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The Federal Corvette is one of the most powerful combat ships on the market. With a total of seven hardpoints, the ship has few rivals in terms of damage output, and is remarkably manoeuvrable given its size. Despite its comparatively small jump range, owning a Corvette is the ultimate ambition of many independent combat pilots, its astonishing power making it one of the most formidable vessels in the galaxy.

— In-Game Description

The Federal Corvette is a ship manufactured by Core Dynamics for the Federation. It serves as the Federal Navy's counterpart to the Imperial Cutter, and purchasing it requires achieving a Federal Navy rank of Rear Admiral. Designed from the ground up for combat, the Federal Corvette boasts a mix of potent firepower and surprising agility that make it a fearsome threat in any battle. The Federal Corvette is the smallest and most common warship fielded by the Federal Navy, and carries out a variety of duties including long-range patrol, peace-keeping, pirate suppression, and even power projection in situations where deploying a Farragut-Class Battle Cruiser would be overkill.

Overview[]

Federal Corvette and settlement

Corvette and a settlement

Comparing the Federal Corvette with the Anaconda and the Imperial Cutter (sometimes collectively referred to as the "big three" by the independent pilot community), the Federal Corvette is specialized for combat, while the Imperial Cutter and Anaconda lean more towards the multipurpose role. The Federal Corvette also has the worst jump range out of the three, due to it being more than twice as heavy as the Anaconda and having a smaller Frame Shift Drive than the Cutter. The Federal Corvette is the third largest ship on the private market, and is only surpassed in size by the Beluga Liner and the Imperial Cutter.[1]

The Federal Corvette is one of the strongest ships in a firefight. In a one on one fight, a maxed-out Corvette will usually win against an Anaconda, Imperial Cutter, or Type-10 Defender due to its extremely high damage output and exceptional mobility for its size. Unlike the Cutter, it also has a power distributor capable of fully powering its arsenal and packs a serious punch. In terms of defensive potential, the Corvette has better armour than the Cutter, but a weaker shield because it can only equip a Class 7 Shield Generator. Despite having a lower base armour value than the Anaconda and less hardness than the Type-10, the Corvette still has a more effective defence than either, thanks to having both a higher hull hardness and shield strength than the Anaconda, and slightly higher base hull and higher shield strength than the Type-10. A more significant flaw is the placement of the Corvette's internals, particularly its Power Plant and Power Distributor, because its body shape makes it easy for smaller, nimbler ships to inflict module damage.

The Corvette can carry up to 618T of cargo, making it a good freighter. In fact, it has the third highest cargo capacity of any ship on the market, behind the Imperial Cutter and Type-9 Heavy, making it a good choice for a well-armed trading vessel and a viable alternative for traders who prefer the Federation's utilitarian ship aesthetics over the sleeker style of the Imperial Cutter and the bulkiness of the Type-9.

The Corvette has a relatively low jump range potential, a disadvantage that is exacerbated when it is weighed down by heavy, high-performance modules for combat situations. Long-distance travel in the Corvette is often tedious, even in a streamlined exploration build. This greatly hinders its usage as a trader and makes it tricky to reach mission targets. The Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster can be used to mitigate this deficiency.

Overall the Corvette is the endpoint in combat power and is almost unmatched in sheer offensive capabilities on the battlefield. Only the Anaconda, Type-10 Defender, and Imperial Cutter can reasonably match it, and even then they will have a far harder time bringing all their guns to bear on a single opponent. The Corvette's main downsides are its poor jump-range and lower defenses, but its attacking strength cannot be overstated, and unlike ships like the Vulture or Fer-de-Lance it still has potential in other roles, and is easily one of the best Pirate and Bounty Hunting vessels in the game.

Convergence corvette

Federal Corvette hardpoints convergence

The Federal Corvette features two huge hardpoints mounted behind the cockpit, making it the only ship capable of mounting multiple Class 4 weapons.[2] The single large hardpoint is located under the nose of the vessel, two medium hardpoints are on either side of the ship, and two small hardpoints lie on the nose. Complimenting the hardpoints are a total of 8 utility mounts. The Federal Corvette can also accommodate a Fighter Hangar to deploy Ship-Launched Fighters.

Purchase Locations[]

System Station Date Seen Discount
Shinrarta Dezhra Jameson Memorial Always available 10% discount
Brestla i Sola Prospect Always available 20% surcharge
Momus Reach Ralphus May 26, 2021 15% discount
Kutnigi Redi Enterprise Feb. 7, 2019 15% discount
Lembava Goldstein Port Jan. 1, 2019 15% discount
Ix Scully-Power Station Jan. 1, 2019 15% discount
EQ Pegasi Merbold Ring Jan. 1, 2019 (No Longer Available)
Ross 33 Crown City Jan. 1, 2019
9 Ceti Fanning Vision Jan. 1, 2019
Zibal Hire Port Jan. 1, 2019
Apala Wilson City Jan. 1, 2019
61 Ursae Majoris Boulton Hub Jan. 1, 2019
LHS 20 Ohm City Feb. 8, 2019 15% discount
EZ Aquarii Magnus Gateway Feb. 12, 2019
LHS 2088 Tanaka Terminal Jun. 16, 2019
Groombridge 34 Jones Estate Aug. 8, 2022 (No Longer Available)

Outfitting[]

All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Federal Corvette.

Category Default System Default Rating Default Class Max Class
Small Hardpoint Empty -- -- 1
Empty -- -- 1
Medium Hardpoint Pulse Laser (L) F 1 2
Pulse Laser (L) F 1 2
Large Hardpoint Empty -- -- 3
Huge Hardpoint Empty -- -- 4
Empty -- -- 4
Utility Mount Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Empty -- -- 0
Bulkheads Lightweight Alloys I 1 8
Reactor Bay Power Plant E 8 8
Thrusters Mounting Thrusters E 7 7
Frame Shift Drive Housing Frame Shift Drive E 6 6
Environment Control Life Support E 5 5
Power Coupling Power Distributor E 8 8
Sensor Suite Sensors E 8 8
Fuel Store Fuel Tank [x32] C 5 5
Internal Compartments Shield Generator E 7 7
Cargo Rack [x64] E 6 7
Empty -- -- 7
Empty -- -- 6
Empty -- -- 6
Empty -- -- 5
Empty -- -- 5
Empty (M) -- -- 5
Empty (M) -- -- 5
Cargo Rack [x8] E 3 4
Cargo Rack [x4] E 2 4
Empty -- -- 3
Supercruise Assist E 1 1
(PAS) I 1 1

Notes[]

Videos[]

Gallery[]

References[]

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