The New Unity Government has always fielded cruisers in their fleet since the formation of the Union Navy to provide heavier firepower than their destroyers can provide. The cruiser that fulfills that role currently in the Union Navy is the Naifu-Class Cruiser. Based on the Tanken and named after the old Japanese word for “knife,” the hull of the Naifu is elongated to a total length of 584 meters, making it larger than most cruisers in the star cluster. The sections that hold the capacitors and missile bays for the weapons have been extended by 150% and allow for additional weapons to be mounted to the hull such as destroyer-grade turrets. The base of the engine pylons has been widened and reinforced to allow the mounting of a twin warp drive system on each side of the cruiser. These units also house the 8 pulse ion drive engines (4 each) that provide thrust due to the vessel’s mass. The Naifu is also equipped with 4 quad missile launchers mounted above and below on each side of the base of the engine pylons. These launchers generally house missiles used for medium- to short-range engagements and the Naifu will have up to 384 missiles on board for those launchers. The missiles’ flight range is up to 45 kilometers. Against destroyers, the Naifu comes equipped with 14 triple-barrel “light” laser turrets. 4 are mounted on the bow, 4 are mounted both port and starboard, and 2 on the aft. These laser turrets are larger and more powerful than the laser turrets used by the Novus Initium Republic, though they lack the short-range pulse laser mode found on Republic ships. Their effective optimal range is 75 kilometers before their lethal potential begins to fall off. The type of damage produced by the laser turrets is the same as Republic ships resulting in electromagnetic and thermal damage to targets. Against other cruisers, the Naifu is equipped with 8 twin “medium” laser cannons mounted 4 above and below in the center of the ship. These turrets fire more powerful lasers than the “light” laser turrets and were designed to engage larger more heavily armored opponents.  They move slower than the smaller turrets, so they were not designed to engage smaller targets unless they are at long-range. Their effective optimal range is 125 kilometers before their lethal potential begins to fall off. The Naifu possesses a primary heavy weapons system in the form of 4 forward mounted heavy laser cannons. These laser cannons have the power output equivalent to the heavy laser turrets found on Republic Paladin-Class Battleships and require just as much power to fire. These cannons are used for extreme long-range engagements against targets up to 250 kilometers away before the lasers’ lethal potential begins to fall off. They require the ship to turn in order to aim, but the power requirements mean that the turrets cannot fire in conjunction with the heavy laser cannons. The main shuttle bay is located in the forward central section of the ship between the heavy lasers. This bay is also used for docking as an extendable docking arm at stations connects to this section to allow cargo and personnel to quickly load and unload. Engineering, the bridge, and auxiliary systems are found in the center of the ship. Energy capacitors, missile storage bays, cargo holds, and shield systems are located in the forward side sections of the ship. Crew compliment is 675 with accommodations and amenities are in the rear of the vessel along with the escape pods. This low number in crew based on its size is thanks to automation handled in several areas of the vessel.

​

To allow for larger accommodations aboard the Naifu, the cruiser has two twin warp drive units mounted externally on each side of the ship. These are the main faster-than-light drive units of the ship and are based on the current engine design introduced 30 years ago by the Proxima Engineering Company. Located in the ship’s mid-section is the DAMIWE system, the ship’s main power source which also powers the warp drive units. The warp manifold coils are located under armor plating on each of the drive units to optimize the warp field. The speed of the drive is comparable to the Novus Initium Republic’s warp drive and, because of how far apart star systems in the Northwest Region are, can take a few days for ships to travel between star systems. However, unless on patrol to other systems or reassigned to a different fleet, a Naifu will rarely leave the star system it is assigned to and will usually use the warp drive to reach other locations within the same star system in a hurry. The Naifu Cruisers are not found in the same abundance of numbers as the Tanken where the destroyers outnumber the cruisers 4 to 1. However, the Naifu functions as a command vessel for small fleets of 4 to 8 Tanken destroyers. While the minimum rank required to command a Tanken is Captain, the minimum rank to command a Naifu is Commodore (same rank level as the Republic’s Rear Admiral Lower Half) or higher.