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The Mako type ships are a series of vessels scaling from small scale missile boats, to large battleships and dreadnaughts, and is the first attempt to standardize the Republic fleet. The problem that the fleet suffers with is a lack of standardization, as many ships come from a range of manufacturers. The Mako line of ships is a standardized set of warships that have been collaborated upon by three major companies: Aryka Tactical solutions, Depache Starship Construction and the Krauter Construction Group.

The Mako's are a numeric line of ships, the lowest number beginning with 80. A general rule is the larger the number, the larger/more advanced/more powerful the vessel. As these are a commercial ship as well as a military one, they are often renamed by their owner fleet. They are bought as bare hulls, and require extra weapons packages to be fixed. The Three companies all offer their own weapons packages for the individual hulls, but other third party weaponry can be fitted as well.

In this thread, i shall put all of the Mako designs. each new class will have two images, the bare hull design that highlights the weapons hardpoints as well as the Republic navies version (which is the best inherently, as they have the best equipment out there).

Are they as tasty as makos?

Erm....well...I guess you can try to lick the hull? that might tell you...

Hmmm...

Anyway, I sort of like the idea of an administrative attempt to streamline the production processes of the fleet; I'm interested to see what problems arise, including lobbying from other vendors, contract issues, etc.

oh, the administrative issues are immense. Think about it. Three separate companies, with three separate agendas, with three different styles have to work together. Getting the first design out, the Mako 150 ( CL ) took nearly a year, where as most ships can be designed within a couple of months with modern technologies. They all wanted different things. Aryka for instance favour energy weapons and simple, no frills designs where as Depache like advanced combination systems, where the weapons fit is directly tied to a sensor system to hybrid everything and make things faster and more efficient (Inherently more expensive). Just getting them to agree was a difficult thing. Overall, each ship takes a lot of time to be designed. That said, they are very good.

The main issues arise with contracts. The three companies are all vying to get more contracts from the government, and the difficulty from the government is to choose which contract. For example, the Mako 150 has three different subtypes, each made from the three companies. One contract is normally chosen, and the Republic administrative service normally pick the one that suits the needs of the time. Sometimes multiple are chosen, but not often. The intense lobbying from each company slows the process even further. And then if one company gets a certain contracts, the other companies will rise the prices on subsequent contracts to sting at the government. its all a vicious arena.

So, is it a joint industrial effort, or are three different companies bidding on the same government spec?

Its complicated. Basically the Mako Line had their own factories built specifically for construction of the Mako's. Each of the factories churn out the parts for the main hulls (which are modular in construction). one factory will concentrate on one section of the ship. The output of the factory is then devided into three, equally for each of the companies. It took A LOT of negotiation to get it like that, as each company's factory wanted to curb production to the other two company's. In the end, the government stepped in and only authorized the MAKO production line in government controlled facilities, where three factories are built in tandom. Overall it is more expensive, but far more lucrative as the government charges fees on the production. Each of the three companies gets an equal share of modules constructed. overall, the government is actually dipping out as they provide the resources for construction, and the labour. But they do get very versatile, and very well built warships out of it, and the prices they pay are less than other third party groups.

Reliant121 wrote:Its complicated. Basically the Mako Line had their own factories built specifically for construction of the Mako's. Each of the factories churn out the parts for the main hulls (which are modular in construction). one factory will concentrate on one section of the ship. The output of the factory is then devided into three, equally for each of the companies. It took A LOT of negotiation to get it like that, as each company's factory wanted to curb production to the other two company's. In the end, the government stepped in and only authorized the MAKO production line in government controlled facilities, where three factories are built in tandom. Overall it is more expensive, but far more lucrative as the government charges fees on the production. Each of the three companies gets an equal share of modules constructed. overall, the government is actually dipping out as they provide the resources for construction, and the labour. But they do get very versatile, and very well built warships out of it, and the prices they pay are less than other third party groups.

So, are you looking at the Mako type standardisation as something similar to the decision of the U.S. Navy to get directly involved with the building of submarines between WWI and WWII? Instead of many (in that case 2) different companies building their own versions, the government/military is stepping in saying, "this is what we want you to do. If you do it right, we'll by from you and not Electric Boat" or whatever?

Pretty much. The only difference is the government, rather sneakily, banned the Mako production in all BUT the government run factories.

Reliant121 wrote:Pretty much. The only difference is the government, rather sneakily, banned the Mako production in all BUT the government run factories.

Ah. The USN tried developing their own yards to build their own type of submarine ( a combination of Lake and Holland I believe) but it didn't pan out.

So, instead of bidding to design their own prototype, these three companies were all given the same bid contract to build an already-spec'd government design. Is that about right?

The same basic design is used for each of the companies (the quality may very well differ though). The basic equipment does also differ (engines, control systems, AI core, power generation units etc) as long as they fit into the hull. The ship that is created is completely bare, Even the interior design (like the facade that models the interior is non-present, just the bare metal work bulkheards The hulls are built by the government, shipped to the respective companies who put each module together to make the ship, then equip it and put in the interior styling.

Gotcha.

Complicated, because everyone wins within a respect. The government gets high grade, top of the line warships AND can charge a little bit of money to use the factories, in order to reduce the cost slightly, and the companies get a juicy moneyload of contract.

Mako 150 Light cruiser

Depicted: Republic fleet type, Nagoya class



The Mako 150, the first vessel that made its way out of the Mako production lines, is the newest and most prominent light cruiser to enter service with the Republic fleet. Being a Mako design, she is very well catered for weaponry and defensive systems. Unfortunately, owing to pressure to over-arm her, the speed has been somewhat compromised compared to most Light Cruisers, which inevitably means she has failed in her role to lead destroyer "Wolfpacks". That said, the firepower that the Republic "Nagoya" class can bring to bare is very impressive, and a useful edition to any bombardment force or fleet action. The standard fittings include a DSS-019 Combined Search/Attack sensor suite (one of the latest of its type), capable of reacting faster than any human brain, rivalling the speed of a Caalma mind. Shielding is average, but the armour belt is very thick, meaning this ship can take a heavy pounding for her type. This particular one is armed with 4 x 130mm twin PPC cannons, each capable of 2 shots (one from each barrel) per every 6 seconds. She also carries 9 x 76 mm single DP PPC/Flak cannon turrets, a pair of 50mm gattling cannons, and a staggering 32 x quad 15mm autopulse plasma turrets for defending against light targets and fighters. The PD armament of the Nagoya class is unbelievably high, often leading Savvy admirals to use Nagoya class units as defense for Battleships or carriers that are more vulnerable to raiding attacks.

Overall, the Nagoya is actually a failure; it doesnt fit its role. Its too slow, bulky, and expensive to be viable ship for leading Destroyer packs. However, she does prove useful for her high DP and Artillery firepower for use in major engagements, or escorting much slower choice targets. As such, she has proven a popular contract with the government.