Piconese 'Hyperion' Strike Cruiser

  The primary second-generation warship of the Piconese Concordance before the Cylon Revolt, the Hyperion class was built in large numbers — primarily because after their experiences with smaller first-generation ships, the Concordance took the stance that the best escort for a cruiser was another cruiser.  Mounting dense batteries of dual-mount 21” lasers for anti-aerospace duties, four twin-mount NGR/30 Gauss cannon, and no fewer than twenty-four launchers for nuclear anti-shipping missiles, the Hyperion was a formidable opponent, even for the Valtor Alliance’s carriers.  Certainly the Cylon-crewed Ares-class Base Stars had to respect the ship’s spinal-mount Mass Driver/60, which could penetrate even those monster ships’ primary armour-belts under the right circumstances.  Indeed, Hyperions were so highly regarded by all who served with (or against) them that they became a primary target for Cylon boarding actions during the Revolt, and a large number were taken into Cylon service as the Independence-class.
  More than a hundred Hyperions were still in service to the various Planetary Defence Directorates during the Fall of the Colonies, and with their older computer and DRADIS systems incompatible with the new CNP, they were often the keystones of the most effective lines of resistance.