Z Class Destroyer Z - 0004

The Z Class destroyers are the most numerous front line warships used by the Grand Araxium Empire. These ships operate as large escort ships and can be seen escorting the largest ships in service of the GAE Imperial Navy.

Length: 7,000 meters

Armament:
x32 medium railguns (460mm)
x72 light railguns (283mm)
x1 medium beam cannon (mounted along spine)

Armor: Vishant composite layered by anti-bomb layer.

Crew: 6,000

Power:
x2 nuclear
x12 fuel burning engines (enough for 3 weeks)
x8 retractable solar panels

The Z class destroyer is the primary escort ship used by the GAE Imperial Navy. Unlike the K class destroyer the Z class relies on its railguns for firepower rather than long range torpedoes. The Z class is like most GAE ships, built for the purpose of superior ranged firepower and mobility. Most of the firepower is arranged in order to direct as much firepower forwards, this was in part due to the main armament which is a beam weapon mounted directly along the spine of the ship.

Medium railguns: Primary railguns on the Z class. These are 460mm penetrating rods with HE filling.
Light railguns: Secondary railguns on the Z class. These guns are used in both anti-ship and anti-strike craft engagements.

The Z-0004 is the first ship lost by the GAE during the Thramas incident. The ship was sabotaged by overloading circuitry to cause fires that eventually spread to the ammunition bunkers. This caused the ship to split in half violently, only 170 of her 6,000 crewmembers survived the resulting shockwave that hit their escape pods.