Primus class battlecruiser
 A Primus class battle cruiser | |
| First appearance | "The Coming of Shadows" |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Centauri |
| General characteristics | |
| Auxiliary craft | Shuttles |
| Propulsion | Gravimetric drive |
The Primus class battle cruiser is a fictional battlecruiser in the fictional universe of Babylon 5.
Depiction
Designed to allow the Centauri to cause serious damage on the battlefield, the Primus was given a massive array of weapons including ion cannon turrets, battle lasers, missile launchers and others. These weapons make the Primus more than a match for most of its Narn counterparts. Besides these advanced features, the Primus also possesses a gravimetric drive system which gives ships of this class an advantage by providing artificial gravity[1] and tractor beams. However, this capability uses between 50% and 65% of their total power output. Additional problems stem from the class's extreme age, as these warships have been in service for more than two centuries and require periodic refits and upgrades. Primus class Battlecruisers possess very thin armor, as fitting them with thicker protection would interfere with the gravitic countermeasures and leave the vessel vulnerable in combat. This weakness is partially offset, however, by the powerful ion weapons of the Centauri. On one occasion, a Primus Battlecruiser was able to shear a significant section off Babylon 5 with a single salvo of its forward ion cannons, although the Primus Battlecruiser was completely destroyed in a matter of seconds once the Earth station Babylon 5 returned fire. This partially had to do with the Centauri having weaker armor on their warships, but also EarthForce ships are known to have extremely "overkill" weapons firepower which is the reason the Primus was destroyed so quickly by Babylon 5 as Babylon 5 used EarthForce weaponry on its defense grid.[2] Even so, the thin armor and age of the Primus does leave it vulnerable to new alien warships with thicker armor, such as the Narn G'Quan-Class cruiser and the Earth Alliance Omega-Class destroyers. Furthermore, the most recent Earth Alliance warship, the Warlock-Class destroyer is significantly more powerful than the Primus in all areas, and may have given the technological edge to the Earth Alliance over the Centauri.