The vessels of the Vengeance Class are the largest dedicated fighter carriers in existence and probably the deadliest craft in regular use by the Successor States. The Vengeance's forty- fighter complement can lay waste to most targets in a matter of minutes and virtually guarantee a Vengeance-equipped force aerospace superiority over any opponent. Even the Clan WarShips have reason to fear such a potent fighting force.
         The Vengeance is nominally an aerodyne, although the absence of wings or lifting surfaces virtually prohibits it from atmospheric operations. This removes the need for a separate maneuver drive, and like the Achilles, the nose of the craft is always considered "up". This results in a series of small decks, rather than a few larger ones as found on most DropShips. The standard Vengeance has 47 decks, most of which contain crew quarters or fighter bays.
         Vengeance Class vessels are rarely seen outside a major fleet formation, testimony to the value of its aerospace assets. Usually six of the vessels' aerospace fighter squadrons move to engage enemy targets during attacks, and the remaining squadrons stay with the carrier and serve as escorts.
         The Vengeance's 40 fighters and three small craft occupy a massive central bay, which can be subdivided into two self- contained facilities should the need arise. Each of these bays, called the port and starboard hangars, has four small launch decks at its forward end and a large recovery deck at its aft. Each of these launch and recovery decks can be sealed off from the main hangar bays, allowing simultaneous launching, recovery and repair of fighters. Each recovery deck is equipped with sophisticated recovery and safety equipment that virtually ensures landing accidents will not destroy the entire vessel. However, the proximity of the recovery decks to the main drive means that the engines must be shut down when the craft recovers fighters.
         The only other flaw in the design is found in its weapons systems, which are very poor, given the size and value of the craft. Kallon Industries attempted to correct this flaw in its new version of the Vengeance, but achieved only limited success. Although the Kallon refit improved considerably on the original Vengeance's ranged-combat capabilities, it did not provide enough overall increased firepower to enable the Vengeance to operate independently, and added 1,000 tons to its weight.