Editing New Orleans Class (section)

==DEFLECTOR SHIELDS==

Well defended for a ship of its size, the New Orleans-class makes use of a total of seven symmetrical subspace graviton generators feeding several strategically located deflector grids embedded into the ship's hull. Upgraded since the class's initial launch, these graviton field generators consist of a cluster of twelve 32 MW graviton polarity sources feeding a pair of 625 millicochrane subspace field distortion amplifiers. Three generators are located within the primary hull, two are located in the engineering hull and there is one generator located on each of the nacelle pylons, just below the nacelles themselves.

Near full-spectrum shielding prevents onboard sensors from gathering scientific and tactical information, so the operation of shields at full output is deemed undesirable and unrealistic if a ship is to make full use of its onboard sensors.  Instead, Cruise Mode operating procedures dictate that the system always operate at 5% output at specific frequency bands necessary to protect the spacecraft's habitable volume to SFRA-standard 347.3(a) levels for EM and nuclear radiation.

Shields operate at two basic ranges when fully activated.  The first is a large bubble field that has a common center within the ship and expands outward in the rough shape of the starship, allowing for objects close to the hull, such as smaller vessels, to be protected.  The other is a mode that operates at a uniform distance from the hull, averaging ten to twelve meters.  Both modes make use of relatively new design modifications that protect the spacecraft from new energy weapons, such as the Breen dampening device.