Omega-class

A can of whoopass emerges from hyperspace.

The Omega-class destroyer is the principle warship of the Earth Alliance in Babylon 5.

Specifications

The Omega-class destroyer is a massive warship, measuring approximately 1.5 kilometers in length. Lacking the technology to artificially create gravity, it has no means of compensating for the effects of acceleration on its crew, limiting its sublight acceleration to what the crew can tolerate. Similarly, to mitigate the effects of long-term exposure to zero- or low-gravity, the ship has a rotating section to simulate gravity for the crew.

The Omega-class carries its own jump engines, enabling it to open a vortex into or out of hyperspace. Recharging the jump engines after opening a vortex takes several minutes.

The primary weapons of the Omega-class are heavy particle beams mounted at the bow and stern. These can fire either continuous beams or pulses with an estimated firepower of roughly 40 TW. The mounts can traverse, giving the weapons a considerable field of fire.

Secondary weapons for the Omega-class include pulse cannon turrets mounted along its length. While not confirmed, it is likely they also carry missiles with nuclear warheads, since earlier classes of EarthForce warship carried such weapons.

Omega-class destroyers appear to be capable of accurately targeting enemy starships at ranges of hundreds or thousands of kilometers.

For defense, the Omega-class relies upon physical armor to resist damage and electronic countermeasures and interceptors to avoid taking hits. Interceptors are pulse weapons that target inbound pulses, missiles, fighter craft, and beams. While interceptor pulses will destroy missiles or fighters and disrupt incoming pulses, they will apparently only mitigate the effect of attacking beam weapons.

An Omega-class destroyer carries a squadron of starfighters (known as Starfuries) for support in combat and presumably some shuttles.

Versus Debates

Fivers sometimes argue that an Omega-class destroyer could defeat a Federation Galaxy-class starship or Imperial Star Destroyer in battle. While it might arguably stand a chance against a Federation starship, the known power of EarthForce warships is dwarfed by that of Imperial warships.

External Links

• Omega-class at BabTech on the Net