5. Marco teórico
5.5 Tipos y análisis de materiales
The following new “Pocket WarShips” refl ect new DropShips that recently debuted or came into noteworthy use during the past few years of the Jihad.
INTERDICTOR-CLASS POCKET WARSHIP
Following the naval defeats handed to them at Tharkad and Arc-Royal, the Word of Blake began taking steps to replenish their diminishing naval forces. While much of this eff ort included the outfi tting of new “Q-Ships” such as the Union and the Mule, the Word also took advantage of newer technology just entering production. Though research and development was swift, development of the Interdictor-class Pocket WarShip was not fi nished until some time in 3073. In 3074, the fi rst of these new ground-up designs was spotted over Gallery, leading the Blakist forces there to swat aside the initial meeting force.
Based in part on the widely renowned Achilles design, the Word’s engineers took the concept of a fast assault ship and expanded it, doubling the weight to hold a bevy of new equipment. Furthermore, as with many of the Word of Blake designs emerging since the start of the Jihad, the Interdictor has a sleek and fearsome appearance that is built to intimidate.
Key to the Interdictor’s success is its high thrust rate, combined with a pair of nose-mounted AR-10 capital missile tubes,
backed by one of the Word’s new light sub-capital cannons on each wing. With almost two dozen capital missiles in the ship’s magazine—some of which are sure to be equipped with nuclear warheads—only the most dedicated combat DropShips can hope to evade or outgun an Interdictor. If caught alone, the only hope most other craft will have is to surrender
immediately to an Interdictor and allow themselves to be boarded by the three dozen battle-armored troops intent on seizing or commandeering any contraband or spoils on board.
Its standard weapons armament is a largely medium-ranged mixture made almost entirely of weapon systems that debuted in the last ten years. Variable-speed pulse lasers, heavy particle projection cannons, and multi-missile systems make up the bulk of this fi repower. Even its armor is state-of-the-art heavy ferro-aluminum and is thick enough to allow it to weather the kind of incoming fi re typically reserved for the most important command ships.
Reports of a second, “sub-capital” variant on the Interdictor have also been confi rmed. Though its hull, armor, engines, and heat sinks appear outwardly identical to the original model, this variant emphasizes its capital-grade fi repower and seems more intended to destroy opponents rather than capture them.
Central to this are the nose-mounted Killer Whale and Piranha missile launchers, which are backed by a medium sub-capital cannon and twin sub-capital lasers in each wing, in addition to an assortment of heavy PPCs, variable-speed pulse lasers, and anti-missile defenses. The identical fl ight and armor profi les make it diffi cult to know which Interdictor a vessel may encounter until the fi rst volleys are fi red.
Resistance cells attempting smuggling runs have found it exceedingly hard to avoid a confrontation with an Interdictor when detected. In the Gibson system, where the fi rst
Interdictors debuted, unauthorized traffi c—including resistance reconnaissance—has been sharply reduced by a pair of these vessels. Only around thirty Interdictors have been spotted to date, mostly patrolling key systems still held by the Blakists,
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or operating with Shadow Divisions on off ensive missions.
The Word’s brief recapture of the Ruins of Gabriel in mid-3075 employed two Interdictors to brush aside the Lyran picket ships.
When the Ghost Bears later assaulted the site, the two vessels posed a signifi cant challenge for the enraged Bears, who managed to destroy only one of them before the other—heavily damaged—managed to fl ee the scene and deliver a passing nuclear attack against a portion of the Gabriel facilities.
INTERDICTOR-CLASS DROPSHIP Type: Military Aerodyne
Use: Pocket WarShip Tech: Star League Introduced: 3075 Mass: 9,400 tons Battle Value: 21,836
Dimensions
Length: 175 meters Width: 125 meters Height: 53 meters
Fuel: 400 tons (1,200 points) Tons/Burn-day: 1.84 Safe Thrust: 7 Maximum Thrust: 11 Heat Sinks: 244 (488) Structural Integrity: 25
Armor Nose: 685 Sides: 513 Aft: 342
Cargo
Bay 1: Small Craft (2) 2 Doors
Bay 2: Battle Armor troops (36 troopers) 1 Door
Bay 3: Cargo (566 tons) 2 Doors
Life Boats: 0
Escape Pods: 6 Escape Pods
Crew: 5 Offi cers, 10 Enlisted/Non-rated, 12 Gunners, 46 Bay Personnel
Ammunition: 240 rounds AMS ammunition (20 tons), 6 rounds Killer Whale ammunition (300 Tons), 14 rounds Barracuda ammunition (420 tons), 80 rounds Light Sub-Capital Cannon ammunition (40 tons), Between 396 and 468 rounds MML ammo—depending on composition (36 tons)
Notes: Equipped with 112.5 tons of Heavy Ferro-Aluminum armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Type Short Medium Long Extreme Class Nose (127 Heat)
3 Heavy PPC 5 (45) 5 (45) — — PPC
2 MML-9+Art IV
(104 rounds) 1 (14) 1 (14) 1 (14) — MML*
3 Large VSP Laser 3 (30) 2 (21) — — Pulse
2 AMS (48 rounds) 1 (6)† — — — AMS
2 AR-10
(6 KW, 14B) ** ** ** ** Capital Missile
FL/FR (62 Heat)
1 Heavy PPC 2 (15) 2 (15) — — PPC
3 MML-9+Art IV
(156 rounds) 2 (21) 2 (21) 2 (21) — MML*
3 Large VSP Laser 3 (30) 2 (21) — — Pulse
2 AMS (48 rounds) 1 (6)† — — — AMS
1 Lt. Sub-Capital Cannon
(40 rounds) 1 (10) 1 (10) 1 (10) — Capital AC
AL/AR (56 Heat)
1 Heavy PPC 2 (15) 2 (15) — — PPC
4 Large VSP Laser 4 (40) 3 (28) — — Pulse
1 AMS (36 rounds) 1 (3)† — — — AMS
Aft (66 Heat)
2 Heavy PPC 3 (30) 3 (30) — — PPC
1 MML-9+Art IV
(52 rounds) 1 (7) 1 (7) 1 (7) — MML*
3 Large VSP Laser 3 (30) 2 (21) — — Pulse
1 AMS (24 rounds) 1 (3)† — — — AMS
*MML range and damage factored as if using LRM ammo
**By missile type (Heat factored as for Killer Whale)
†Only against missiles
ARONDIGHT-CLASS POCKET WARSHIP
In a bid to reinforce its shattered naval forces, the Federated Suns has taken a page from the Word of Blake’s playbook and focused on cheaper, easier solution to WarShip construction.
Already at the forefront of such designs even before the Jihad with the prototype Excalibur Pocket WarShip and the Overlord-A3, the appearance of the Word of Blake Q-Ships and Pocket WarShip upgrades spurred FedSuns naval engineers to produce their fi rst ground-up design, the Arondight, in 3075.
Smaller than the refi tted Excalibur, the Arondight is far faster and much better armored. Built on an elongated spheroid hull, this vessel’s primary anti-WarShip weapon consists of a Kraken-T capital missile launcher, four AR-10 capital missile systems, and eight new Piranha-class sub-capital missile launchers.
Furthermore, given the ever-present threat of Blakist aerospace fi ghters armed with nuclear payloads, the new Arondight is festooned with anti-fi ghter, anti-missile systems, and even aft-mounted screen launchers to deter enemy missiles and help protect any vessels this DropShip may be escorting. Intended to operate as part of a task force, the Arondight carries no fi ghters of
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its own. The vessel counts a reinforced company of battle armor as part of the crew complement. These troops are not carried for boarding actions, but as additional defense against such attempts.
The fi rst few Arondights were rushed into service in late 3074, just in time to participate in the fi nal battles over New Avalon.
During that action, however, technical problems with the fi re control systems were revealed that rendered the capital and sub-capital missile systems unreliable, particularly when fi red in unison. Detailed after-action analysis allowed the engineers to modify the fi re-control software to compensate, and subsequent updates have further improved the eff ectiveness of the system.
Of course, one of the most important elements of the Arondight’s design is that it can be produced in quantity by almost any of the shipyards still operating in the Federated Suns.
A prime example is the Clyde Shipyards over Firgrove. Originally a basic maintenance and repair center for merchant shipping, the yards have recently expanded to begin manufacturing military DropShips. The presence of the Medusans, a mercenary command that specializes in DropShip combat, proved especially valuable to the team developing the Arondight. With two of the converted Excalibur-class pocket WarShips in their company, the Medusans’ extensive experience with the type helped shape the development of this new class. With at least three shipyards now gearing up to manufacture this vessel, it is anticipated that the AFFS may be able to deploy upwards of three squadrons of Arondights by end of the year.
ARONDIGHT-CLASS DROPSHIP Type: Military Spheroid
Use: Pocket WarShip Tech: Inner Sphere Introduced: 3075 Mass: 12,000 tons Battle Value: 28,819
Dimensions Length: 92 meters Width: 92 meters Height: 105 meters
Fuel: 250 tons (7,500) Tons/Burn-day: 1.84 Safe Thrust: 5 Maximum Thrust: 8 Heat Sinks: 200 [400]
Structural Integrity: 20
Armor Nose: 352 Sides: 322 Aft: 301
Cargo
Bay 1: Cargo (440.5 tons) 2 Doors
Bay 2: Small Craft (2) 2 Doors
Life Boats: 4 Escape Pods: 7
Crew: 5 Offi cers, 8 Enlisted, 22 Gunners, 24 Battle Armor Marines, 10 Bay Personnel
Ammunition: 10 rounds Screen Launcher ammunition (100 tons), 80 rounds Piranha ammunition (800 tons), 480 rounds Rotary AC/5 ammunition (24 tons), 384 rounds AMS ammunition (32 tons), 64 rounds Gauss ammunition (8 tons), 10 rounds Kraken-T ammunition (1,000), 10 rounds White Shark ammunition (400 tons), 16 rounds Killer Whale ammunition (800 tons), 14 rounds Barracuda ammunition (420 tons)
Notes: Equipped with 67.5 tons of ferro-aluminum armor.
Weapons: Capital Attack Values (Standard)
Arc (Heat) Type Short Medium Long Extreme Class Nose (105 Heat)
Kraken-T (10 missiles) 10 10 10 10 Capital Missile
2 ER PPC 2(20) 2(20) 2(20) — PPC
2 Gauss Rifl e
(32 rounds) 3(30) 3(30) 3(30) — Gauss
4 ER Medium Laser 2(20) 2(20) — — Laser
3 AMS (72 rounds) — — — — Point Defense
FL/FR (82 Heat) 2 AR 10
(8KW, 5WS, 7B) * * * * Capital Missile
2 Piranha (20 missiles) 6 6 6 — Sub-Capital Missile 2 ER Medium Laser 1(10) 1(10) — — Laser
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2 Rotary AC/5
(120 rounds) 4(40) 4(40) — — Autocannon
2 AMS (48 rounds) — — — — Point Defense
AL/AR (48 Heat)
2 Piranha (20 missiles) 6 6 6 — Sub-Capital Missile 3 ER Medium Laser 2(15) 2(15) — — Laser 2 Rotary AC/5
(120 rounds) 4(40) 4(40) — — Autocannon
3 AMS (72 rounds) — — — — Point Defense
Aft (35 Heat) Screen Launcher
(10 screens) — — — — Screen
2 Gauss Rifl e
(32 rounds) 3(30) 3(30) 3(30) — Gauss
4 ER Medium Laser 2(20) 2(20) — — Laser
3 AMS (72 rounds) — — — — Point Defense
*By missile type (Heat factored as for Killer Whale)