Mercenary Starships and Spacecraft

[shadowdragon]

Troop landers for the Poofs Revenge

Bessie - Oxcart Class Troop Delivery Vehicle

25-ton Hull (Needle/Wedge) - Streamlined (airframe)
AC: 27 (19 vs. Meson Guns)
AR: 10 (TL-14) SI: 77.5
Initiative: 6
Starship Size: Small
Cost: 18.5 MCr (23.125 MCr without discount)

Model/1bis (PP: 32/7) Computer
Avionics: Less than 600-ton
Sensors: Close Range
Communications: Close Range

Cargo: 8.95-tons
Annual Maintenance = 1.85 KCr
(.925 KCr if routinely maintained)
Routine Maintenance = .463 KCr/Month
(4.625 KCr per year)
Performance:
Acceleration: 6-G
Agility: 6
Power Plant: TL-14 Fusion (3 EP output, enough fuel for 0.53 weeks)
Fuel Scoops

Atmospheric Speeds:
NOE = 1,175kph
Cruising = 3,525kph
Maximum = 4,700kph

Weapons:

Hardpoints: 1
1x Double Missile Rack Turret TL-12 (1 missile magazines)
Missile +1 To Hit, 1d6 (18/x1), Range: 90,000km, Ammo: 20 missiles


Accomodations & Fittings:
2x Small Craft Couch (2 Crew)
1x Airlock

Crew Details:
1x Pilot
1x Engineer/Gunner


Description:
The oxcart class troop insertion vehicle has a nearly 9 dton cargo bay for delivering troops, small vehicles, and supplies to an LZ. Deployed in groups, oxcarts can use the double missile turrets to protect each other, and they can also be used to make an LZ where one was not before. A high agility and M-drive G rating increases surviveability, while external fuel tanks can be used to increase range. Fuel scoops and cargo deck connectors allow for wilderness refueling up to 8 dtons of fuel at a time.

 

[shadowdragon]

And here is the 100 ton apc transport:

Poof's Defense - Mantlet Class Transport

100-ton Hull (Cylinder) - Streamlined
AC: 24 (16 vs. Meson Guns)
AR: 8 (TL-14) SI: 100
Initiative: 6
Starship Size: Medium

Cost: 83.804 MCr (104.755 MCr without discount)

Model/2bis Fib (PP: 38/9) Computer
Avionics: Less than 600-ton
Sensors: Short Range
Communications: Short Range

Cargo: 4.0-tons
Annual Maintenance = 8.38 KCr (4.19 KCr if routinely maintained)
Routine Maintenance = 2.095 KCr/Month (20.951 KCr per year)


Acceleration: 6-G
Agility: 6
Power Plant: TL-14 Fusion (16 EP output, enough fuel for 0.25 weeks)
Fuel Scoops

Atmospheric Speeds:
NOE = 1,175kph
Cruising = 3,525kph
Maximum = 4,700kph


Weapons:
Hardpoints: 1
1x Double Fusion Gun Turret TL-12, +4 To Hit, 4d20 (16/x5), Range: 4,500km

Ship's Vehicles:
5x 8-ton vehicle hangar

Accomodations & Fittings:
2x Airlocks

Crew Details:
1x Pilot
1x Engineer
1x Gunner

Description:
Poof's Defense Delivers five G-carriers to the battlefield, and can stay on station as air defense with its chin-mounted fusion gun double turret. An additional 4 tons cargo space expands functionality, or can be equipped with fuel bladders for extended duration missions.

 

[BetterThanLife]

I am not here to question whether the ship is practical.

Under current typical Canon tickets a Mercenary unit can not afford a Starship. But we were asked for a good general purpose ship Mercenary Cruiser to transport a Reinforced Company and be good at the anti-piracy role. There is a Canon Mercenary unit that transports Companies in 3000 ton Mercenary Cruisers and if it deploys a Battalion sends an additional Command and control starship in the 3 KTon range. The ships of that unit did not meet the specs originally requested but show that large Merc Cruisers are canon.

 

[travlar]

Originally posted by BetterThanLife:
I do have serious reservations on the use of Mech forces, based on the nature of the typical system stats in Traveller. Since less than 40% of the main worlds in Traveller have normal atmospheres or would be acceptable for typical Mech Infantry operations, I tend to build light infantry units and equip them with Grav Belts for most operations. Then provide them with Light Fighter support (in lieu of tanks), small craft to get them to the LZ and keep them supplied, and possibly some light artillery (Generally 4 mobile MRLs per company or equivalents.) I find that is much more flexible.

Grav belts are expensive. As a general note, if the fighters take the place of tanks, they should be able to land on the ground, and fight from their if neccesary (if you can get two extra shots off before they see you, it can be worth the loss of mobility.)

 

[mbrinkhues]

Questions:

+ Should a Merc craft be capabel of landing (like the Javelin), giving up internal space, or is it better to keep the extra space and use small craft

+ Squad or platoon sized landers, what is better

+ Are drop capsules necessary for Merc Jobs

+ Would a "Tender" design be useful

 

[shadowdragon]

If the transport lands, it runs the risk of being shot down. the transport should not even enter the atmosphere until air superiority is obtained and all hostiles are pushed well beyond the range of their weaponry. one well placed missile can strand a merc unit planetside.

platoon sized landers put more troops on the ground at once, and reduce maintenance time and maybe cost. the down side is each one shot down reduces your troop strength a full platoon. i personally prefer the school of fish approach: the more ships the less likely any particular one is shot down.

Drop capsules are handy, but not necessary.

what mean you by "tender" design? IIRC tenders are slow, agile as a pregnant whale, unarmored and unarmed. not particularly useful in a firefight one thinks.

 

[alanb]

Not questioning whether or not this is practical either...

Under High Guard, ships were a mixture of percentage based and tonnage based components. To build a bigger version of the Mercenary Cruiser, just work out the relative size of the "payload" (tonnage based components) and multiply everything by that much.

If you are carrying five times as many troops, your ship will be five times bigger, plus a bit of extra room left over from things like the bridge, computer and so on. That extra stuff can be allocated to cargo.

So, since the 800 ton Mercenary Cruiser carries a small platoon, a company sized transport with similar capabilites would be about 3-4000 tons. Add some freighters for supplies, and some escorts to chase pirates and protect the "Mercenary Cruiser", and you have a flotilla that can do what is necessary.

Of course, you aren't going to get much change out of 10ktons...

A more pirate-y unit can be smaller, but be less combat capable.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by Michael Brinkhues:
Questions:

+ Should a Merc craft be capabel of landing (like the Javelin), giving up internal space, or is it better to keep the extra space and use small craft

+ Squad or platoon sized landers, what is better

+ Are drop capsules necessary for Merc Jobs

+ Would a "Tender" design be useful

Depends on what risks you are willing to accept. For a Platoon, I tend to land by Section (Squad landers are not efficient.), for a Company, by platoon. This way you land concentrated but don't risk everything at once. Also note that squad landers are not efficient. You can land a Light Infantry Platoon in between about 35 and 40 tons. With equipment about 50 tons is required. Dropping a Squad runs about 20 tons. Dropping a Company is around 120 tons. Dropping a pair of squads with gear runs about 30 tons.

If you have multiple ships, then perhaps you can risk a Javelin as a lander for later stages of the assault. (Though the Javelin is equipped with Assault boats, which can put the platoon down in two sections and one drop.)

 

[mbrinkhues]

Tender:

The idea is the beast jumps in a good deal outside the danger zone and releases a few large and fast STL crafts, refuels and then jumps out again. Say two or three 600dton tenders.

The idea is that for quite a few MercOps a Jumpship on Station is not needed, a classic example are Cadre and Garrison duties. At the same time these are fixed-time, long term missions. So by using a Tender that can carry commercial LASH lighters (800dton/3302ston), the Merc unit can gain an additional income source. The Tender won't be commercially viabel as a cargo craft but basically acts as a Subsidized Merchant with the Merc Unit financing it

 

[mbrinkhues]

Side note:

Small craft storage volume varies widely between Systems.

In GT an Astrin Grav APC is a 4dton craft that would require 4dtons(cargo), 4.1dtons (custom bay), 6dtons space if I give it a hangar bay (Evacuates air to space if open) and 8dtons if I give it a spacedock (with airlocks and all).

A smaller Grav-APC is 3dton, a medium tank 4dton, light tanks 1.5dton

 

[MR TEK]

Well,

Here is my .02cr

I always understood Mercs as ground pounders.

If the space above you ticket world is contested, a navel asset is called for.

There might be a Merc unit around that provides navel instead ground capabilities.

After all The Imperium does not support a monolithic military that handles space, assault, and ground ops.

They have a Navy, Marines, and An Army.

It has always been in the background that if one side of a conflict has space superiority there IS no ground combat on any scale, because you simply call bombardment and you opponent id dead, end of combat.

So there would be Mercs in space, Mercs that specialize in assault, and Mercs that fight on the ground.

Now there might very well be Mercs in different categories that work together.

For example, Your unit of assault troops gets a contract but somebody else has the world your contract is on held by some space units.

You Ticket holder might make a separate contract with a group you always work with that is space based. They go in first, clear the units in space and then you can hit the ground.

Depending on the situation and who holds the contract, they may exert pressure on the group providing the space cover, hire a completely different unit to clear the space above the world, or if a Megacorp is involved, bring in whatever units they might have.

Also while the Imperium seems to look away from ground wars, if you are in Imperial space, hostilities in space are going to threaten commercial traffic through that system, and the Imperium will take notice, and sooner or later action if that gets too far out of hand.

The point of all of this is I just don’t believe a single unit would try to fill all three roles.

There would be ships that ferry troops to worlds where all of the fighting is on the ground, ships that are prepared to fight from atmosphere to create landing zones, and space based units that expect all of their combat to be in space.

Possibly, there might be a couple of Mercs in imperial space that are big enough to fill all three roles, but they would do that in separate assets designed for each role, not some general purpose unit that tried to do everything itself.

Mega corps of course would have their own units to fill all three roles, and would still hire independents if they wanted to hide their involvement.

Compositions:

A ground based unit would have ships that are little more than ferries. Their Landers would be lightly armed and armored, just enough to provide a little extra cover if a pullout was contested. The rules of war would almost certainly provide that a pullout would end hostilities and allow them to be extracted without being under heavy fire.

In a less “civilized” conflict, where the troops would be expected to fight to reach the ground, and could have to continue to fight as they are evaced, their transport would still be ferries, with a little bit of firepower to devote to bombardment, and single sdb combat.

Their landers would be heavy vehicles that could provide close air support and maybe even the role of light artillery in addition to surviving putting troops into hot LZs.

The third type of Merc would be entirely space based. They might have a platoon or so of assault troops to use if going in to a pirate base, or boarding operations, but for sustained troop operations they would need a ground based unit to support them.

Just my thoughts, but I just cannot see any ship being designed to fit all three roles at once.

 

[The Oz]

Here are four variants on the classic "Broadsword" class, the first is my version of the basic "Merc cruiser" and the others are more specialized versions.

===================================================

800 ton "Gladius" class Mercenary Cruiser (Type CZ)
Book 2 design

</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Tons MCr
Custom hull, streamlined 800 88
Jump drive-M, J-3 65 120
Maneuver drive-M, 3-G 23 48
Power plant-V, PP-5 61 160
Jump fuel, 1xJ-3 240 0
Power plant fuel, 30 days 50 0
Extra fuel, for craft 8 0
Bridge and Mod/5 computer 25 49
8xhardpoints with triple turrets 8 8.8
12x beam lasers 0 12
6x missile racks 0 4.5
6x sandcasters 0 1.5
2x Ship's boat 60 32
4x G-carrier 32 4
2x Speeder 12 2
Sickbay 8 8
Troop training area 20 10
40 x staterooms 160 20
8 x low berth 4 0.4
Cargo 24 0

Totals 800 568.2</pre>[/QUOTE]Crew:
Captain, pilot, navigator
Chief engineer, 4 engineers
Chief gunner, 7 gunners
Surgeon, medic
2 boat pilots, 2 boat gunners
Platoon leader, platoon sergant
48 troops

The Captain, pilot, navigator, chief engineer, chief gunner, surgeon, platoon leader, and platoon sergant have individual staterooms, all others share staterooms.

Description:

The "Gladius" is designed to carry a platoon of mechanized troops, deploy them into medium-intensity warfare and support them for an extended period. The ship's boats serve to land the troops and their vehicles, carrying half the platoon at one time. The speeders provide courier service, reconaissance, and medical evacuation. The ship has a large sickbay and the eight low berths give the ability to "freeze" personnel wounded beyond the ship's capability to treat, preserving them for later treatment at more advanced facilities. The "Gladius" also has a large space dedicated to the carried troops, giving them an exercise room, a range for simulated firing of weapons, and a virtual reality training area for rehearsals of upcoming operations.

The ship has a larger than needed powerplant to provide sufficient power to run the avionics and ships' weaponry and still provide excess power to the maneuver drive for extra Agility in combat. As a result the "Gladius" is better able to care for itself in space combat than many other ships.

This vessel is a utility infielder, not specialized for any one aspect of warfare but capable in many different roles, and such flexibility makes it ideal for mercenary units that might be called upon to perform widely different combat missions from contract to contract.


800 ton "Fairbairn" class Commando Cruiser (Type CR)
Book 2 design
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Tons MCr
Custom hull, streamlined 800 88
Jump drive-M, J-3 65 120
Maneuver drive-M, 3-G 23 48
Power plant-M, PP-3 37 96
Jump fuel, 1xJ-3 240 0
Power plant fuel, 30 days 30 0
Bridge and Mod/5 computer 25 49
8xhardpoints with triple turrets 8 8.8
12 x beam lasers 0 12
6 x missile racks 0 4.5
6 x sandcasters 0 1.5
3 x Ship's boat, armed 90 54
4 x fighter, armed 40 80
Sickbay 8 8
Troop training area 20 10
46 x staterooms 184 23
8 x low berth 4 0.4
Cargo 26 0

Totals 800 603.2</pre>[/QUOTE]Crew:
Captain, pilot, navigator
Chief engineer, 4 engineers
Chief gunner, 7 gunners
Surgeon, medic
3 boat pilots, 3 boat gunners
4 fighter pilots, 4 fighter mechanics
Platoon leader, platoon sergant
48 troops

The Captain, pilot, navigator, chief engineer, chief gunner, surgeon, platoon leader, and platoon sergant have individual staterooms, all others share staterooms.

Description:

The "Fairbairn" Commando Cruiser is a more specialized design than the "Gladius," built for the purpose of delivering a platoon of raiding light infantry directly onto a target in a quick strike. The fighters serve to clear the way for the ship's boats to deliver the troops, who usually wear combat armor and grav belts allowing them to "jump" from the boats without the boats actually having to land. The boats then proceed to a waiting area where the mobile infantry will meet them for pickup after their mission is complete. Like the "Gladius," this ship has a large sickbay and the eight low berths give the ability to "freeze" personnel wounded beyond the ship's capability to treat, preserving them for later treatment at more advanced facilities. She also has a large space dedicated to the carried troops, giving them an exercise room, a range for simulated firing of weapons, and a virtual reality training area for rehearsals of upcoming
operations.

All of the small craft are armed with a mix of beam laser, missile rack, and sandcaster.

Being a specialized design, the "Fairbairn" is not as capable in space combat as the Gladius, and cannot easily carry vehicles.


800 ton "Hedgecutter" class Armor Transport (Type CT)
Book 2 design
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Tons MCr
Custom hull, streamlined 800 88
Jump drive-H, J-2 45 80
Maneuver drive-H, 2-G 15 32
Power plant-H, PP-2 25 64
Jump fuel, 1xJ-2 160 0
Power plant fuel, 30 days 20 0
Bridge and Mod/5 computer 25 49
8xhardpoints with triple turrets 8 8.8
12x beam lasers 0 12
6x missile racks 0 4.5
6x sandcasters 0 1.5
2x Cutters, armed, open modules 100 64
Sickbay 8 8
Troop training area 20 10
13 x crew staterooms 52 6.5
8 x low berth 4 0.4
17 x troop staterooms 68 8.5
Vehicle Bay 220 0
Cargo 30 0

Totals 800 433.2</pre>[/QUOTE]Crew:
Captain, pilot, navigator
Chief engineer, 3 engineers
Chief gunner, 7 gunners
Medic
2 cutter pilots, 2 cutter gunners
Up to 34 troops

The Captain, pilot, navigator, chief engineer, chief gunner, and medic have individual staterooms, all other crew share staterooms. Usually the troop unit commander will have an individual stateroom, as might the troop unit senior NCO.

Description:
The "Hedgecutter" class is specialized to transport vehicular units, up to a company of tanks or other vehicles. The capacious vehicle bay (two decks tall) is laid out to hold the some of the largest vehicles, and the real restriction is the maximum size vehicle that the modular cutters can hold in their open modules. This limits the "Hedgecutter" to carrying vehicles of less than 25 tons displacement and maximum dimensions of 4 meters high by 5 meters wide by 12 meters long unless the ship is able to land in which case the limit is only the size of the hatches of the vehicle bay (5 meters high by 15 meters wide). The cutters are armed with a mix of beam laser, missile rack, and sandcaster. Like the "Gladius," this ship has a large sickbay and the eight low berths give the ability to "freeze" personnel wounded beyond the ship's capability to heal, preserving them for later treatment at more advanced facilities. She also has a large space dedicated to the carried troops, giving them an exercise room and networked virtual reality vehicle simulators for rehearsals of upcoming operations.

Often the vehicle bay is not filled by the vehicles to be carried and the remainder of the bay is used to carry additional supplies or modular quarters are installed to carry additional troops, although this can put a heavy strain on the life support system.

To gain this huge vehicle bay, the "Hedgecutter" is only capable of Jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. In an assault landing the ship would stand off and deliver her cargo via the cutters. Usually the ship would wait until a secure planethead had been gained and then land to offload. Being even less capable in space combat than the "Fairbairn" class this ship would almost never be deployed alone, usually arriving in an escorted convoy to bring the vehicles of a battalion or larger-sized unit to a combat zone.

800 ton "Sabre" class Space Cruiser (Type CS)
Book 2 design
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;"> Tons MCr
Custom hull, streamlined 800 88
Jump drive-M, J-3 65 120
Maneuver drive-W, 5-G 41 84
Power plant-M, PP-3 67 176
Jump fuel, 1xJ-3 240 0
Power plant fuel, 30 days 60 0
Bridge and Mod/5 computer 29 84
8xhardpoints with triple turrets 8 8.8
12 x beam lasers 0 12
6 x missile racks 0 4.5
6 x sandcasters 0 1.5
8 x Mod/1bis FC computers 8 32
1 x Ship's boat, armed 30 18
10 x fighter, armed 100 200
11 x Mod/2bis craft computers 0 198
Sickbay 8 8
32 x staterooms 128 16
8 x low berth 4 0.4
Cargo 22 0

Totals 800 1056.2</pre>[/QUOTE]Crew:
Captain, pilot, navigator
Chief engineer, 4 engineers
Chief gunner, 7 gunners
Surgeon, medic
1 boat pilot, 1 boat gunner
10 fighter pilots, 10 fighter mechanics
Squad sergant, 12 troops

The Captain, pilot, navigator, chief engineer, chief gunner, surgeon, fighter leader, and squad sergant have individual staterooms, all others share staterooms.

Description:

The "Sabre" Strike Cruiser is a more specialized design than the "Gladius," intended for the space combat and space control mission. She carries the most sophisticated electronics available and each turret has its own Mod/1bis fire control computer, allowing the ship's main computer to focus on ship control and ship defense. The "Sabre" carries a full squadron of ten light fighters, and has the ability to support them for an extended period. The ship's boat can act to support the fighters or can serve as a boarding craft for the reinforced squad of ship's troops. Like the "Gladius," this ship has a large sickbay and the eight low berths give the ability to "freeze" personnel wounded beyond the ship's capability to treat, preserving them for later treatment at more advanced facilities.

All of the small craft are armed with a mix of beam laser, missile rack, and sandcaster and carry a Mod/2bis computer.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by Mr TeK:
I always understood Mercs as ground pounders.

The Mercenary Cruiser has been around since day 1. So have Vargr Corsairs and plain old Pirates.

These are all mixed space/ground forces. The difference between pirates and mercs is largely in the eye of the beholder.

It has always been in the background that if one side of a conflict has space superiority there IS no ground combat on any scale, because you simply call bombardment and you opponent id dead, end of combat.

And I've got a bridge to sell you...

The only case where this has been really suggested is the old "particle accelerators versus vacuum worlds" situation, and it's quite obviously nonsense there if you have a problem with blowing up the things you are fighting to control.

Try calling in orbital bombardment in/on a domed city...

 

[BetterThanLife]

Or the lesson of Monte Casino Abbey that was pounded flat by the 15th Airforce more than once. But the it took three attempts to dig the Germans holding the position out of there and they only succeeded after the position was bypassed by the Anzio landings. Air power can destroy ground targets, that are obliging enough to stand still long enough to be both located and destroyed. But air power can't hold ground. The same applies to space. A blown up building and an intact building still provide about the same level of cover for infantry.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by Michael Brinkhues:
Side note:

Small craft storage volume varies widely between Systems.

In GT an Astrin Grav APC is a 4dton craft that would require 4dtons(cargo), 4.1dtons (custom bay), 6dtons space if I give it a hangar bay (Evacuates air to space if open) and 8dtons if I give it a spacedock (with airlocks and all).

A smaller Grav-APC is 3dton, a medium tank 4dton, light tanks 1.5dton

That is about a third of the size of Astrins in both T20 and MT. The APC in Striker is 12.4 tons (And is likely the basis for the Astrin). In T20 the Astrin is 13 tons and 10 tons in MT.

How do you fit 11 people in 4 dtons of armored vehicle? If you figure a person is roughly 2m^3 with no gear and stacked in like sardines 11 people is almost 2 tons, just in warm bodies. GT must be using very different numbers for tonnage.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Small Craft as promised. One per message.

T20 Starship Design Sheet Output

Assault Cutter - Assault Cutter Class Cutter
Designed by: BTL-Shipyards

Statistics:
50-ton Hull (Cylinder) - Streamlined
AC: 17 (14 vs. Meson Guns) AR: 3 (TL-14) SI: 85 Initiative: 3
Starship Size: Small Cost: 22.242 MCr (27.802 MCr without discount)
Model/2 (PP: 35/12) Computer Avionics: Less than 600-ton Sensors: Short Range Communications: Short Range
Cargo: 0.0-tons Passengers:
Annual Maintenance = 2.224 KCr (1.112 KCr if routinely maintained)
Routine Maintenance = .556 KCr/Month (5.561 KCr per year)

Performance:
Acceleration: 3-G Agility: 3
Power Plant: TL-14 Fusion (3 EP output, enough fuel for 4 weeks)
Fuel Scoops,
Atmospheric Speeds: NOE = 1,175kph Cruising = 3,525kph Maximum = 4,700kph

Weapons:
Hardpoints: 1
1x Triple Missile Rack Turret TL-14 (0.5 missile magazines)


Ship's Vehicles:
3x 10-ton vehicle hangar


Accomodations & Fittings:
1x Standalone Fresher
1x Airlock

Crew Details:
1x Pilot
1x Gunner


Description:
Designed to carry a Platoon of 3x10 ton Armored vehicles to the surface in a hot LZ the 50 ton Assault Cutter is both armored and more agile than a typical Cutter. Designed to fit into the same space as the standard modular cutter this cutter has proven popular with Mechanized Mercenary units that wish to be capable of quickly deploying their units to the surface and have them, usually, survive to actually conduct operations. The Cutter can then be tasked to supply the unit from orbit or a ground supply source and its survivability means that if the enemy decides to fire during resupply operations the cutter is likely to be able to complete its mission anyway.

Actually designed to accept the same weapon mix as the 30 ton, Kimu Class Assault Transport this ship then provides its own fire suppression on the way into a hot LZ.

 

[BetterThanLife]

T20 Starship Design Sheet Output

Assault Cutter-LI - Assault Cutter Class Cutter
Designed by: BTL-Shipyards

Statistics:
50-ton Hull (Cylinder) - Streamlined
AC: 20 (15 vs. Meson Guns) AR: 5 (TL-14) SI: 85 Initiative: 4
Starship Size: Small Cost: 26.043 MCr (32.554 MCr without discount)
Model/2 (PP: 35/12) Computer Avionics: Less than 600-ton Sensors: Short Range Communications: Short Range
Cargo: 7.0-tons Passengers:
Annual Maintenance = 2.604 KCr (1.302 KCr if routinely maintained)
Routine Maintenance = .651 KCr/Month (6.511 KCr per year)

Performance:
Acceleration: 4-G Agility: 4
Power Plant: TL-14 Fusion (4 EP output, enough fuel for 4 weeks)
Fuel Scoops,
Atmospheric Speeds: NOE = 1,175kph Cruising = 3,525kph Maximum = 4,700kph

Weapons:
Hardpoints: 1
1x Triple Missile Rack Turret TL-14 (0.5 missile magazines)


Accomodations & Fittings:
36x Small Craft Couch (36 Crew)
2x Standalone Fresher
1x Airlock

Crew Details:
1x Pilot
1x Gunner


Description:
Designed to carry a Platoon of Infantry and their gear to the surface in a hot LZ the 50 ton Assault Cutter is both armored and more agile than a typical Cutter. Designed to fit into the same space as the standard modular cutter this cutter has proven popular with Light Infantry, and Gravbelt Infantry Mercenary units that wish to be capable of quickly deploying their units to the surface and have them, usually, survive to actually conduct operations. The Cutter can then be tasked to supply the unit from orbit or a ground supply source and its survivability means that if the enemy decides to fire during resupply operations the cutter is likely to be able to complete its mission anyway.
Actually designed to accept the same weapon mix as the 30 ton, Kimu Class Assault Transport this ship then provides its own fire suppression on the way into a hot LZ.

 

[BetterThanLife]

T20 Starship Design Sheet Output

StarHawk - Multirole Light fighter Class Fighter
Designed by: BTL Shipyards

Statistics:
15-ton Hull (Needle/Wedge) - Streamlined
AC: 27 (19 vs. Meson Guns) AR: 10 (TL-14) SI: 75 Initiative: 6
Starship Size: Small Cost: 15.524 MCr (19.405 MCr without discount)
Model/1 (PP: 28/11) Computer Avionics: Less than 600-ton Sensors: Close Range Communications: Close Range
Cargo: 0.05-tons Passengers:
Annual Maintenance = 1.552 KCr (.776 KCr if routinely maintained)
Routine Maintenance = .388 KCr/Month (3.881 KCr per year)

Performance:
Acceleration: 6-G Agility: 6
Power Plant: TL-14 Fusion (4 EP output, enough fuel for 1 weeks)
Fuel Scoops,
Atmospheric Speeds: NOE = 1,175kph Cruising = 3,525kph Maximum = 4,700kph

Weapons:
Hardpoints: 1
1x Double Beam Laser Turret TL-14, +3 To Hit, 3d8 (20/x1), Range: 30,000km


Accomodations & Fittings:
1x Airlock

Crew Details:
1x Pilot
1x Gunner


Description:
Based on the popular Rampart Fighter that serves aboard Lightning class cruisers, the Starhawk is popular among Mercenary Units for Orbital support, CAS, armor support and piracy suppression. Available to operate under a wide variety of circumstances. It is armed as well as most heavy tanks and armored equal to them as well, further it is more agile than any grav vehicle on the battlefield. In Space combat the small size and high armor (for a light fighter) coupled with its standard Laser armament means that the Starhawk is unlikely to run out of ammo in space combat and will last longer than most other light fighters.
The Starhawk is designed to have its Laser armament replaced with a Kimu Assault boat turret if desired.

 

[mbrinkhues]

Originally posted by BetterThanLife:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Brinkhues:
Side note:

Small craft storage volume varies widely between Systems.

In GT an Astrin Grav APC is a 4dton craft that would require 4dtons(cargo), 4.1dtons (custom bay), 6dtons space if I give it a hangar bay (Evacuates air to space if open) and 8dtons if I give it a spacedock (with airlocks and all).

A smaller Grav-APC is 3dton, a medium tank 4dton, light tanks 1.5dton

That is about a third of the size of Astrins in both T20 and MT. The APC in Striker is 12.4 tons (And is likely the basis for the Astrin). In T20 the Astrin is 13 tons and 10 tons in MT.

How do you fit 11 people in 4 dtons of armored vehicle? If you figure a person is roughly 2m^3 with no gear and stacked in like sardines 11 people is almost 2 tons, just in warm bodies. GT must be using very different numbers for tonnage. </font>[/QUOTE]Maybe there is a difference in size units. GT uses 500cubic feet per dton. Using that a german MARDER IFV (the biggest IFV in service IIRC) comes out around 3.3-3.5dtons GT-style (It is roughly 6.9x3.4m with a 2m hull + turret) And that beast houses a crew of three plus 6-8 dismounts depending on version (6 currently).

And Mechanised Troops ARE stacked like Sardins. Serves them right, spacious crewspace is reserved for light infantry!

 

[BetterThanLife]

Originally posted by Michael Brinkhues:
[Maybe there is a difference in size units. GT uses 500cubic feet per dton. Using that a german MARDER IFV (the biggest IFV in service IIRC) comes out around 3.3-3.5dtons GT-style (It is roughly 6.9x3.4m with a 2m hull + turret) And that beast houses a crew of three plus 6-8 dismounts depending on version (6 currently).

And Mechanised Troops ARE stacked like Sardins. Serves them right, spacious crewspace is reserved for light infantry!

Doing the math, the GT size is equivalent to the CT size, about 13.5 M^3. (Roughly 5'x10'x10') I did the calculations on a Bradley and came up with approximately 5 DTons (not sure how big the turret actually is.

)

Remember though that APC's usually put the troops on bench seating. In a Grav vehicle, specifically a combat grav vehicle, you are more likely to have everyone in acceleration couches not sitting on benches. With quick release 5 point harnesses at a minimum.

I don't know what the difference between GT and the more traditional Traveller systems are. (Powerplant size most likely.) But those vehicles are definitely small. In the case of a 4 Ton APC, I would add seats to the Mech Assault cutter and have the troops not ride down in the vehicles.