Editing Tau Merchant Escort (section)

== Frigates ==

=== Basic ===

==== Kir'qath ====

[[File:DefenderFrigate.jpg|300px|right|thumb|A decent all-rounder.]]

The Kir'qath-class Starship or the Defender-class Frigate is an Escort vessel, and for a time was the only true Escort in the Kor'Vattra.

The Kir'qath is unusual for an Escort in that it is quite slow and not as manoeuvrable as the Imperial [[Sword-class Frigate]] that inspired it. It possesses greater firepower than a Sword, however, is equipped with both a multi-arc [[Starship Railgun]] battery and a respectable [[Torpedo]] salvo.

In terms of the games, however, the Defender is an equivalent to the [[Castellan-class Heavy Escort|Castellan-class Protector Frigate]] instead, but drops the extended range of that ships macros to drop the cost while actually upping its damage and cpm numbers slightly.

Thanks to the homing ability of the Tau [[Gravitic Launcher]], having torpedo tubes on an escort is even more viable for them as a faction, since it allows them to launch salvos from longer distances which in turn makes it easier to combine strikes from multiple craft along with interceptor squadrons for coverage. You still need to be careful for highly manoeuvrable or just crafty players as they can still be dodged.

It is armed with 2 Missile Launching [[Gravitic Launcher]], 1 Double-Barrel [[Starship Railgun]] Turret and 2 Double-Barrel Light [[Starship Railgun]] Artillery.

*'''Length:''' 2km
*'''Mass:''' 4.2 megatonnes; approx
*'''Crew:''' 33,500 crew; approx
*'''Acceleration:''' 3.8 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx