | Serpent class Scout | Generic scout vessels serve across a variety of riles focusing on reconnaissance, exploration, survey, and communications roles.
|
Scout/Courier | SC | Sulieman class Scout/Courier | Scout/Couriers focus on fulfilling intelligence and communications roles.
|
Fleet Scout | SF | Dewclaw class Fleet Scout | Fleet Scouts tend to focus on endurance, speed, and range. They may travel many parsecs ahead of a fleet, convoy, or trade group confirming that the way is clear. Many serve frontier roles, fast roles, or far distance, endurance roles.
|
Military Scout | SG | Hunter class Armored Scout | Armed and armored scout meant for exclusively military duty, often acting in a light skirmisher / intruder / raider combatant role. Such vessels are too small to significantly threaten larger vessels, but they can harass effectively.
|
Surveillance Scout / Intelligence Vessel | SI | Gishiash class Stealth Scout | Surveillance Ships generally are focused on monitoring less-friendly areas - border regions, semi-denied and occasionally denied territory. Their primary "weapon" is a comprehensive sensor and computer fit; their primary defense is stealth and passive defense. Surveillance scouts often serve intelligence roles, picket roles, and observation roles, monitoring certain parts of space or certain groups and places of interest.
|
Asteroid Scout | SP | Pallad class Asteroid Scout | It's far more common for larger vessels to make use of planetoid hulls than smaller ones. Asteroid scouts are an application where the planetoid hull can be very effective, hiding in plain sight and covertly observing the spaceways.
|
Aerodynamic Scout | SX | Wind class Scout/Courier | Aerodynamic scouts are technically spaceplanes. They are specialized to act as capable aircraft in addition to their roles as spacecraft or starcraft. They are optimized to take closer looks at atmospheric worlds than many other kinds of scout vessels.
|
NOTES: There is semantic overlap between many of the classes and codes. Some codes organize by mission or capability, others by size and tonnage, and yet others by other characteristics. |
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
Several thousand years ago, interstellar pioneers had hoped to break the FTL barrier to communications technology. Tachyons, mesons, jumpspace were all explored hoping to create Charted Space's first ansible. It never happened... [5]
In an environment where communication only moves at the pace of travel, scout vessels remain incredibly important. They are typically light, fast, and practically disposable ships. They can monitor, reconnoiter, explore, survey, carry couriers, and otherwise maintain intelligence and observation networks. Vessels very flexibly serve across many mission roles from communications to combat operations, but ...the focus of most scouts is the collection and dissemination of intelligence data. [6]
Selected Variant Types & Classes[edit]
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Scout/Courier:
- Type S class Scout/Courier
- Aegis class Scout
- Afterthought class Scout
- Asia class Scout
- Explorer class Scoutship
- Gibson class Scout/Courier
- Henrick Krueden class Scout/Courier
- Hive class Scout
- Ihateisho class Scout
- Inchworm class Scout/Courier
- Kach'k class Scout
- Lance Marcus class Scout
- Last Armada class Scout
- Magash class Heavy Scout
- Pathway class Scout
- Scybria class Scout
- Serpent class Scout AKA Serpent class Scout/Courier
- Starfarer class Scout
- Sulieman class Scout/Courier
- TC3 Perx class Scout
- Unity class Scout
- Valtos Niagra class Scout/Courier
- Wanderer class Scout/Courier
- Xero class Scout
- Yono class Scout
- Zydmnar class Scout
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Fleet Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Military Scout:
- Type SG class Gunned Scout
- Chatl class Leader Scout
- Hunter class Armored Scout
- KE2 Zerp class Battle Scout
- Militia class Military Scout
- Ninz class Scout
- Prata class Attack Scout
- Protective class Scout
- Skela class Attack Scout
- Stayaow class Combat Scout
- Switch Black class Intruder Scout
- Vanguard class Attack Scout
- Wiesbaden class Military Scout
- Wrathful class War Scout
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Heavy Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Surveillance Scout:
- Type SI class Surveillance Scout
- Alahir class Heavy Scout
- Bay class Surveillance Vessel
- Dienjzhiae class Fleet Intelligence Corvette
- Exocet class Intelligence Cruiser
- Fairmile Model G class Scout
- Keyhole class Observatory Ship
- Lauritson class Picket Ship
- Legion class Picket Boat
- Prince Asan class Scout Leader
- Tripwire class Early Warning Scout
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Stealth Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Light Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Medium Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Asteroid Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Superheavy Scout:
- Type SS class Superheavy Scout
- No exemplar yet available.
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Vargr Scout:
Paramilitary Vessel - Scout Vessel - Aerodynamic Scout:
Ship Summary List[edit]
Some of the most commonly used vessels in this role or these roles include:
38 Representative Scout/Courier (SC) Classes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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0 Representative Fleet Scout (SF) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Military Scout (SG) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Heavy Scout (SH) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Surveillance / Intelligence Scout (SI) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Covert Stealth Scout (SIS) Classes | |
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No results |
11 Representative Light Scout (SL) Classes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2 Representative Medium Scout (SM) Classes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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0 Representative Asteroid Scout (SP) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Superheavy Scout (SS) Classes | |
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No results |
1 Representative Vargr Scout (SV) Classes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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0 Representative Aerodynamic Scout (SX) Classes | |
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No results |
0 Representative Recon Smallcraft (UQS) Classes | |
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No results |
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it. |
- This article is an amalgamation of many different materials published since 1977.
- Martin Dougherty. Scout Ships (Avenger Enterprises, 2007), TBD.
- Andrew Welty, Ian Stead. Merchants and Cruisers (Mongoose Publishing, 2011), 57-58.
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science
- ↑ Information provided to the library by Maksim-Smelchak
- ↑ Marc Miller. Fighting Ships of the Shattered Imperium (Game Designers Workshop, 1990), 5.
- ↑ Information provided to the library by Maksim-Smelchak
- ↑ Information provided to the library by Maksim-Smelchak
- ↑ Information provided to the library by Maksim-Smelchak
- ↑ Information provided to the library by Maksim-Smelchak