Starship history: The Drake

The Drake is one of the most popular and widely used Caldari starships in the New Eden cluster. Praised for it's heavy shield optimizations, ease of use and high damage output. 

The initial design for the Drake class Battlecruiser was submitted to the Caldari Navy High Command in
YC 094. YC stands for Yulai Convention, the years are counted from the year that CONCORD was formed. CONCORD are the peacekeepers of the spaceways and are made up of patrol ships built by all four spacefaring governments and manned by personnel from every corner of the galaxy.

The Drake was the first ship larger than a cruiser to rely exclusively on missiles. As such it was often maligned during trials for it's lack of ability to deal significant damage against small, fast targets like the frigates and fighters often manned by pirates and outlaws. During its initial weapons trials several prototypes were destroyed by missiles touching off through overheating in the launcher bays. This caused massive blowouts usually spanning several decks and often detonated the remainder of the missiles stored in the auto-loading system. The destruction of the ship was assured and the loss of all hands aboard was not uncommon. This has been fixed by running cryogenic coolant through the launchers.
Another prototype was destroyed by a malfunctioning shield upgrade that collapsed the shield bubble back into itself , crushing the ship and leaving it a twisted, shattered wreck with personnel trapped within.

Extensive research and development work was carried out on the remaining two prototype vessels. One was designed in an asymmetrical manner, to keep the tradition of Caldari starships being unique in shape and form. This idea was scrapped to make it easier to mass produce and to simplify the installation of different launcher hardpoints. This was an unpopular move, many saw the adoption of symmetrical starship hulls as conforming to galactic pressures but it later proved invaluable when converting the ships to interface with a capsuleer's command pod.

A quick overview of its performance in battle and in tests shows us that this vessel can hold it's own in a fight, even against mighty battleships, which are half-again as large. It has seven missile bays that can fire in 360 degree arcs, a spare high power module slot for anything the pilot chooses to equip, like an energy neutralizer.
6 medium power slots allow for almost unlimited customization and hardening of the ship's shield system, or to equip a plethora of electronic warfare and inhibitor systems like warp scramblers and sensor jammers. 4 low power slots allow for expansion on the already tough shields or power distribution system. and a 25m3 drone hanger was added to allow the pilot to deploy scout drones, small robots about the size of a large Transit van, to assist him or her in engaging smaller, more nimble targets like interceptors.



In it's twenty years of service, this ship and it's many forms are probably the most widely used in New Eden, after the humble Ibis class frigate. It will see action and reaction on battlefields for a long while and is likely to remain a staple workhorse in the Caldari Navy.

If this doesn't convince you to buy one, then perhaps this will. A Drake could be yours, fresh off the assembly line of Jita IV Moon 4 - Caldari Navy Assembly Plant for just 39,098,464.99 ISK. Order one with your nearest starship procurement broker and sail the skies with Gods...