Space Superiority Fighter

[Nerhesi]

I wouldn't necessarily put them up against battleships and dreadnoughts; such ships are hard to put down but also tend to turn up mob-handed with escorts and fighter screens of their own, but I suspect they're a more dangerous foe for cruisers, which (if built imperial style) put a much higher proportion of their displacement into (useless) spinal mounts and are often encountered solo...

Agreed. Thanks for reminding me about how to treat the rail-guns. The same treatment as is given to the missiles otherwise you end up with a Heavy missile bay with "individual weapon damage" of 24 x 1d6.

 

[Chas]

Yes, the truly awesome does get wrecked by fighters - and I think that is an important thing to have for balance purposes. There is no one truly awesome ship or ship class.

You need to be careful taking this route. Because then the winner simply then becomes whoever brought more fighters to the battle. Entire fleet tactics becomes winning space superiority in fighters, which is certainly not the intention of the Traveller universe as described. It's supposed to be about the capital ships. I'm not discussing making one truly awesome ship or class, but that whole classes of ship, say everything above 75kton, are going to receive additional damage from fighters, but not that on a credit per credit man for man basis, they're going to lose to fighters.

Everything 75kton and up are vulnerable to more cost effective battlerider, system defense boats. Spinal weapons in a non-jump, or other space/weight saving build. Making them vulnerable to a second class of ship (heavy fighters in this case) makes the concept and premise of bringing dreadnoughts to the battlefield highly questionable.

 

[Nerhesi]

You need to be careful taking this route. Because then the winner simply then becomes whoever brought more fighters to the battle. Entire fleet tactics becomes winning space superiority in fighters, which is certainly not the intention of the Traveller universe as described. It's supposed to be about the capital ships. I'm not discussing making one truly awesome ship or class, but that whole classes of ship, say everything above 75kton, are going to receive additional damage from fighters, but not that on a credit per credit man for man basis, they're going to lose to fighters.

Actually Chas, I'm not taking this route and my analysis does not indicate bring more fighters = win. Lets sum up the findings:

a) If you do not (or bring a negligible amount) of fighters, you will lose.
b) If you bring a decent sized fighter force to counter enemy fighters then you will be able to beat a force that is composed entirely (or mostly) of fighters.

Also - we should note that fighters do play a huge role in the Traveller universe as at least two major races use very fighter heavy naval doctrines (Zhodani and Droyne at the least if I'm not mistaken). So I wouldn't say Traveller naval combat isn't about capital ships, but about all inclusive naval engagements (fighters, SDBs, corvettes, ships of the line, dreadnoughts, etc etc).

To me, this is key. It means a navy can invest into a massive amount of advanced fighters, or advanced capital ships, or stuff in between without it being a "waste". It means navies are varied and interesting. It means you dont just raise the white flag between the Imperial Navy can bring 500kt battleships to bear. If that 500 kiloton battleship doesnt bring 700 or so fighters with it, then those 2000 Zhodani fighters will make mince meat of it and shame on you Admiral for walking on in with that ridiculously expensive ship without a picket/fighter screen.

 

[Chas]

I agree with what you've stated there Nerhesi regards overall balance, otherwise per the thread below how are the Kree ever going to be a genuine threat without their drone fighting craft...

But I'm not sure that fighter screens cancel each other out, or that fighters are suitably dangerous to each other. I'm not sure there's enough in the rules to stop fighters simply zooming past each other and heading on to other targets. With high thrust designs and typical distances between fleets I'm not sure how effective the so-called fighter screen is. The traveler rules don't force a dogfight like a WWII encounter might be.

 

[Nerhesi]

You're right about the zooming past eachother. The only defence though that exists is the order that stops a fighter flight from using strafing run - fighter screen.

Perhaps a rule regarding if fighters dont engage fighters that are using the fighter screen order, the screeners get a massive bonus on the barrage roll or something. This would allow "screening" fighters to actually hold up incoming flights or so. Maybe some ratio where a screen has to be no smaller than 25% of the offending/incoming fighter flight.

You are absolutely correct - currently, fighters will just either jet past eachother or can only screen at the close/adjacent range.

 

[phavoc]

You're right about the zooming past eachother. The only defence though that exists is the order that stops a fighter flight from using strafing run - fighter screen.

Perhaps a rule regarding if fighters dont engage fighters that are using the fighter screen order, the screeners get a massive bonus on the barrage roll or something. This would allow "screening" fighters to actually hold up incoming flights or so. Maybe some ratio where a screen has to be no smaller than 25% of the offending/incoming fighter flight.

You are absolutely correct - currently, fighters will just either jet past eachother or can only screen at the close/adjacent range.

That would track more along the lines of reality. Successful bombers and torpedo attack craft were only successful when the weren't trying to dodge the enemies fighter screen. Without fighter escorts the attacking craft generally were toast. So some sort of attack bonus for fighters ignoring the screening would be in order.

 

[Nerhesi]

Yup - perhaps a bonus significant enough to cause fighters/bombers to not go past screens. Probably a +4 DM to counter the negative for them to be barraged?

 

[SSWarlock]

Don't the barrage rules already cover this? The repeatable order "Fighter Screen" on page 82 of High Guard seems to or am I missing something? I'm not that up-to-speed on barrage rules.

By the way, I've finally come up with a final (?) fighter design which incorporates some of the ideas discussed in this thread. It seems to work pretty well in both Core Book combat and High Guard barrage combat, having a very decent punch combined with high survivability and multi-purpose mission capability (i.e. scouting/surface attack) as well as costing less than my original 30-ton and 40-ton designs.


FF-143 "Slugger" Space Superiority Fighter, Block B

Item (TL 15 standard)...........................Rating..............Tonnage.......Cost (MCr).......Notes

Hull..........................................................................40..................1.3...........Built at TL12 to reduce cost. Hull 1/Structure 1
Hull Reinforcement.......................................................4...................0.4...........Hull Rating +3 for a total of Hull 4/Structure 1
Streamlining....................................................................................0.13
Armor.......................................Bonded Superdense........4.98..............1.6185.......Hull Armor Factor = 15
Stealth..........................................................................................4.............-4 DM to all incoming detection/lock-on rolls
Radiation Shielding..........................................................................10.............Absorbs 1,000 rads, hardens entire vessel against EMP, +6 Armour vs. radiation
Maneuver Drive sT..................................9 Gs.................9.75.............52..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Power Plant sT.............................................................6.525...........40..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Fuel (1 day duration)......................................................0.35.............0.00175
High Burn Thruster sF..............................3 Gs.................0.45..............2.4............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
HBT Fuel.....................................................................0.405............0.00405......Duration = Two one-hour burns and one 42-minute burn
Barbette for Single Plasma Gun............3D6+5 Damage...........5................10..............Advanced construction (Accurate, Long Range)
Fire Control for Barbette................................................1..................0
Cockpit......................................................................1.5...............0.2
- Specialised Navigation Computer..........Computer/5..............................0.1551........Intelligent Interface, Intellect/2, Expert Navigation/3
- Main Computer..................................Model 5................................10...............Program Rating: 25
- Holographic Controls.......................................................................0.05..........Cockpit counts as "optimized", +2 bonus to Initiative
- Basic Military Sensor Suite............................................2..................1
- Enhanced Signal Processing...........................................2..................8..............+4 DM all Sensor rolls; +2 to Full & Limited range bands
Armored Bulkheads.......................................................2.013.............0.4026........Protects M-drive, Power Plant & Fuel, Cockpit, & Basic Military Sensor Suite
Cargo........................................................................0.027
SubTotal.....................................................................................141.662

Software
Maneuver/0....................................................................................0
Evade 1/10.....................................................................................1
Fire Control 3/15..............................................................................6
Library/0........................................................................................0

Total..........................................................................................148.662

 

[Nerhesi]

Id get rid of rad shielding - too expensive and you're already immune to most rad effects due to your armor.

I do not think you got your tonnage correct for the armor, or the high burn thrusters though. I think you're way under tonnage on both.

Bonded Superdense is 5% per 6 points, so at 15 points, its 12.5% of the hull, which is 6 tons, no?

High Burn thruster is off too I believe. Your high-burn thruster should be similar the G value of the final G you want, then it's 20% of that, with tons tons tons of weight needed for fuel. Basically - forget about it, not useful and too heavy. If your craft is 10 G, and the high G thruster you want to give you 10 G, it'll be 20% of the weight of the 10 G drive, and it'll take 25% of that size for 1 hour of usage.

Finally, your biggest and most massive cost is shrinking drive and powerplant size. Completely not worth the extra 1 G to pretty much double your cost. Again - assuming you are making a mass production version

 

[SSWarlock]

Very good points, Nerhesi. I'll look at my numbers; I likely made some transcription errors. I do like the rad shielding for making the craft EMP-proof but I may have been operating under bad assumptions as to how common that is. I've been using too many house rules for too long; some of them have been ingrained and I'm thinking the EMP effects from nuke missiles is one of them.

Update: My armor formula was indeed off and has been corrected.

Regarding the numbers for the HBT and its fuel, I calc'd the HBT itself as being based on the sF M-drive, which gives a performance of 3Gs for a base tonnage of 3 at a cost of MCr6. The HBT displacement formula would then be (3*0.2). I think the "under tonnage" you may be seeing is due to my use of the Advanced Tech miniaturization rules for M-Drives to reduce the HBT displacement down to 75% of its base tonnage, changing the formula to 3*0.2*0.75 to get a product of 0.45 tons. The use of miniaturization rules for HBTs may be incorrect but unfortunately I haven't found anything in the books that clarify this. Doesn't mean it isn't there; I just haven't found it (yet).

Since the HBT fuel isn't affected by Advanced Tech and it's based on the displacement of the HBT it serves, I calc'd the amount of fuel by using the non-miniaturized version of the drive. So the fuel formula would be (3*0.2)*0.25.

:idea:

Oh my. I may have been misinterpreting the rules. When Scoundrels said "Fuel equal to 25% of the mass of the drive..", I thought it was referring to the non-miniaturized HBT. However, the preceding sentence does state the amount of fuel required depends "..on the thruster's drive number." Upon careful thought, that would seem to be the tonnage of the original sF M-Drive. Which is 3 tons, making the Fuel Use (F) formula (F=3*0.25*B) where B = the number of HBT burns in hours. So the minimum fuel for a 1-hour 3G burn would be 3*0.25 or 0.75 ton

Ouch. Looks like HBTs are indeed limited to non-small craft vessels. Or at least their fuel requirement puts them out of reach of a 40-ton craft .

Well, this is what's called "a successful failure". My design still needs to be tweaked but I'm learning a lot about small craft design and getting defined what seems to be the most effective fighter design for its cost the MongTrav rules allow. Which is my primary goal.

 

[Nerhesi]

Very good points, Nerhesi. I'll look at my numbers; I likely made some transcription errors. I do like the rad shielding for making the craft EMP-proof but I may have been operating under bad assumptions as to how common that is. I've been using too many house rules for too long; some of them have been ingrained and I'm thinking the EMP effects from nuke missiles is one of them.

Update: My armor formula was indeed off and has been corrected.

Regarding the numbers for the HBT and its fuel, I calc'd the HBT itself as being based on the sF M-drive, which gives a performance of 3Gs for a base tonnage of 3 at a cost of MCr6. The HBT displacement formula would then be (3*0.2). I think the "under tonnage" you may be seeing is due to my use of the Advanced Tech miniaturization rules for M-Drives to reduce the HBT displacement down to 75% of its base tonnage, changing the formula to 3*0.2*0.75 to get a product of 0.45 tons. The use of miniaturization rules for HBTs may be incorrect but unfortunately I haven't found anything in the books that clarify this. Doesn't mean it isn't there; I just haven't found it (yet).

Since the HBT fuel isn't affected by Advanced Tech and it's based on the displacement of the HBT it serves, I calc'd the amount of fuel by using the non-miniaturized version of the drive. So the fuel formula would be (3*0.2)*0.25.

:idea:

Oh my. I may have been misinterpreting the rules. When Scoundrels said "Fuel equal to 25% of the mass of the drive..", I thought it was referring to the non-miniaturized HBT. However, the preceding sentence does state the amount of fuel required depends "..on the thruster's drive number." Upon careful thought, that would seem to be the tonnage of the original sF M-Drive. Which is 3 tons, making the Fuel Use (F) formula (F=3*0.25*B) where B = the number of HBT burns in hours. So the minimum fuel for a 1-hour 3G burn would be 3*0.25 or 0.75 ton

Ouch. Looks like HBTs are indeed limited to non-small craft vessels. Or at least their fuel requirement puts them out of reach of a 40-ton craft .

Well, this is what's called "a successful failure". My design still needs to be tweaked but I'm learning a lot about small craft design and getting defined what seems to be the most effective fighter design for its cost the MongTrav rules allow. Which is my primary goal.

Hey! That is why we spend lots of time on this post and going over designs Although it's funny as me and you are now at nearly identical designs! I really should get a move on designing those gunboats.. (60+ ton)

Im really interested in creating a gun-boat for a mini-sub-adventure that my team gets stuck on. Like Drafted into service by some minor coalition or planets having a war over orbital control with only small-craft available.

 

[SSWarlock]

A massive amount of thanks, Nerhesi. Everyone's comments have been of great help and yours especially so.

A fully-tricked out fighter like the one below could use a High Burn Thruster but the best it could mount (assuming HBTs can use the Advanced Tech miniaturization rules) would provide it an additional 3Gs acceleration for no more than 15 minutes at a cost of megacredits. Not worth it.

I decided to keep the Rad Shielding because the rules on armor don't describe how armor defends against an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and I wanted the entire craft protected, not just the main computer using the "fib" option. It can make for some roleplaying opportunities and color; I've been bitten too many times by GMs who use EMP to take out sensors even when a ship's computer is fully protected.

With the removal of the useless HBT and fuel, I was left with 0.862 ton of space. Since I hated to see over three-quarters of a ton on a fighter declared as "Cargo", I decided to replace most of the empty space with an escape pod from page 111 of the Traveller Core Rulebook. After all, when a fighter gets so shot up that staying with it could kill the pilot, the pilot is trained to eject, right? Anyone feel it's a good idea to eject into the inky black vastness of space in just a pressure suit with maybe a 30-minute air supply? Yeah, right. Conceptually similar to (but not nearly as functional as) a Detachable Bridge, an escape pod integrated into the cockpit would allow a pilot at least a better chance of survival even if it means he's captured. Of course, if the fighter takes a triple hit to the "Bridge", it's a moot point but if the pilot can't take a joke, he shouldn't have joined the Navy.

Finally, I changed the name of my design back to the original. The name just seems to fit.

And so.."Space superiority fighter..Take Five..uh, Six?..whatever."

FF-143 "Wolverine" Space Superiority Fighter (corrected)

Item (TL 15 standard)...........................Rating..............Tonnage.......Cost (MCr).......Notes

Hull..........................................................................40..................1.3...........Built at TL12 to reduce cost. Hull 1/Structure 1
Hull Reinforcement.......................................................4...................0.4...........Hull Rating +3 for a total of Hull 4/Structure 1
Streamlining....................................................................................0.13
Armor.......................................Bonded Superdense........5..................1.6185.......Hull Armor Factor = 15
Stealth..........................................................................................4.............-4 DM to all incoming detection/lock-on rolls
Radiation Shielding..........................................................................10.............Absorbs 1,000 rads, hardens entire vessel against EMP, +6 Armour vs. radiation
Maneuver Drive sT..................................9 Gs.................9.75.............52..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Power Plant sT.............................................................6.525...........40..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Fuel (1 day duration)......................................................0.35.............0.00175
Barbette for Single Plasma Gun............3D6+5 Damage...........5................10..............Advanced construction (Accurate, Long Range)
Fire Control for Barbette................................................1..................0
Cockpit......................................................................1.5...............0.2
- Specialised Navigation Computer..........Computer/5..............................0.1551........Intelligent Interface, Intellect/2, Expert Navigation/3
- Main Computer..................................Model 5................................10...............Program Rating: 25
- Holographic Controls.......................................................................0.05..........Cockpit counts as "optimized", +2 bonus to Initiative
- Basic Military Sensor Suite............................................2..................1
- Enhanced Signal Processing...........................................2..................8..............+4 DM all Sensor rolls; +2 to Full & Limited range bands
- Integral Escape Pod.....................................................0.5...............0.1
Armored Bulkheads.......................................................2.263.............0.4526........Protects M-drive, Power Plant & Fuel, Cockpit, Escape Pod, & all Sensors
Cargo........................................................................0.112
SubTotal.....................................................................................139.40795

Software
Maneuver/0....................................................................................0
Evade 1/10.....................................................................................1
Fire Control 3/15..............................................................................6
Library/0........................................................................................0

Total..........................................................................................146.40795


An interesting option for the craft above would be to replace the barbette, fire control, and Enhanced Signal Processing suite with a 7-ton Countermeasures Suite. This would be the "EF-143 Wild Weasel", or sensor jammer, variant of the fighter that could accompany the armed version into combat.

 

[Nerhesi]

Looks good and awesome

If the wild weasel/improved countermeasures could interfere with normal gunnery (not just lock-ons), I'd be all over that! If you did drop them, you could probably drop like 50 MCR off the cost - damn upgraded drives are expensive! Oh - and structure reinforcement.

But then it would be as cool

Cool though - funny enough, that design is right inbetween my two designs.

The cheapo 85 Mcr: -1 structure, no enhanced sensors, no armored bulkheads
Yours - 146 Mcr (above)
The Aces Only Version - 170 Mcr, no enhanced sensors, but +1 G, Fire-Control 5

Ok ok, on to gunboats

 

[SSWarlock]

Looks good and awesome

If the wild weasel/improved countermeasures could interfere with normal gunnery (not just lock-ons), I'd be all over that! If you did drop them, you could probably drop like 50 MCR off the cost - damn upgraded drives are expensive! Oh - and structure reinforcement.

Yeah, upgraded drives really put a dent on one's budget but they do come in handy.

Another variant I've thought of is the Fighter/Bomber equivalent which replaces the barbette with a turret version of the upgraded plasma gun then uses the recovered weapon slot to carry a nuclear torpedo. It should even give back a bit more space for cargo. Gah. Just hate to think about "cargo" on a fighter. Kinda like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

Still, put the dedicated fighter, wild weasel, and fighter/bomber in a combined force and any target could be in for a world of hurt.

 

[Nerhesi]

Looks good and awesome

If the wild weasel/improved countermeasures could interfere with normal gunnery (not just lock-ons), I'd be all over that! If you did drop them, you could probably drop like 50 MCR off the cost - damn upgraded drives are expensive! Oh - and structure reinforcement.

Yeah, upgraded drives really put a dent on one's budget but they do come in handy.

Another variant I've thought of is the Fighter/Bomber equivalent which replaces the barbette with a turret version of the upgraded plasma gun then uses the recovered weapon slot to carry a nuclear torpedo. It should even give back a bit more space for cargo. Gah. Just hate to think about "cargo" on a fighter. Kinda like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

Still, put the dedicated fighter, wild weasel, and fighter/bomber in a combined force and any target could be in for a world of hurt.

Think of Cargo-Space as room for the lunchbox. Thats about what 0.15 or 0.25 remaning volume is anyways.

 

[SSWarlock]

Think of Cargo-Space as room for the lunchbox. Thats about what 0.15 or 0.25 remaning volume is anyways.

LOL. The poor buggers do need to eat at some point during those 24-hour long missions, don't they?

By the way, I decided to design the variants of my final space superiority fighter. The details are below. Interestingly, I'm not sure how effective the electronics warfare version would be. Still, all three were a fun mental exercise.


EF-143 "Wild Weasel" Electronic Warfare Fighter

An electronics warfare version of the FF-143 "Wolverine", the "Wild Weasel" is designed with slightly less hull reinforcement in order to mount a powerful countermeasures suite which allows it to degrade enemy sensors in support of dedicated attack craft. The original plasma gun barbette has been replaced with a triple turret mounting an Accurate, Long Range plasma gun as well as a sandcaster. The sandcaster is used to launch up to fifteen Chaff containers to provide additional degradation of enemy sensors.

Item (TL 15 standard).......................Rating..................Tonnage.......Cost (MCr).......Notes
Hull...................................................40.......................................1.3................Built at TL12 to reduce cost. Hull 1/Structure 1
Hull Reinforcement......................................................2.667.............0.2667...........Hull Rating +2 for a total of Hull 3/Structure 1
Streamlining..................................................................................0.13
Armor.......................................Bonded Superdense......5..................1.6185............Hull Armor Factor = 15
Stealth........................................................................................4...................-4 DM to all incoming detection/lock-on rolls
Radiation Shielding........................................................................10...................Absorbs 1,000 rads, hardens entire vessel against EMP, +6 Armour vs. radiation
Maneuver Drive sT................................9 Gs.................9.75..............52..................Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Power Plant sT...........................................................6.525............40...................Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Fuel (1 day duration)...................................................0.35................0.00175
Triple Turret..................................................................................1
- Single Plasma Gun........................2D6+4 Damage...............................5...................Advanced construction (Accurate, Long Range)
- Single Sandcaster.........................................................................0.25
Fire Control for TUrret.................................................1...................0
Sandcaster Magazine...................................................0.75...............0.0075.............Cost is for fifteen Chaff rounds
Cockpit....................................................................1.5................0.2
- Specialised Navigation Computer......Computer/5.................................0.1551.............Intelligent Interface, Intellect/2, Expert Navigation/3
- Holographic Controls......................................................................0.05................Cockpit counts as "optimized", +2 bonus to Initiative
- Countermeasures Suite..............................................7.................25.....................+4 DM all jamming rolls
- Enhanced Signal Processing.........................................2..................8.....................+4 DM all Sensor rolls; +2 to Full & Limited range bands
- Integral Escape Pod...................................................0.5...............0.1
Main Computer.................................Model 5.................................10......................Program Rating: 25
Armored Bulkheads......................................................2.9375..........0.5875................Protects M-drive, Power Plant & Fuel, Cockpit, Escape Pod, & all Sensors
Cargo.......................................................................0.02
Waste Space..............................................................0.0005
SubTotal..................................................................................159.66705

Software
Maneuver/0.................................................................................0
Evade 1/10..................................................................................1
Fire Control 3/15...........................................................................6
Library/0.....................................................................................0

Total.......................................................................................166.66705




FM-143A "Quickhatch" Torpedo Fighter

A bomber variant of the FF-143 "Wolverine", the "Quickhatch" incorporates all the defensive architecture of the original "Wolverine" while replacing the basic military sensor suite with an Advanced version. The plasma gun barbette has been replaced with a turret-sized version which is just as accurate and long-ranged as the original. The weapon size downgrade was implemented in order to reallocate the regained space to an internal torpedo mount and its accompanying fire control. The most common torpedo type carried has a High Yield nuclear warhead and is designed to be resistant to point-defense fire.

Item (TL 15 standard).......................Rating..................Tonnage.......Cost (MCr).......Notes
Hull...................................................40.......................................1.3................Built at TL12 to reduce cost. Hull 1/Structure 1
Hull Reinforcement......................................................4..................0.4................Hull Rating +3 for a total of Hull 4/Structure 1
Streamlining..................................................................................0.13
Armor......................................Bonded Superdense.......5..................1.6185............Hull Armor Factor = 15
Stealth........................................................................................4...................-4 DM to all incoming detection/lock-on rolls
Radiation Shielding........................................................................10...................Absorbs 1,000 rads, hardens entire vessel against EMP, +6 Armour vs. radiation
Maneuver Drive sT..............................9 Gs....................9.75.............52...................Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Power Plant sT............................................................6.525...........40...................Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Fuel (1 day duration).....................................................0.35.............0.00175
Double Turret................................................................................0.5
- Single Plasma Gun.........................2D6+4 Damage.............................5...................Advanced construction (Accurate, Long Range)
Fire Control for Turret...................................................1.................0
Internal Mount: One Torpedo..................6D6....................2.5..............0.03...............Cost is for one High Yield, Resilient nuclear torpedo
Fire Control for Torpedo.................................................1................0
Cockpit......................................................................1.5..............0.2
- Specialised Navigation Computer......Computer/5.................................0.1551............Intelligent Interface, Intellect/2, Expert Navigation/3
- Holographic Controls......................................................................0.05..............Cockpit counts as "optimized", +2 bonus to Initiative
- Advanced Military Sensor Suite.......................................3................2..................+1 DM all jamming rolls
- Enhanced Signal Processing............................................2................8..................+4 DM all Sensor rolls; +2 to Full & Limited range bands
- Integral Escape Pod......................................................0.5..............0.1
Main Computer.................................Model 5...................................10.................Program Rating: 25
Armored Bulkheads........................................................2.8125..........0.5625...........Protects M-drive, Power Plant & Fuel, Cockpit, Escape Pod, & all Sensors
Cargo.........................................................................0.0625
SubTotal....................................................................................136.04785

Software
Maneuver/0..................................................................................0
Evade 1/10...................................................................................1
Fire Control 3/15............................................................................6
Library/0......................................................................................0

Total........................................................................................143.04785




FM-143B "Quickhatch B" Torpedo Fighter

The "Quickhatch B" was conceived as a close-range brawler and, as such, is a "Quickhatch A" which has been modified to carry a harder-hitting ortillery torpedo. The computer system has been upgraded to a Model 7 with a more capable Fire Control software package that will help improve the ortillery torpedo's performance in space combat. The ortillery torpedo itself, like its nuclear counterpart, has a High Yield warhead and is designed to be resistant to point-defense fire. Finally, in keeping with its mission, the craft's turret-based plasma gun has been replaced with one that is both Long Range and Very High Yield.

Item (TL 15 standard).......................Rating..............Tonnage.......Cost (MCr).......Notes
Hull...................................................40.......................................1.3............Built at TL12 to reduce cost. Hull 1/Structure 1
Hull Reinforcement......................................................4..................0.4............Hull Rating +3 for a total of Hull 4/Structure 1
Streamlining..................................................................................0.13
Armor......................................Bonded Superdense.......5..................1.6185........Hull Armor Factor = 15
Stealth........................................................................................4...............-4 DM to all incoming detection/lock-on rolls
Radiation Shielding........................................................................10..............Absorbs 1,000 rads, hardens entire vessel against EMP, +6 Armour vs. radiation
Maneuver Drive sT..............................9 Gs....................9.75.............52..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Power Plant sT............................................................6.525...........40..............Advanced construction (75% std. tonnage)
Fuel (1 day duration).....................................................0.35.............0.00175
Double Turret................................................................................0.5
- Single Plasma Gun.........................2D6+4 Damage.............................5...............Advanced construction (Long Range, Very High Yield)
Fire Control for Turret...................................................1.................0
Internal Mount: One Torpedo.................8D6.....................2.5..............0.24...........Cost is for one High Yield, Resilient ortillery torpedo
Fire Control for Torpedo.................................................1................0
Cockpit......................................................................1.5..............0.2
- Specialised Navigation Computer......Computer/5.................................0.1551.........Intelligent Interface, Intellect/2, Expert Navigation/3
- Holographic Controls......................................................................0.05...........Cockpit counts as "optimized", +2 bonus to Initiative
- Advanced Military Sensor Suite.......................................3................2...............+1 DM all jamming rolls
- Enhanced Signal Processing............................................2................8...............+4 DM all Sensor rolls; +2 to Full & Limited range bands
- Integral Escape Pod......................................................0.5..............0.1
Main Computer....................................Model 7................................30...............Program Rating: 35
Armored Bulkheads........................................................2.8125..........0.5625.........Protects M-drive, Power Plant & Fuel, Cockpit, Escape Pod, & all Sensors
Cargo.........................................................................0.0625
SubTotal....................................................................................156.25785

Software
Maneuver/0..................................................................................0
Evade 1/10...................................................................................1
Fire Control 5/25...........................................................................10
Library/0......................................................................................0

Total........................................................................................167.25785


None of the above designs have been tested in combat but they're expected to be fielded in support of flights of FF-143s as a sort of combined arms force rather than operate stand-alone.

 

[Nerhesi]

Saved us a ton! You dont need fire-control for barbettes (built in I assume).

 

[AndrewW]

Saved us a ton! You dont need fire-control for barbettes (built in I assume).

Actually, that's not covered in the rules if barbette's need fire control of if it's included in the tonnage already. Some ship designs add it, some don't.

 

[Nerhesi]

Saved us a ton! You dont need fire-control for barbettes (built in I assume).

Actually, that's not covered in the rules if barbette's need fire control of if it's included in the tonnage already. Some ship designs add it, some don't.

Can you link us where it shows some ship designs with it?

EDIT: Actually - let me help you In all the dozen or so published books with ships boasting barbettes, only one book makes the mistake of calculating barbettes at 6 tons.

Alien Module 3: Darrians. I think we can safely discount 1 in 12 or so books considering it also makes other significant mistakes (such as indicated Radiation Armor actually stops normal damage from particle, fusion and nuclear weaponry).

Barbettes are 5 tons - fire control included (at least the barbettes that are listed at 5 tons...)

 

[Sigtrygg]

So why do bays need to allocate 1 ton to fire control if barbettes don't.

Either they all do or none do.