Ship: 5.3t Armored Drone
Type: Drone
USP VB-0606601-E00000-00000-0 MCr 7.301 5.3 Tons
Bat Bear........................................Crew: 1
Bat................................................TL: 14
Cargo: 0.005 Crew Sections: 1 of 1 Fuel: 1 EP: 0.318 Agility: 6
Fuel Treatment: Fuel Scoops
Architects Fee: MCr 0.073 Cost in Quantity: MCr 5.840
Detailed Description
(High Guard Design)
HULL
5.300 tons standard, 74.200 cubic meters, Flattened Sphere Configuration
CREW
None
ENGINEERING
Jump-0, 6G Manuever, Power plant-6, 0.318 EP, Agility 6
AVIONICS
No Bridge Installed, Model/1 Computer
HARDPOINTS
None
ARMAMENT
None
DEFENCES
Armoured Hull (Factor-14)
CRAFT
None
FUEL
1 Ton Fuel (0 parsecs jump and 28 days endurance)
On Board Fuel Scoops, No Fuel Purification Plant
MISCELLANEOUS
1 Acceleration Couch, 0.005 Ton Cargo
USER DEFINED COMPONENTS
None
COST
MCr 7.374 Singly (incl. Architects fees of MCr 0.073), MCr 5.840 in Quantity
CONSTRUCTION TIME
2 Weeks Singly, 2 Weeks in Quantity
COMMENTS
On the strategic level, it can be useful to identify what opposing forces are defending a world before you commit your own forces against them. On larger worlds, the forces orbiting a world are often out of reach of the sensors of a fleet standing outside the world's 100-diameter limit. There is a need for a cheap and expendable platform that can be used to perform that job without putting men and women at risk, but a standard drone is very vulnerable to weapons fire - a boat with a laser or a missile can destroy it, rendering it of little value for intelligence gathering if there is any defending picket present.
The 5.3-ton Armored Drone is a remotely piloted armored small craft, the smallest possible: a 1dT power plant, 1dT maneuver drive, 1dT Model/1 computer controls, 1dT fuel tank and a half dT for a passenger seat, all in a heavily armored shell. The drone can be flown by a pilot but is more often remotely piloted using a laser comm link; the computer also has a limited ability to fly the drone on a predetermined course. Effective sensor range is 150,000 km.
This TL14 design represents the standard for both Imperial and Zhodani naval forces. While an easy target, it is heavily armored and therefore invulnerable to weapons fire from Factor 7 or lower batteries except for nuclear missiles. Due to its small size, it remains vulnerable to criticals from Factor 8 or higher batteries, but only a third of such hits have any combat effect. Similarly, most nuclear missile hits have no effect, with fuel tank damage leaving the drone powerless in about 14% of hits. With its high G-rating, the drone stands a very good chance of penetrating hostile pickets to get a look at the heavier ships behind them.
