Chega de Saudade-class battleship

The Chega de Saudade-class is a class of superbattleship currently in production and service with the Imperial Mairan Armada, purposed towards large-scale expeditionary combat and anti-planetary endeavors. Due to their exorbitant price and combat potential, only 14 vessels of this class are in active service, with a further 3 in production. Of the Armada's 24 astrofleets, 14 (and a further planned 3) operate Chega de Saudade-class battleships, the vessels acting as fleet capital ships.

The Chega de Saudade class of superbattleships was initially proposed in the Fleet Review of 889 EI, although being rejected. Various alterations to the proposal design were made, culminating in the design's approval in 904 EI. The first vessel, NIM Chega de Saudade, was completed and baptized in 913 EI, with each following vessel taking upwards of two to four years to complete. Though the existence of the ship class was initially classified, they have since become central to Mairan naval propaganda since being publicly revealed in 921 EI, symbolizing the strength of the Imperial Armada, the Empire, and the Stellar Emperor by extension.

 

The vessel is powered by eighteen ENGATÔMICA F34 fusion reactors, compensating for its comparatively inferior energy output to sustain its wide array of weapons. The vessel also holds a large amount of stored power due to the energy demand of its weaponry. All vessels were built by the state-operated Arsenal de Marinha do Império, with the initial provisional name of  'Projeto Zeta'. Final design process was arranged through competition between two rivaling development concerns under the AdMdI.

 

The vessels have largely been utilized thus far for pacification endeavors, anti-xeno expeditionary wars, and extermination of pirate threats regarded as Class A threats.

Design
The Chega de Saudade-class of battleships were designed with the intent to supplement preexisting ship classes, act as powerful fire support/peer combatant platforms, and, post-declassification, act as flagships for the Astrofleets. They were designed with general durability in mind, and with the goal of acting as force multipliers to compensate for the comparatively smaller size of the Mairan armada. The ship class, on average, has an expected service life of 90 years.

Following the tenets of Mairan ship design, the vessel exhibits a cylindrical design with a 'bullet' tip, designed to maximize firepower whilst rotating on its central axis, as well as exhibiting modular internal and external design in similar vein to other battleship classes, allowing for easier maintenance and part compatibility. The Chega de Saudade class bears heavy similarity, and common part modularity, with the Minas Geraes-class battleships. Like its design predecessor, ship is protected by directional shield, intended to guarantee power efficiency due to the colossal energy demand of the ship's weapon systems. Due to the broad variety of armaments, the vessel is capable of engagements at varying ranges and angles. Doctrinally, close-range engagements are not permitted in normal situations, after which evasive withdrawal maneuvers are undertaken.

The Chega de Saudade sports a singular 9mm c-fractional cannon at its bow, partly necessitating the heavy energy demand of sporting 18 fusion reactors. Slower due to its size, the Chega de Saudade is doctrinally intended to be complemented by other vessels, and as such is intended for only large-scale, priority deployments. It sports four retractable, thrust-vectored atomic 'torch' engines, which are further complemented by 8 smaller, laterally-deployed 'lateral turn assistance' engines intended to aid preexisting RCS systems.

Name
The ship class' name roughly translates to "no more longing" or "no more blues" in Lusophonic, though the word "saudade" carries a far more complex meaning. It was named for the eponymous bossa nova jazz standard popularized by Brazilian musician João Gilberto in 20th century old Earth. Like many other cultural relics of this period of human history, the song and its lyrics came to carry poetic significance in the Mairan Star Empire.