Assault Drop Ship

(Version 1.01 - Last Modified: 11/11/2005)

When the fledging Terran Confederacy found itself at war against the neighboring Kel-Morian combine, they found their military hardware to be lacking in many areas. They not only lacked decent armor, they also lacked any efficient means of transporting troops into a hot zone. Aside from landing one of the gigantic battle cruisers the Terran Confederacy had built, the only means of landing troops was through very small shuttles that could only safely transport a few troops at a time and anything larger had to be disassembled and placed in special storage containers in the ship's badly designed cargo hold. As the Guild Wars were entering their final stage, the Terran Confederacy began fielding a completely redesigned means of transporting troops into a combat zone: the Assault Drop Ship.

Built with combat insertions in mind, the Assault Drop Ship was designed to carry a fair number of combat ready troops a short distance, usually from an orbiting battle cruiser, into a hot zone. For this, the drop ship had two large side door through which ground troops or Goliath Combat Walkers could exit, and the drop ship has a large bomb bay door on the bottom of the hull to quickly release a small group of AAV-5 Arclite Siege Tanks. To assist in the quick release of the embarked troops, the drop ship is armed with two large medium range missile launchers. The launchers allow the drop ship to provide a powerful covering screen while the ship comes in for a landing.

Since its introduction in the military forces of the Terran Confederacy, the Assault Drop Ship has not undergone any major revisions. The drop ship has continued to serve its primary purpose with a no nonsense style that is common in the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of both the Terran Confederacy and the Terran Dominion, the Assault Drop Ships can still be found throughout the former territories of both powers, although many are sold and used as sturdy and practical trans-atmospheric transports without the benefits of weapons and a supporting battle cruiser.

Vehicle Information:

• Vehicle Type: Trans-Atmospheric Assault Transport
• Crew: 3 (Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Gunner)
• Troops: The drop ship can carry 60 fully armed and armored combat marines or it can carry a complement of vehicles listed below.

Vehicle Complement:

• Vehicle Complement:

12	Goliath Combat Walker or...
16	Vulture Hover Bike or...
4	AAV-5 Arclite Siege Tank or...

M.D.C. by location:

• Laser Cannon - 100
• Missile Launchers (2) - 200 each
• Side Doors (2) - 150 each
• Bomb Bay Door - 200
• Main Thrusters (4) - 500 each *
• Maneuvering Jets (8) - 50 each
• Main Body - 1500 ***


M.D.C. Armor Rating: 9
Notes:

**	Destroying the main engines will severely impair the ship. If all the main thrusters are put out of commission, the ship will be floating dead in space or will crash if the damage occurs in atmosphere. If this happens all other systems will continue to work.
***	Depleting the M.D.C. of the Main Body will put the ship out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, except for life support.

Speed:

• Sublight: Can travel at up to 25 percent of the speed of light (0.25c) and accelerate / decelerate at a rate of 0.5 percent of light (0.005 c) per melee.
• Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is Mach 6 (4470 mph / 7200 km/h) and can enter and leave an atmosphere with Earth-like gravity.
• Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by drive system, but only carries enough supplies for the crew for one week.

Statistical Data:

• Height: ???' (??? m)
• Width: ???' (??? m)
• Length: ???' (??? m)
• Weight: ??? tons (??? metric tons)
• Reactor System: Micro-Fusion Reactor with a life span of 10 years.
• Cargo: The drop ship's main body is dominated by a large cargo hold that is often used to transport troops and/or vehicles, but it can easily carry cargo. The hold can carry no more then 500 tons (435.6 metric tons) of cargo
• Market Cost: 1.5 billion credits for a fully loaded and armed Assault Drop Ship. Some stripped down models remove the weapon systems only cost 1.2 billion credits.

Weapon Systems:

1. Laser Cannon
   Located in the nose of the vehicle is a small laser cannon used in emergency situations. While it has a longer range then the grenade launcher, it does significantly less damage.
   • Range: 8000' (2440 m) through an atmosphere and 151.5 miles (243.8 km) in space.
   • Damage: 1D6x10 M.D. per single blast.
   • M.D.C. Weapon Rating: 9
   • Rate of Fire: Equal to number of combined hand-to-hand attacks (usually 4 to 6).
   • Payload: Effectively unlimited
2. Missile Launchers (2)
   A critical feature of the Goliath Combat Walker is its anti-air capabilities. Originally, the vehicle would carry exclusively anti-air missiles, but as the Terran Confederacy and the Terran Dominion became more desperate as their enemies pressed in from all sides, Goliath's increasingly carried multipurpose missiles to be used against any target.
   • Missile Design: General Purpose Missile
   • Missile Type: Air-to-Ground, Anti-Air, or Multipurpose
   • Missile Guidance Systems: Varies with missile type.
   • Missile Warhead: Varies with missile type.
   • Range: 80 miles (128.7 km)
   • Speed: 1800 mph (2897 km/h)
   • Damage and Blast Radius: Varies with type of missile warhead.
   • Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, or 8 missiles.
   • Payload: 20 missiles per launcher, for a total of 40 medium range missiles.

Special Systems:

1. Electronic Warfare System
   The ship is equipped with a basic EW suite for its size.
   • ECM: 1
   • ECCM: 1
   • EWS Abilities: None

Standard Systems:

1. Life Support System
   The ship has a fully operational life support system that provides fresh atmosphere throughout the ship. The life support system can sustain a maximum of 100 people indefinitely or 400 people for a short period of time in case of an emergency.
2. Communication Systems
   The ship is equipped with three communication systems. The first is a long range laser system with a maximum range of 100,000 miles (160,934 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they rely on line of sight, so it cannot communicate with a ship that is on the other side of a solid object. The second system is a long range radio system with a maximum range of 50,000 miles (80,467 km), the transmissions travel at the speed of light, but they are easy to intercept and jam. The third system is a satellite relay system that allows the fighter to boost the range of the other communication systems indefinitely by using satellites or spaceships to relay the transmission. The ship's communication array can contact with up to 40 ships simultaneously.
3. Sensor Systems
   The ship is equipped with two sensor systems. The first is the Electromagnetic Detection Equipment that detects other sensor systems at twice the maximum range of their transmitter. The second is a powerful array that uses standard radar waves, which are fairly easy to jam, but it is obvious when the radar array is being jammed. The sensor can track tiny targets at a range of up to 30,000 miles (48,280 km), small targets at a range of up to 300,000 miles (482,803 km), medium targets at a range of up to 600,000 miles (965,606 km), and large targets at a range of up to 900,000 miles (1,448,410 km).
4. Targeting Computer System
   Connecting the ship's sensor systems with the weapon systems is the Targeting Computer System. The system is designed to control all of the weapons currently equipped on the fighter. This system can track up to 30 targets simultaneously, providing detailed information about the targets from the fighter's data files. All direct fire weapons receive a bonus of +1 to strike and missiles using non-autonomous guidance systems receive a bonus of +1 to strike. These bonuses are in addition to any previously stated bonuses or penalties.

Combat Summary:

• Strike: +1 to strike for all direct fire weapons and +1 to strike for all missiles using non-autonomous guidance systems.
• Dodge: +1 to dodge.
• Targeting System: Can track up to 30 targets simultaneously.