Kolm-An Class VIII-XIV Assault Ship

«Last Updated on December 29, 2023 »

Kolm-An Class VIII-XIV Assault Ship

Mk I Design by J.M. Kuzee and Pete Rogan, Mk II-VI extrapolated from Brad R. Torgersen design. Redraw by Brad R. Torgersen

 
NOTES:
Muscular” is the word used to describe the formidable Kolm-An class assault ship. The Makin and Continent classes carry more men and equipment, but the Kolm-An carries a heftier load of shipboard weaponry, the better to provide its landed troops with fire support from orbit.

The Kolm-An class was designed to transport up to a company of Federation marines, their vehicles and equipment, to land them on a hostile world via transporters and/or assault shuttlecraft; to provide all their support needs for up to 30 standard solar days without re-supply, and to hold off minor counterattacks, all of this without aid or support from accompanying Star Fleet vessels.

Star Fleet felt it necessary to have such ships as the Kolm-An class to provide swift deployment of needed defensive forces at short notice along the Klingon and Romulan Neutral Zones. Unlike the larger assault ships, Kolm-An class need not be based or restricted to limited patrol routes, or provided with extensive escort and support ships, all of which increase response time. To deal with the threat of deliberate invasion or even sudden raids on Federation or neutral worlds on the frontier, the best course was to place single companies of Marines on constant combat patrol, and the best way to do that was to build a ship capable of holding its own with a minimum of external aid.

The Kolm-An class can land its troops combat-ready, in approximately ten minutes from ‘go’. Its dual-purpose Combat Information Center on the bridge coordinates reports from the ground and monitors the space situation. The ground commander can order phaser or photon torpedo bombardment with pin-point accuracy in less than thirty seconds from the receipt of the fire order, evaluate the overall terrain with spaceborne sensors to determine the local threat, and ensure backup communications control with the aid of the Kolm-An class’s sophisticated track-and-comm station.

For quick insertions and rapid extractions, the Kolm-An class has no equal on either side of the frontier. But its mission profile demands that the local threat be conclusively dealt with in thirty minutes before the ship’s orbit carries it beyond the battle zone. Some Marine commanders have extended their combat ability by landing as much as an orbit ahead of time, and attacking the objective only as the Kolm-An class arrives above the Horizon (ATH). Time and circumstances do not always permit this, though standard orders always explicitly grant Marine commanders the option to retreat from too large a threat. Only once has a Kolm-An class retreated before landing its forces. Apparently the Marines can adapt to fighting for extended period with only sporadic orbital support.

The Mk I was originally intended to be little more than a “proof of concept” platform, with the intention that the design would be “scaled up” once the basic spaceframe proved worthy. Contracted for five fully functioning ships, Star Fleet later increased funding to produce all 40 of the planned Kolm-An class vessels as Class VIII assault ships. Planners realized that the lengthy testing period and deteriorating relations with the Klingons could spell disaster if the Federation did not have enough troop transports. While only 39 Mk I’s were built, the class proved useful in reinforcing front-line areas during the Klingon’s Taal-Tan offensive. While there was almost no ground combat during the conflict, the ability to field troops on boarder colonies freed up Frigate classes to conduct patrols and strike missions.

After the signing of the Kithomer Accords, Fleet Designers felt that the time had come to upgrade the Kolm-an. The basic space frame was significantly enlarged and several new systems were included in the Mk II. The Kolm-An class became the only Star Fleet vessel to be so extensively upgraded without being classified as a new vessel. The Mk II was nearly twice the size of the Mk I and could field four times the number of troops. With a significant weapon upgrade and enlargement to most of the primary systems, the Kolm-An class became one of the largest assault ships in the inventory.

However, Procurement decided to cancel the construction of the 40th Kolm-An class hull and rescinded orders for an additional 15 new build hulls. After several cost-analysis’, it was determined that, while upgrading the existing 39 ships had proven quick and somewhat inexpensive an endeavor, building new vessels from the keel up would be a serious strain on the overall budget. The decision was made to finish upgrading the final existing hulls and divert funds to other projects.

In later 2330, as relations with the Cardassians began to seriously deteriorate, Star Fleet decided to upgrade the Kolm-An class to counter the ground force-heavy Cardassian military machine. In 2340, the Mk III was brought into the inventory with a stronger main torpedo and greater overall power. However, many questioned the use of the less efficient but more powerful FSR shielding system. While an older design, the system was easy to repair and doubled the overall energy dissipation rate of the FSS system. With the additional available power, planners felt the Mk III was capable of defending it self easily.

The Mk IV saw service at the end of the Cardassian conflict, and would go on to serve predominantly in the Arcanis Conflict with the Klingons and then immediately against the Dominion and Cardassian forces. The Mk IV saw the replacement of the “M” series of computer with the “I” series as well as minor improvements to the ships primary combat systems. These improvements have allowed the Kolm-An class to continue its primary mission despite it’s age. Currently, Star Fleet is exploring the possibility of a more powerful Mk V.

Kolm-An class vessels were built at the rate of 16 per year at the Salazaar, Sol II and Star Base 12 shipyards. Of the 39 Kolm-An class vessels built, 34 remain in active service.  2 are used by Star Fleet Training Command, 2 have been scrapped, and 1 has been destroyed.
 

Construction Data:
Model – Mk I Mk II Mk III Mk IV
Ship Class – VIII XIII XIV XIV
Date Entering Service – 2278 2300 2340 2350
Number Constructed – 39 39 refit 39 refit 36 refit
Hull Data:
Superstructure Points – 19 42 50 50
Damage Chart – C C C C
Size:
Length – 212 m 476 m 476 m 476 m
Width – 93 m 251 m 251 m 251 m
Height – 54 m 127 m 127 m 127 m
Weight – 117,148 mt 218,198 mt 263,427 mt 258,295 mt
Cargo:
Total SCU – 350 SCU 500 SCU 500 SCU 500 SCU
Cargo Capacity – 17,500 mt 25,000 mt 25,000 mt 25,000 mt
Landing Capacity – None None None None
Equipment Date:
Control Computer Type – M-3 M-7A M-8A I-7
Transporters:
Standard 6-person – 4 6 6 6
Combat 20-person – 4 20 20 20
Emergency 22-person – 2 10 10 10
Cargo – 6 14 14 14
Other Data:
Crew – 30 235 235 210
Troops – 350 1600 1600 1600
Passengers –
Shuttlecraft – 4 34 34 34
Engines And Power Data:
Total Power Units Available – 38 96 116 116
Movement Point Ratio – 3/1 5/1 7/1 7/1
Warp Engine Type – FWE-2 FWG-3 FWJ-2 FWJ-2
Number – 2 2 2 2
Power Units Available – 13 ea. 38 ea. 42 ea. 42 ea.
Stress Chart – G/K F/I F/H F/H
Max Safe Cruising Speed – Warp 7 Warp 8 Warp 8 Warp 8
Emergency Speed – Warp 9 Warp 10 Warp 10 Warp 10
Impulse Engine Type – FIF-1 FIF-3 FIG-2 FIG-2
Power Units Available – 12 20 32 32
Weapons And Firing Data:
Beam Weapon Type – FH-12 FH-14 FH-14 FH-15
Number – 6 9 9 9
Firing Arcs – 2 f/p, 2 f, 2 f/s 2 f/p, 2 f, 2 f/s, 1 p/f/s, 1 p/a/s, 1 a 2 f/p, 2 f, 2 f/s, 1 p/f/s, 1 p/a/s, 1 a 2 f/p, 2 f, 2 f/s, 1 p/f/s, 1 p/a/s, 1 a
Firing Chart – R T T T
Maximum Power – 6 12 12 12
Damage Modifiers:
+3 (-) (-) (-) (1-5)
+2 (1-9) (1-10) (1-10) (6-12)
+1 (10-16) (11-18) (11-18) (13-18)
Torpedo Weapon Type – FP-7 FP-5 FP-13 FP-14
Number – 4 4 4 4
Firing Arcs – 4 f 4 f 4 f 4 f
Firing Chart – R R P R
Power to Arm – 1 1 1 1
Damage – 8 16 23 24
Shield Data:
Deflector Shield Type – FSI FSS FSR FSR
Shield Point Ratio – 1/3 1/4 1/3 1/3
Maximum Shield Power – 13 20 40 40
Combat Efficiency:
D – 99.2 198.1 199 199
WDF – 48.6 117.2 129.6 140