Long time no see, PMC!  I built this project to try to get me out of a building lull, in which I did almost nothing between releasing the Ulysses and now.  I'd been into alternate history, especially a modern-era Roman Empire, for a long time, and finally got around to making something out of it.  This particular vessel is based off of a doodle I made of a ship that gets sent back in time to accompany Aeneas (of the Aeneid by Virgil) on his adventures to Italy.  I think it did a good job of getting me back into a building vibe, so hopefully I can get working on my escort carrier and cruiser for CC soon!  My second attempt at a real naval ship.

Specs!

Class: Marcus Lurius-class Aeneas subtype
Type: Littoral Combat Ship (Designation LCR)
Manufacturer: Triton Naupegi (Ostia and Portus Julius Naval Yards)
First Commissioned: 4/26/14
Length: 126m
Width: 17m
Height: 34m
Armament:

• 1 57-mm Autoloading Naval Gun
  
• 1 Vulcan Phalanx CIWS Gun System
  
• 3 Beretta M4 .50 BMG Machine Guns
  

Top Speed: 55 kn
Powerplant: 1 Uranus Technologies Nuclear Reactor (4 GW output) and 2 Apollonic Solar Panels (500 MW each).  Drive is provided by 2 Uranus Technologies 1.21 GW electric motors outputting 30,000 horsepower each.
Propulsion: 2 shafts connected to 4-bladed controllable pitch propellors.
Displacement: 3,500 Metric Tons
Commissioned Ships:

• IRS Aeneas (LCR-36)
  
• Upon review by Roman Naval Command, 20 Aeneas subtypes of the Marcus Lurius-class LCS will be procured.
  

Crew: 60 (45 enlisted, 15 officers)
Maximum Range: 4,500 nautical miles without recharge.
Cost: 632,000 denarii (At $190 USD to 1 denarius)
Auxiliary Aircraft:

• 1 SH-80 Belgae Utility Helicopter, With Facilities For One More.
  

While Rome had lost much of its northern European and North African territories between the Hun invasions of 400 AD and the modern day, it still controlled a vast amount of Mediterranean land, and the hostile nations of Carthage and the Islamic Caliphate of Africa looked to threaten it.  As a result, by order of Caesar Gaius Aurelius Priscus, the Navy began the production of littoral combat ships, inspired by the United States of Americata's vessels, which could maintain peace and conduct operations much more smoothly than the normal Roman fleet, which was usually tied up in the Atlantic and Persian Gulf anyway.  The Marcus Lurius-class, named after one of the Roman admirals in the First Battle of Actium, was a success from the start.  With a large mission bay, complete sensor suite, and adequate weaponry for a light and fast strike ship, it soon grew to a class of over one hundred ships based from Spain to Greece, as well as sharing ports with the Autonomous Region of Israel's Navy and the Roman Autonomous Region of Egypt.  One such ship, the Aeneas, was chosen as a test subject for a new R&D program to try to create an even longer-running LCS.  After some resistance, modifications began and were completed in the span of a month.  The new ship was quieter, faster, and longer-ranged by default, and with super-efficient solar panels on the superstructure, a nuclear reactor, and deployable hydroelectric turbines, the vessel can easily recharge its huge battery bank underway.  Small gasoline generators provide local backup for individual systems, should the primary battery bank be compromised.  The Aeneas recently completed a journey circumnavigating the Mediterranean Sea without charging once, with much fanfare in Rome and her allies and saber rattling from her enemies, specifically Carthage.  After some remaining concerns about the potential capabilities of an all-electric warship are addressed, the Roman Admiralty is expected to order at least 20 Aeneas subtypes to base all over the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, redirecting vital larger vessels to hot zones like the Horn of Africa and the South China Sea.  Several nations, including Britannia, the USA, the Germanic Federation, the Shogunate of Japan, and the Autonomous Region of Israel have expressed interest in procuring examples for testing in their own navies.

At her most basic, the Aeneas is a shallow-water multipurpose warship designed to engage a variety of littoral, or coastal, enemies, with a shallow draft and high speed for improved pursuit of small boats.  In her current configuration, a large attack boat occupies much of the mission bay to assist in anti-piracy operations against Carthaginian privateers and inspect refugees from the Persian-Caliphate wars in the Middle East.  Various modules exist for additional ship to ship combat (torpedoes and anti-ship missile launchers), scientific research (USVs, UUVs, and UAVs), surveillance (UAVs, more powerful listening equipment, encrypted satellite links), and many more.  Coupled with a small crew and profile, the LCRs (Littoral Combat–Roman) are perfect for stealithily entering high-risk zones at little overall risk to Roman naval superiority.  The Aeneas, currently home-ported to Ostia Naval Base near the Capital City, is expected to engage in further anti-piracy and special forces insertion missions following final trials of her electric motors and sustainable systems.  However, as Admiral Claudius Cypranius Aquila said in an interview with Greenpeace, "The Aeneas was never meant to be an exploration into 'green' warships.  Instead, we decided that a self-sustaining electric ship would be an ideal platform for a stealthy extended-range vessel which could operate for months on end without a single refueling trip.  We could airdrop in food and other supplies, but no fuel would be necessary until the reactor ran out in 15 years."  Despite this, the success of Aeneas could see a shift in the world's naval forces towards cleaner-operating warships in the future.

That was fun to write.