One possible configuration of a System Ship utilised by the Imperial Navy for planetary defence.
A "System Ship" is the term used by the Navis Imperialis for a mix of short-range strike vessels and other starships incapable of interstellar, FTL travel that are often used to supplement the defence of an Imperial star system.
They sometimes have civilian crews unceremoniously drafted into the Imperium's defence and lack the sophisticated weapons, targetting systems, superior engines and manoeuvring thrusters of a warship, but when used in sufficient numbers can still pose a real threat to space-based foes.
For instance, during the Craftworld Aeldari attack on the world of Misere in 153.M41, the planetary governor's personal fleet of luxury cruise ships were quickly fitted with gundecks and sent into battle. Although eventually destroyed, they accounted for the destruction of two Craftworld Aeldari escorts before their demise.
In 998.M41, when a commercial system freighter detected Necron Shroud-class Light Cruisers entering the Sol System, the Imperial Navy deployed several flotillas of system defence ships on intercepting trajectories. The Necron ships simply avoided the slow system ships, as their Lightning Arcs ripped through the hulls of any that managed to get within range. The helpless system ships were unable to take any action save to project the hostiles' approach vector.
Sources[]
- Battlefleet Gothic 2002 Annual, pg. 10
- Battlefleet Gothic Rulebook (Specialty Game), pg. 144