To give some background: this DropShip is for my alternate BT universe of mine. I came to BT in 1986 when it had a very post-apocalyptic, Road Warrior feel to it, at least to me. The Third Succession War era is still my favorite period in BT, back when a single company of ‘Mechs could conquer a planet almost single-handedly and 2 aerospace fighter lances could be considered a significant aerospace defense. My alternate universe is an expansion of that era. A large raiding force consists of a ‘Mech company, 2 lances of aerospace fighters and maybe up to a battalion of infantry if they plan on sticking around for more than a few hours. One of the things I have done in my alt U is to modify the aerospace design rules. I won’t bore you with all of the details but here are 2 key ones:
1. Reaction mass requirements are based on ship’s mass, not the broad-range point system in the canon rules: 10% of a ship’s mass is sufficient reaction mass for 1G thrust for 30 days.
2. There are no bay personnel accommodations for long duration flights (> 48 hours). For long duration flights all personnel require, at a minimum, a steerage berth for an accommodation.
Code:
AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
VALIDATED
Class/Model/Name: Espadon Light Assault Carrier 1200
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2750
Vessel Type: Spheroid DropShip
Rules: Level 3, Standard design
Rules Set: AeroTech2
Mass: 1,200 tons
Length: 55 meters
Power Plant: Standard
Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Armor Type: Standard
Armament:
1 LRM 20
5 Large Laser
8 Medium Laser
6 LRM 5
4 SRM 4
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Overview
Shortly after Kerensky’s Treason it became apparent to all that a new era of total warfare had begun. Destruction on a scale not even seen in the Reunification War became the norm and military losses were an order of magnitude worse than unstainable, they were catastrophic. As the Second Succession War waned, over seventy years of unrelenting total war gave way to the so-called “water raids” of today. In the aftermath the Successor States have attempted to recover some of their lost capability with the meager resources at hand. One new concept to come out of this is the light assault carrier (LAC), developed by the Capellan Confederation and subsequently copied by all the Successor States.
The light assault carrier is an attempt to marry a light carrier, such as a Leopard CV, with a small assault DropShip, like the Avenger, but as with most such marriages compromises were made resulting in a ship that is neither. Lack of resources overshadows all in this day and age and the light assault carrier’s number one design specification, as laid out by the Chancellor himself was that it be cheap and easy to mass produce, mass production being a relative term here. Compromises and tradeoffs led to a class of DropShips that carry only a single aerospace fighter lance, and moderate armament, but are heavily armored for their size. Most mass less than 1,500 tons and rarely cost more than 150 million C-bills. In operation light assault carriers usually backup their fighters as an assault DropShip would, screened by the fighters, while trying to keep outside of anything but LRM range. The Federated Suns Espadon class, although a first generation LAC, is a good example of what can, and cannot be done within the class’s design constraints.
Capabilities
Like most LAC designs the Espadon only supports a single aerospace fighter lance, has thrust capability only slightly greater than most transports and has a light armament compared to the Avenger, the standard by which all small assault DropShips are measured. And although it has adequate fuel reserves for fighter operations it has very little room for cargo. The embarked fighter lance must store most of its spare parts stock and other items in the fighter bay itself. It is for this reason that the Espadon’s embarked fighters are usually medium class or lighter. The Espadon, however, has life support for a complete technical support team for the lance. The Espadon also has one rather unusual feature worth mentioning – its fighter bay arrangement. The fighter bays are stacked at the midsection of the rather boxy, elongated hull of the Espadon. In and of itself, this is not all that unusual of a feature, but the shape of the hull and the location of the bays allowed designers to install two launch capable doors per bay. This provides fly-thru servicing, so to speak, allowing for a minimum of maintenance intensive launch and recovery equipment.
Deployment
The lion’s share of Espadons are operated in the FSN’s Expeditionary Transport Squadrons. Most of these have permanently embarked FSN fighter lances, but a few support fighters belonging to the expeditionary battle group they’re transporting. Quite a few Espadons, along with their embarked fighters, serve as long-range patrol assets in key star systems. A handful of Espadons have been sold off as salvage and been returned to service in private hands. At least two mercenary forces are known to have one.
Battle History
The Espadon has participated in countless raids and defensive operations since it entered the fleet, but one operation stands out as fine example of what it can do. In January of 2930 the CCAF dispatched a raiding force to Mentasta consisting of a ‘Mech company with attached aerospace fighter lance, a Union class DropShip and two long-range escort fighters [ed. armed small craft]. Defending the system was a single Espadon, the Strige and its fighters. The captain of the Strige chose to intercept the raiders only a few hours out from a low orbital drop. Both forces launched fighters well before they engaged. As the opposing fighters squared off against one another the Capellan escort fighters closed on the Strige as the Union charged through their defenses. In the chaos that followed the Strige managed to destroy outright one of the escort fighters and forced the crew of the other to scuttle theirs, all be it while taking significant damage. Their losses, one fighter destroyed and significant damage to the Strige and the other fighter, were considered acceptable given that their actions forced the Liao commander to abort his raid. The Union made a single slingshot orbit around Mentasta and headed back to its JumpShip, having abandoned all its fighters. It was later learned that the raid was intended to draw off a battle group from Redfield to make invasion of that system easier. The Liao invasion beaten off but it was a hard won victory. Many believe that single battle group spelled the difference for Redfield.
Despite their rather anemic appearance on paper light assault carrier have proved quite useful over the years, and the Espadon, the workhorse LAC of the FSN, has proved to be one of the more capable ones.
Code:
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Class/Model/Name: Espadon Light Assault Carrier 1200
Mass: 1,200 tons
Equipment: Mass
Power Plant, Drive & Control: 312.00
Thrust: Safe Thrust: 4
Maximum Thrust: 6
Structural Integrity: 12 29.00
Total Heat Sinks: 97 Single 51.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 184.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters: 9.00
Fire Control Computers: .00
Food & Water: (92 days supply) 11.00
Armor Type: Standard (736 total armor pts) 43.00
Standard Scale Armor Pts
Location: L / R
Fore: 210
Left/Right Sides: 184/184
Aft: 158
Cargo:
Bay 1: Fighter Bay (1) with 2 doors 150.00
Cargo (1) 8.00
Bay 2: Fighter Bay (1) with 2 doors 150.00
Cargo (1) 8.00
Escape Pods: 4 (7 tons each) 28.00
Crew and Passengers:
1 Officer 7.00
7 Crew, including Gunners 35.00
2 Embarked Officers 14.00
14 Embarked Soldiers 70.00
Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass
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1 LRM 20(24 rounds) Nose 1(12) 1(12) 1(12) -- 6 14.00
1 Large Laser Nose 2(18) 1(8) -- -- 8 5.00
2 Medium Laser 6 2.00
1 LRM 5(24 rounds) FL/R 0(3) 0(3) 0(3) -- 4 6.00
1 SRM 4(50 rounds) FL/R 1(6) -- -- -- 6 8.00
1 Large Laser FL/R 1(13) 1(8) -- -- 16 10.00
1 Medium Laser 6 2.00
1 LRM 5(24 rounds) AL/R 0(3) 0(3) 0(3) -- 4 6.00
1 Large Laser AL/R 1(13) 1(8) -- -- 16 10.00
1 Medium Laser 6 2.00
2 LRM 5(48 rounds) Aft 1(6) 1(6) 1(6) -- 4 6.00
2 SRM 4(50 rounds) Aft 1(12) -- -- -- 6 6.00
2 Medium Laser Aft 1(10) -- -- -- 6 2.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (1.00%) 12.00
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TOTALS: Heat: 94 1,200.00
Tons Left: .00
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 140,916,160 C-Bills
Battle Value: 3,202
Cost per BV: 44,008.79
Weapon Value: 5,150 (Ratio = 1.61)
Damage Factors: SRV = 123; MRV = 51; LRV = 8; ERV = 0
Maintenance: Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 9,378
(3,033 Structure, 4,320 Life Support, 2,025 Weapons)
Support Points (SP) = 4,504 (48% of MPV)
BattleForce2: MP: 4, Armor/Structure: 13 / 12
Damage PB/M/L: 4/2/1, Overheat: 0
Class: DS; Point Value: 32
Specials: sph, if
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