What we need, is more pirate ships. The current one is challenging to begin with, but as soon as you raid a station and get some money, they\'re so easy to destroy. What if there were different \"classes\" of ships added?
Scout: Small, fast, low damage, minimal shields
Warbird (to quote Star Trek): Moderate damage, size, and speed. Essentially what the Isanth-VI is.
Cruiser: High damage, low speed, big, moderate shields
Carrier: Carries 10 Scouts, lots of turrets
Flagship: Found at faction claimed stations, Extremely Fast, Heavily Armed, Heavily Shielded
Just an idea, anyone like?