Kignus


Unit type: picket ship/scout
Manufacturer: Space Revolutionary Army
Dimensions: length 78.6 meters, height 22.4 meters, width 20.1 meters
Armament: 2-barrel beam cannon; 4 x antiaircraft laser cannon, 2 port, 2 starboard
Powerplant: fusion reactor, output rated at 16850 kW
Propulsion: 2 x rocket engine

Simultaneously with its development of mobile suits for space combat, the Space Revolutionary Army also set about developing for itself a first-rate space navy ("spacy") modelled around the tenets of mobile suit combat. To make the best use of their limited resources, the Army opted to base their overall strategy on having the fewest number of different hulls as possible, allowing for more economical production.

The Kignus is the smallest and lightest of the Army's space fleet, intended primarily for use as an observation craft and escort vessel for the much larger Astrarza-class battleships that form the Army's main battle lines. Virtually half of the Kignus' hull is given over to a pair of extremely large engines - compared to the ponderously slow battleships, the scout is capable of keeping pace with some mobile suits, although its turning ability at such speeds is somewhat limited. Because of its small size and even smaller hull space, the Kignus has no provision for carrying or servicing mobile suits, although it is quite heavily armed for a ship of its dimensions. A beam cannon turret with full rotational arcs is installed at the Kignus' midships area, while a quartet of antiaircraft laser batteries are positioned along the ship's sides, allowing it to direct firepower in almost any direction. This faculty makes it particularly useful as an escort ship, effectively acting as mobile air defense positions to bolster the Army's lines of battle during enemy mobile suit counterattacks.

During its service to the Space Revolutionary Army, the Kignus was produced in significant numbers, seeing action in essentially every major combat engagement of the Space War as a fleet escort, squadron picket ship, and observation craft for reaction missile attacks. Many remain in use by the Cloud Defense Service, although not-insignificant numbers of the ships have appeared in the hands of rogue operators, where their high speed, compact size, and excellent firepower makes them highly effective raiders.