The Kongo-class, also known as Kongou or Kongō, is the most recent line of domestically produced Battlecruiser produced by Halcyon Industries and Asimov Heavy Engineering for the Threshold Federal Navy. The vessel is primarily designed to engage large capital ships and cruisers from a distance with its torpedo and cruise missile complement. Unlike the smaller Kozane dō-class Heavy Cruiser, the Kongou is designed to be able to undergo lasting engagement with larger targets. It uses much of the same equipment as the Moira Adam-Class Battleship, which is a sister-class that utilizes much of the same hull structure and layout but is more heavily armored and shielded.
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Namesake
The Kongou is named after the Kongou-class battlecruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which served from 1913 to 1945, and the namesake-successors, the Kongou-class of the Pavonian Navy that saw brief service in the 2370s, and the Kongo-class of the Intersystem Alliance that served from 2688 to 2760.
Development History
Previous to the Kongou, the Threshold Navy only ever employed one single battlecruiser, instead of relying on Alliance-built vessels such as the aging Blade-class Battlecruiser, the last of which was decommissioned over a century before the first Kongou was laid down, or instead allowing heavy cruisers and battleships fill the gap. Desiring a battlecruiser to fill the gap left by the Blade's dismissal, the Threshold Government invested in the Alliance's Renown-class being designed to counter. When it became apparent that the Renown was quickly being designed as a heavier warship than the Threshold desired, interest lapsed in the project.
The Tactical Generation Battlecruiser project, or TacGenBC, was established in 3381 as an alternative project, and several concept designs, virtual mockups, and small physical mockups were generated. Aggressive posturing on the part of the People's Coalition drove the Threshold Government towards bigger and larger ships to include new orders of the Dauntless supercarrier line, and government opinion began to wane for the smaller battlecruisers.
Instead, the Threshold Navy decided to cut costs and capitalize on what interest was left by using the previously developed and already in service Moira Adam-class Battleship for a template. Using the similar armament, the same engines, and selective armoring, Halcyon Industries was able to produce a faster, cheaper vessel than the new battleship line, while also streamlining production processes. As such, the TacGenBC project was able to have the TNV Kongou commissioned in 3388, with the next sixty ships' keels laid by 3391, with ninety-six planned by 3418. The biggest problem produced by the speed of production was in manning up the new vessels, and so production was intentionally slowed.
The process of construction was streamlined further by allowing sections of the Kongou-class, and the Moira Adam-class before it, to be built in sections and assembled at other locations after being towed there or transported on super haulers. While much of the design was by Halcyon Industries and Asimov Heavy Engineering, the Kongou was one of the first vessels to be authorized for construction by other companies, should the need arise in wartime for a quickly produced capital ship. The Threshold Government mandated that each company allotted these grants build at least two ships for use. Gideon Enterprises constructed Wyoming and New Salem, Hephaestus constructed Tryor and Kirishima, and ThunderOn Dynamics together with FyrFly built the Excellent and Newcastle to such great success that they were awarded a contract to build five more Kongo-class. Of these, only the Thunder Child was completed by 3391 and was also the only ship in the Threshold Navy to be named after a fictional vessel, after the iconic ship from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.