BC-304

"It has a few advantages over the Prometheus. The more advanced alien technologies were integrated into the original design rather than tacked on after the fact."

- Samantha Carter

The 304, also known as the Daedalus-Class warship, is a class of deep space carrier built by the Tau'ri, and the most advanced series of vessels in the Tau'ri fleet. As of 2009, five Daedalus-class battlecruisers have been built, four are in active service and one more is under construction. One 304, the Korolev, was given to the Russian Federation, and subsequently lost in a battle with the Ori. Another, the Sun Tzu, is operated by the Chinese Government.

Overview
Although referred to as "sister ships" to the BC-303 Prometheus, the 304s differ significantly in their design and technology. While the Prometheus was originally built with reverse-engineered Goa'uld technology and salvaged equipment such as the transport rings, the 304s incorporated Asgard technology in their original design. All 304 class ships are equipped with Asgard shields, sensors and transporters, as well as intergalactic hyperdrive technology that allow the ships to carry supplies to Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy.

However, the Asgard initially refused to install any of their weapons on the 304s, changing their minds only when faced with their extinction as a species, they equipped one ship, the Odyssey, with advanced plasma beam weapons. Later, the Daedalus and Apollo were updated with these weapons. It is assumed that all future ships will be provided with these weapons as well, such as the General Hammond.

History
Originally, the Prometheus proved itself to be a capable warship, with several more ships of the BC-303-class planned for construction. However, in a show of gratitude for the Tau'ri's help in battling the replicators, the Asgard provided a technological retrofit for the Prometheus. With the Asgard upgrades, and whatever knowledge and fine-tuning that the Prometheus went through during her shakedown, the current BC-303 class became obsolete. Therefore, a new starship, intended to be built from the ground up with these upgrades, was designed.

It immediately became one of Stargate Command's most important projects. Currently, seventy percent of the SGC's operating budget has been transferred to the construction of Daedalus-class vessels. The first vessel of the class was the Daedalus, which was introduced in 2005. Upon its completion, the ship was immediately assigned to the Pegasus galaxy to assist the Atlantis Expedition in the Tau'ri-Wraith war.

The following year, in 2006, the second Daedalus-class ship, Odyssey, was constructed. The ship's initial mission was to deal with the Lucian Alliance and, foremost, the forces of the Ori, which had invaded the galaxy. The first two Daedalus-class ships were commanded by the United States Air Force. However, when the Ori invaded the Milky Way the first Russian battlecruiser was constructed. The Korolev was given to the Russians as a "trade agreement" for the United States to continue running the SGC with the Alpha Gate, which was on lease from Russia. Unfortunately, the Korolev was destroyed during the Battle of P3Y-229 soon after being rushed into service.

In 2007, when faced with the extinction of their race, the Asgard gave the Tau'ri their complete knowledge base in the form of the Asgard computer core. They also gave the Tau'ri vessel, Odyssey, a mass-upgrade. Since that historic event, all Daedalus-class warships have been outfitted with Asgard advancements, notability in the form of Asgard plasma beam weapons. These weapons have given the Tau'ri a military superiority over most other known races in the universe.

Another Daedalus-class ship, the Apollo was constructed later in 2007. It was stationed around Earth in defence against a potential Ori attack. The attack never took place, however, and it was subsequently assigned to the Pegasus galaxy to fight the Asurans in the Asuran-Tau'ri-Wraith war.

The most recently constructed 304, the Sun Tzu, was put into service by China in early 2009. In its first mission, the Sun Tzu and the Apollo jointly engaged the ZPM powered Hive Ship, which had found the location of Earth. The attack was a failure and both the ships were crippled in battle. The Hive Ship was then subsequently destroyed over Earth.

Additionally, Earth's sixth 304, the General Hammond (introduced in an alternate timeline as the "Phoenix"), is currently under construction. It is unknown when it will come into active service. However, Colonel Samantha Carter will command the ship upon its completion.

Bridge
304s feature several upgrades over the Prometheus, but the bridge layout is relatively similar. The forward view port is wider to allow a greater visual field. This is particularly useful during battle situations, allowing several officers to make suggestions about how to proceed without obstructing the captain's chair. Also built into the forward view port is a heads-up display. A weapons officer sits to the right of the captain; a helmsman to the left.


 * At the beginning of a 304's neck is the bridge. The map display table in the back of the bridge is lit in a different color for each ship — on the Daedalus it is green, as opposed to orange on the Odyssey and an alternate version of the Daedalus and blue on the Apollo. The Korolev's bridge featured a display more reminiscent of that on the Prometheus; the significance of this, if any, is unknown.

Engineering
The engineering deck has several control panels specifically rigged for Asgard operators. A view port overlooking the Asgard hyperdrive can be found at the aft end of the chamber. The engine room can accommodate a dozen personnel at any given time. Tasks from systems diagnostics to the deployment of weapons can be carried out here.

Briefing Room
304s are designed with a briefing room, in which the captain can meet with senior officers for briefing before difficult/complex or strategic operations. The 304s' briefing room is a spacious room with a high ceiling, panelled in gray tones and equipped with large florescent lighting fixtures on the ceiling. It is dominated with a large black meeting table, and lined with several chairs along the sides. Behind the captain's chair is a large flat screen monitor built into the wall. As a screensaver, it displays the seal of the ship with the ship name at the top and the registry number of the ship along the bottom.

Infirmary
The Infirmary of 304s are nearly identical to the one onboard the Prometheus. They contain several rooms with hospital beds and likely storage rooms, stocked with all manner of medications for the crew members, as well as equipment to support the crew during injuries that would be likely to be sustained onboard ship. A surgical suite is also part of the infirmary.

Hangar Bay
The 304s are able to carry twice as many F-302s as the Prometheus — eight in each of its two hangar bays, for a total of 16. However, the Daedalus and Apollo carry fighters only in the starboard hangar; the port hangar has been used to carry other vehicles, such as puddle jumpers from Atlantis. Asgard shields can extend around the hangar doors in the event the flight deck is occupied while decompression procedures are scheduled to commence. An Al'kesh can barely fit into the hangar bay.


 * It's unclear whether the Odyssey or Korolev carried a full complement of fighters. Given that the Daedalus and probably the Apollo were used to ferry equipment to Atlantis, the port hangars on those particular ships might be reserved for extra cargo storage.  Alternatively, the port deck might serve as a re-entry bay when a skirmish must end quickly.

Officer's Mess
Because the 304s are designed for extensive deep-space voyages, an officer's mess is available to off-duty personnel. It is located on the starboard side of the ship and offers a view port into space. Hot coffee and perhaps other drinks are available in the mess, no matter the time of day.

Bomb Bay
At least one 304, the Apollo, featured a large bomb bay built into the underside of the ship, capable of deploying the Horizon weapons platform. A control room just aft of the bay included a set of observation windows, arranged much like the ship's engine room. So far, it has only been mentioned in relation to the Apollo, and no corresponding bay doors appear on the underside of the Daedalus; it's unclear whether any other 304s were so equipped, or if the Apollo constitutes a new variant of the class.

Technology
The 304s boast a large amount of incredibly advanced technology, most of which came from the Asgard, which helps make 304s a formidable craft, capable of rivaling the starships of most races. In contrast to its predecessor, the BC-303, the new Daedalus-class ships had several significant advantages in that the more advanced alien technologies were integrated into the original design rather than added on afterwards.

Sensors
The 304s feature a long-range transmitter, located with a series of other communications-related equipment, including Asgard sensors, at the top-rear port section of the ship. There are also sensors located on the nose section of the ship. These sensors are highly advanced as they can scan and pinpoint life signs from far away, and are also what allows their beaming technology to lock on to an object accurately.

Shields
Energy shields are the primary defense technology used by 304s. The technology was shared by the Asgard with the Tau'ri after their contributions in defeating the Replicators, and so the Earth-designed Daedalus-class battlecruisers are protected by Asgard shields, giving them a great advantage over the space-faring races of both the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies.

Asgard shields create an elliptical "bubble" around a starship that absorbs and diffuses the energy from weapons fire. The shields will gradually weaken under sustained fire, rather quickly if the attack is of sufficient force, allowing energy from attacks to bleed through and cause damage to the ship. Although additional energy can be allocated to the shield bubble to reinforce it, the only way for a ship to ultimately survive a continual attack is to withdraw and give the shields time to recharge.

Asgard transporters
The Asgard first allowed the Tau'ri access to a very basic form of their beaming technology, which they included on the Prometheus during a refit around 2003. In 2005, however, during the Tau'ri-Wraith war, the Asgard provided Earth's first Daedalus-class ship with a much more advanced form of beaming technology. However, they placed a series of fail-safes into the transporters to prevent the humans from using the technology offensively. Despite this, the Daedalus used its transporters to beam nuclear warheads onto several Wraith hive-ships (with begrudging help from an Asgard), destroying them. The Wraith, however, were able to develop jamming codes that prevented the transporters from obtaining a lock, making the transporters all but useless against the Wraith.

Asgard computer core
The Asgard computer core is a database of all the knowledge of the Asgard. The computer core includes a knowledge base of the entire Asgard history, interactive holograms of every Asgard, time-dilation technology, and an independent power source. These features likely only scratch the surface of the device's full capability. The Asgard gave this to the Tau'ri as a thank and to help them fight the Ori. The Asgard installed it on the Odyssey in 2007 before committing mass-suicide.

It is unknown whether the computer core was installed on any other Daedalus-class ship. Although that seems unlikely, the Phoenix had a room which contained an Asgard computer core in an alternate timeline.

Cloak
The Daedalus-class ship Odyssey also acquired a very effective cloaking device of Ancient design from Dr. Daniel Jackson, who at the time possessed Ancient knowledge. At first, Colonel Samantha Carter had trouble getting the ship to decloak. However, they were eventually able to cloak and decloak the ship by simply pressing a few buttons. It is unknown if any of the other Daedalus-class ships possess this ability. Dr. Jackson claimed that "having a ZPM helps" so it's possible he utilized the ZPM on the ship in some manner while creating its cloak, or that it was not as efficient as those on other ships and required levels of power only a ZPM could provide. He probably adjusted the shields in some way, similar to the Ancient Gateships.

Transportation rings
In addition to the Asgard transporters the 304s also possesses transportation rings as a mean for transportation. Ring transporters are used to transport people or objects over short distances, as from a starship to, or even under, a planet below. Transportation rings were originally designed by the Ancients, but has since been used by a wide variety of races. The BC-303, the Prometheus, was the first Tau'ri ship to use transportation rings, but the technology has since been passed on to the Daedalus-class ships. It is unknown whether the Tau'ri steal transportation rings from other races, like the Goa'uld, or if they construct these themselves. The latter being more likely since the Tau'ri rings possess their own design different from other races.

Engines
The 304s feature multiple means of maneuverability, notably 3 engines: maneuvering thrusters, the sublight drive and the Asgard hyperdrive. An alternate version of the Daedalus was equipped with a fourth drive known as the alternate reality drive, allowing the ship to alternate between realities.

Maneuvering thrusters
Maneuvering thrusters are one of three methods of propulsion on 304s. While maneuvering thrusters are by far the slowest form of propulsion, they are able to make slight adjustments to a ship's trajectory and to help gain momentum. Reverse thrust is also possible, which is in place to help a ship slow down in the low gravity of space.

Sublight engines
The 304s have 2 main rocket boosters at the rear of the ship, which are their sublight engines. While several smaller rocket engines also exist at the rear, these engines provide the greatest thrust, capable of moving the ship at speeds around half the speed of light.

Hyperdrive


The Tau'ri were first given Asgard hyperdrive technology as thanks for their help in fighting the Replicators, which are now standard on all 304s. However, Earth ships use considerably weaker power sources when compared to Asgard vessels, making the drives not being able to function at their true capacity. However, shortly prior to their extinction, the Asgard installed an advanced power core aboard the Odyssey. It is unclear whether this new power core actually improved the Odyssey's performance, as the ship was already using a ZPM at that point. However, even under powered, these hyperdrives are one of the fastest when compared to those of most space-faring races.

Armaments
The 304 has a vast array of weapons, ranging from projectile to energy based.

Railguns
The 304s have 32 railguns, which have become standard on F-302s, the Prometheus, and all Daedalus-class vessels for ship-to-ship combat. Just a few shots are able to take out a Wraith dart relatively quickly and deal a large amount of damage to hive-ships, though Ori shields are significantly more difficult, practically impossible, to pierce. During the Battle of Asuras, an opening salvo from a 304's railguns proved powerful enough to cause severe damage to an unshielded Asuran-built Aurora-class warship, possibly leading to its destruction.

Battle complement
Being a deep space carrier, the Daedalus-class carries a complement of several F-302 fighter-interceptors. The F-302s were originally used by the Daedalus-class' predecessor, the BC-303. The 304s can carry twice as many F-302s than the BC-303, however. It can carry two squadrons of eight F-302s, a total of sixteen fighter interceptors. The F-302s are mostly used in dogfights against other alien fighters.

Missiles
The 304s have 16 missile bays, naquadah enhanced nuclear warheads, and at least one ship, the Apollo, is known to have the Horizon weapon system.

Colonel Caldwell had the Daedalus launch several Mark VIII tactical warheads at a Wraith Hive Ship. However, they were intercepted by Wraith darts long before they reached the enemy ship. The one that survived the Wraith defenses cause considerable damage when it impacted the ship's hull. If beamed aboard Hive-Ships, they cause considerable damage resulting in its destruction.

Asgard beam weapons


Asgard plasma beam weapons were placed on the Odyssey as a gift to the Tau'ri in a mass upgrade, providing the ship with a means to effectively fight the Ori warships that had been invading the Milky Way galaxy. These weapons were eventually equipped on both the Daedalus and the Apollo, which put them to good use almost immediately when they used them to rapidly destroy the Aurora-class warships that the Asurans were deploying in the Pegasus galaxy. In an alternate timeline, these weapons were also equipped to the Phoenix, and used to destroy Wraith hive-ships in even fewer hits than Ori motherships and Aurora-class warships, as hive-ships possess no shields (allowing even easier penetration). It is likely that these weapons will be installed on all other 304s as well.

Known 304s

 * USS Daedalus - Colonel Steven Caldwell
 * USS Odyssey - Colonel Ian Davidson
 * RFS Korolev (destroyed) - Colonel Chekov
 * USS Apollo - Colonel Abraham Ellis
 * PLA Sun Tzu - Unknown
 * USS General Hammond formerly the USS Phoenix (under construction, destroyed in an alternate timeline) - Colonel Samantha Carter