Kobushi-class fleet carrier

Of 25 ships planned, 19 Kobushi-class carriers were constructed between 198 and 236. From the Tsubaki onwards, the ships of the class were built as the improved Tsubaki-class subclass, which features improved hangar facilities and defensive armament from lessons learned during the Second Hyperpower War. The Tsubaki-class is also sometimes referred to as the Kobushi II-class.

The final Tsubaki-class carrier, Akiyama, was commissioned in 236. All 19 Kobushi-class carriers were constructed by the Satou Shipbuilding Corporation at the Onogoro Orbital Shipyards around Onogoro.

Design
The Kobushi-class carriers are massive, wedge-shaped and flat starships designed to be fleet carriers. They thus carry little in the way of offensive armament and rely primarily on their aerospace wings and escorting vessels in space combat. Following the devastating defeat of the Fujii to small enemy fighter craft that managed to disable the defensive weapons emplacements, the subsequent ships in the Tsubaki-class were equipped with upgraded and more numerous anti-aerospace defensive weapons.

Construction
All 19 Kobushi-class carriers were constructed between 198 and 236 by the Satou Shipbuilding Corporation around Horaisan. Due to the Kobushi-class carriers' unprecedentedly large size at the time, special orbital drydock facilities were constructed.

Aerospace wing and aerospacecraft facilities
The Kobushi-class has enough hangar space to carry 900 craft of various types. A typical Kobushi aerospace wing consists of 360 fighters, 240 bombers, and 120 × EW/ASWACS craft, with an additional 100 launches, shuttles and support aerospacecraft.

The dorsal flight deck features four electromagnetic catapult magstrips along the axis of the ship, mimicking a terrestrial airstrip. Aerospacecraft combat launches are carried out via the magstrips to accelerate craft to combat speeds without burning precious on-board fuel. Besides the axial magstrips, the rest of the flight deck is covered with dedicated VTOL staging and launch pads. Aerospacecraft are moved around the flight deck via magnetic clamps and moving platforms. For optimal simultaneous launch and recovery operations, the port side pads are typically used for launching operations while the starboard side focuses on recovery.

Aerospacecraft are kept within large hangar spaces belowdecks, with craft brought up to the flight deck via 20 large elevators located in a central well along the axis of the ship. These hangars are divided into 30 bays divided by thick doors designed to restrict the spread of fire. A complex maglev rail system within the hangar facilities efficiently moves the aerospacecraft between maintenance bays and staging areas close to the pilots' quarters.

In addition, the Kobushi-class carriers also feature six "open drop" ventral hangar bays for the launch of shuttles and other light transport craft.

Ships in class

 * Kobushi Subclass
 * Kobushi - Retired 290
 * Fujii - Lost in 277 during the Empire-Hierarchy War
 * Ogawa - Lost in 277 during the Empire-Hierarchy War
 * Taguchi - Lost in 277 during the Empire-Hierarchy War
 * Hirose - Retired 295, Re-Commissioned and refitted to Tsubaki standard in 290 to replace Ogata
 * Nomura - Retired 295
 * Hamaura - Retired 295
 * Wada - Retired 295
 * Inoue - Refitted to Tsubaki standard, in service with the 7th Fleet
 * Tsubaki Subclass
 * Tsubaki - In service with the 1st Fleet
 * Yamagishi - In service with the 5th Fleet
 * Ogata - Lost in 287 during the Empire-Union War
 * Niinuma - In service with the
 * Tanimoto - In service with the 2nd Fleet
 * Kishimoto - In service with the 3rd Fleet
 * Asakura - In service
 * Ono - In service
 * Onoda - In service
 * Akiyama - In service

Replacement
Originally designed to have a 45-year service life, four of the Kobushi-class vessels were retired accordingly between 290 and 295, a process which cost over 75 trillion Imperial En. The Tsubaki-class ships, including those upgraded from Kobushi-class standard, are designed for a 75-year service life. They are intended to remain in service as the main fleet carriers of the Imperial Navy until a suitable replacement is designed.

Other carriers in Imperial service fulfill various niche roles within the Imperial Navy and lack the versatility of the Tsubaki-class platform, with some analysts believing that the next Imperial fleet carrier will be another Kobushi-class derived carrier design.