EFD Talos

The following information is related to Exile mod and has not been confirmed by Volition. It is not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

The EFD Talos

Description:

Tech Room Description

Earth Federated Nations - Talos Destroyer

Advanced destroyer concept and one of the most high-tech vessels ever produced by mankind, the formidable Talos destroyer was introduced as a part of Donathan Walker's military reforms in 2361. The Federation designed this warship with single purpose - to confront Galahad-class destroyers. Still reliant on Praetor battlecarriers, the EFN admirality suffered from a lack of offensive potential, and while the Vidar-class frigates were always formidable opponent for the numerous Syndicate frigates, the Gaian Armada lacked heavier units designed with versatility in mind. While physically smaller than the Galahad, the Talos has similar firepower. While armed with a few plasma cannons, the main advantage of the Talos is its numerous torpedo clusters. This destroyer was designed to swarm its target with countless Scimitar torpedoes, effectively rendering the majority of the Galahads railgun batteries inoperable.

The Talos is not only excellently armed. Like every large Federation warship, the destroyer was equipped with three hangarbays containing up to 180 fighters and bombers. Large squadrons of Cronus and Lyre bombers often support the Talos during strike operations, extending its already tremendous anti-warship offensive push. Talos destoyers use a form of improvised shock-jump tactics inspired by the Lucifer and swarm its target with countless torpedoes and bomber strikes. The Talos however pays the price for this effectiveness - with relatively light armour, high maintanence cost and a constant need to resupply the destroyer with additional torpedoes.

Talos class vessels were never numerous. A lack of advanced command facilities and utility prevents the Talos from taking on a flagship role, leading to the Talos-class destroyers serving in strike elements, as a result warships of this class were mostly commanded by commodores or rear-admirals. Notable examples of this class include the Iapetus, Ascendant, Augustus and the only one that survived the Shivan invasion - the EFD Redemption under the command of Rear Admiral Victor Leibniz. Restoring torpedo stock was the biggest problem that severly limited the Redemption's effectiveness against Shivan vessels and limited the flagship of the EFN remnant to the role of assault carrier. Fortunately by the time the Exodus Fleet left Cor Caroli, the Redemption was outfitted with an antimatter converter and automated torpedo assemblers.

Credits

• Model by Cadius
• Textures by Nyctaeus

Performance:

Statistics

Width	1110.79 m
Height	626.71 m
Length	2674.13 m
Turrets	56
Fighterbays	3

Armaments

• Turrets

Default Statistics
Turret Type	Amount
EFN Big Plasma Cannon	2
Scimitar	10x4
Federation Turret	26
EFN Plasma Cannon	6
Fed Pulse Turret	12

Gallery

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

Unlike most EFN frigates which are vastly inferior to their ORS counterparts, the Talos is a fearsome opponent. It has some token plasma weapons, including a pair of capital-grade, spinal cannons, but a Talos really rarely has to use them. Think about it as an UED Solaris with much faster torpedoes. Ten launchers of Scimitar torpedoes are its signature weapon, and a Talos can fire them in every direction. If you fight this thing, there is literally no way to disarm it due to the decentralized nature of its armament, and the dense cover of its point-defense turrets. It's dealing damage much faster than its ORS counterpart - the Galahad and unlike Galahad, the Talos is not restricted by firing arcs. An almost perfect strike platform, but also a logistical nightmare. The Talos is the perfect warship when it operates close to supply lines, but become terribly inefficient when deployed behind the front line.

I can reveal that the model was developed in hurry, so it's lacking debris and destroyed variants of turrets. It also comes with some texture errors inside the main engine area and the first hangarbay. In Into the Dark Waters, it appears mostly in cutscenes and a single mission that's not exposing those areas, so make sure you have those issues fixed if you want the Talos to appear frequently in missions.

External links:

• Exile
  • Release thread