Paladin Steel Storefront

[taalismn]

Okay...starting to crack the problem one service at a time...

[taalismn]

BTW Taalismn what's that flying vehicle in the background next to the T-Ontos ? I like that one too.

>

That's the T-Ontos in tank mode...Both vehicles are fitted with the A-G/Hover propulsion option listed under the Zerkat...looks sorta like treads on the lower pic, but it's sets of hemispheres(actually spheroid units) set in an 'in-line skate' arrangement...
The 'Project Icon Mascot' sort of appeared to me and just grew on its own...I imagine the original PS Ontos project would have had something similar...a warthog-like head on tracks with six horns, no arms, and steam snorting out of its nostrils

[abtex]

I can't for the life of me remember, but I used to have a model of a US Tank or self-propelled gun, that looked a bit like the T-Ontos. It was american and I thought it was a Bulldog variant or something. It had either 6 or 8 "bazookas" hanging off it, and looked quite a bit like your creation.

I googled but couldn't find the actual model or a picture of it.>

Did you search for Ontos?

[taalismn]

I can't for the life of me remember, but I used to have a model of a US Tank or self-propelled gun, that looked a bit like the T-Ontos. It was american and I thought it was a Bulldog variant or something. It had either 6 or 8 "bazookas" hanging off it, and looked quite a bit like your creation.

I googled but couldn't find the actual model or a picture of it.


>

There were several Sherman and Chaffee tank modification kits that added rocket launchers to the turrets that might have looked a bit like an Ontos to casual memory...then there was the Scorpion light SPG...

[taalismn]

That's what the sucker was based on...started out as asimple substitution job that kinda faded from my mind..but boy did it come back with a vengeance!

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel ‘Super Jetson’ Light VTOL
“You were SUPPOSED to do a quick, covert recon of Quebec City! NOT fly your snooper down the middle of a jampacked shopping mall on the busiest thoroughfare in the city, and get every freakin’ fleur-Sammie screaming on your tail!”

The SuperJetson VTOL was built by Paladin Steel to the specifications of a Canadian contract for a light, multi-role, recon/strike VTOL with high maneuverability. The Canadian contractees supplied extensive specification and technical data, much of which came from salvaged pre-Rifts Canadian industrial sites.
The ‘Super Jetson’ is actually based on pre-Rifts Canadian plans for an advanced Avrocar Saucer, and further is an improved ‘heavyweight’ version of the earlier ‘Jetson’ VTOL(the ‘SuperJetson’ was developed to address the previous model’s problems of ordnance carriage, speed, and range). Paladin Steel has made extensive use of later technologies, including a tough, but light-weight, megadamage carbon-composite fuselage, ceramic/composite turbojet rotors, room-temperature suoerconductors, and other advances, to upgrade the design.
The main fuselage is a slightly concave disk with a central air intake/rotor, a bubble cockpit for two crewmen seated abreast in the forward edge of the disk, and a swept-back triangular wing that flares back and up. The wings are covered in photovoltiac conversion material, providing additional power and extending the aircraft’s range.
The ‘Jetson is operated like a helicopter, and is exceptionally maneuverable. It is also very quiet in operation, making it ideal for surveillance and night operations. It is too lightly armored to be effective in a strightout slugfest with enemy units, but it is fast and agile enough to perform hit and run strikes.
The SuperJetson has begun to appear in numbers with the Tundra Rangers for patrol and scout duties in the northern wilderness. Under the terms of Paladin Steel’s licensing agreement, small numbers of the aircraft have begun to appear in the GNE and on the MercTown market through the PS dealership.
Type:PS/CA--L-VTOL-2C
Class: Light Recon/Strike VTOL
Crew: 2
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 150
Reinforced Cockpit 80
Wings(2) 90 each
Height: 6.6 ft
Width: 18 ft diameter main body, wingspan 29 ft
Length: 24.5 ft
Weight: 6,000 lbs
Cargo: Small space in crew compartment for survival packs, sidearms, and a few small personal possessions. A small cargo compartment in the fuselage is roughly 2ft x5 ftx3 ft and can hold additional cargo/baggage.
Powerplant: Electric( 400 mile range) or Nuclear(w/ 5 year energy life)
Speed: Hover to 180 MPH. Maximum altitude 15,000 ft
Bonus: +2 to Dodge
Market Cost: 250,000 credits for the electric version, 750,000 credits for the nuclear
Systems of Note:
Standard Aircraft Systems, plus:

-Solar Wing---The dorsal surface of the aircraft is fitted with solar panels, and the powerplants supplanted/complemented with a Super-Solar Power System. Switching over to the electric power system drops maximum speed to 155 MPH, Flying in broad daylight, mostly unobstructed sunlight gives the batteries an 8-hour charge; cloudy and overcast days cut available power to 4 hours.

-Quiet Operation---The Jetson is incredible quiet, even in hovering mode; all that can be heard is a very low hum or shushing sound that be easily covered up by the sound of the wind, and is barely audible beyond 500 ft. Effectively Prowls at 80%

Weapons Systems:
1) Fuselage Mount Guns(2)---An internal gun can be mounted in the forward edge of the fuselage, one on either side of the cockpit.
a) Pulse Lasers
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 2d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD triple pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 600 shot battery. Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 40,000 credits
b) Ion Blasters
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 4d6 MD single shot
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload: 800 shot battery. Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 60,000 credits
c) Particle Beamers
Range:3,000 ft
Damage:1d6x10+20 MD per shot
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload: 400 shot battery. Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 95,000 credits per cannon
d)Gatling Guns
Range:4000 ft
Damage:1d6x10 MD per 40 rd burst
2d6x10 MD for a simultaneous double burst from both guns.
Rate of Fire:EPCHH. Can only fire bursts.
Payload: 2,400 rds per gun(80 bursts)
Cost: 30,000 credits per cannon
e)Mini-Missile Rifles---One of Paladin Steel’s minor triumphs of reverse-engineering has been the knock-off of the Coalition’s CCT-M20 Missile Rifle, complete down to the light laser, but modified to take advantage of PS’s advancements in lighter weight composites and ceramics. Paladin Steel has begun applying the double-barrelled weapon to a variety of platforms, from full conversion cyborgs and power armors to armored cars and hovercraft.
Range:(Mini-Missiles) Varies by Missile Type(usually about 1 mile)
(Laser) 2,000 ft
Damage:(Mini-Missiles)Varies by Missile Type
(Laser) 2d6 MD per blast
(4d6 MD for two lasers firing simultaneously).
Rate of Fire:(Mini-Missiles) Volleys of 1, 2, or 4 per launcher
(Laser) ECHH
Payload:(Mini-Missiles)20 per launcher(10 per launch tube)
(Laser) Effectively Unlimited attached to an external generator, or 20 shots per standard E-clip/30 per long E-clip as backup. The Jetson has a 100 shot battery that recharges off the main engine at 10 shots per hour during normal operations, or 20 shots per hour of idling.

2) Wing Hardpoints(4)---Each one can accommodate ONE of the following:
a)Mini-Missiles----10 shot pod
b) Short Range Missiles---2 per hardpoint
c) ‘Black Talon’ LAAM---3 per hardpoint
d)Medium Range Missile---One per hardpoint
e) Pulse Laser
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 2d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD triple pulse burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 400 shot battery. Unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 30,000 credits
f) Flare/Chaff Launcher
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher
Cost: 3,000 credits per launcher; additional flare/chaff bundles cost 200 credits each

Options:
*Cropduster---The Jetson series can be modified for cropdusting or the aerial dispensing of aerosol agents using the turbojets’ downdraft. This conversion can be used to dispense smoke, pesticides, crowd-control gases, and other chemical agents.
Range: Depending on wind conditions and operational altitude, the downdraft can generate a swath of smoke/fuming agent 100 ft wide and up to 2 miles long
Damage: Varies by Chemical Agent
Rate of Fire: Standard
Payload: Can carry up to 200 gallons of chemical agent in conformal tanks
Cost: 2,500 credits; chemicals cost extra

Variants:
*PS/CA-L-VTOL-2A ‘Jetson’---The -2A Jetson actually came BEFORE the SuperJetson, but it is often overlooked, due to its smaller size and overall less impressive performance. These shortcomings led to the development of the heavier -2C model. The Jetson is smaller and more compact; its dimensions are only 18 ft wide, 20 ft long, and 7 ft tall, weight 5,000 lbs, and it lacks the solar wing, sporting only a single dorsal fin. It is less powerful in flight, with a top speed of only 120 MPH(maximum altitude of 8,500 ft), but it is even more agile and maneuverable, especially in tight quarters, like cities(+4 to Dodge). The lack of the wing means that it can only sport the two main fuselage gun mounts. Cost: 200,000 credits

[Aramanthus]

Nice vehicle. I think we'd like several of those., We have presents for our merc units and they'd work out nicely. Nice pic! Can we have some stats for that'll little beauty.

[abtex]

Paladin Steel ‘Super Jetson’ Light VTOL

Does it come with a larger payload, So it can be used for holiday shopping?

Nice ride.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel ‘Super Jetson’ Light VTOL

Does it come with a larger payload, So it can be used for holiday shopping?

Nice ride.

Nope...But I'm thinking along the lines of larger high-altitude hovercraft and anti-grav vehicles for transport purposes...
How much holiday shopping(pounds or tons) do you need to get done?
This was an archive-dive into prospective aviation projects that never flew...It looked neat, and I figured witha little bit of wrench-work and super-high-tech, it COULD...

[abtex]

Mix between load your Canadian Bush plane and VTOL for parking in tight places. Maybe some light personal armor with light defense weaponry and strength added for mall shopping and carrying loads back to craft.

[Arnie100]

Abtex, are you going to the Phase World Shopping District? I'd bring something heavier, like maybe full-size power armor to fend off other unruly customers!

[taalismn]

:D Abtex, are you going to the Phase World Shopping District? I'd bring something heavier, like maybe full-size power armor to fend off other unruly customers!

Set aside a little cash and make a sidetrip to the sub-dimension of Arsenal...that's where all the arms manufacturers who got muscled out by Naruni hang out...Sure, you might not e able to get spare parts on the open market elsewhere as easily, but when you're at Arsenal, the reps there will be falling all over themselves to sell you stuff and cheap....
If you shop carefully and plan well, you can make like a bandit!

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel F-32P Avenger Joint Strike Fighter

“It isn’t enough just to have good anti-aircraft weapons....ground weapons are only really effective when the enemy is already over your territory, and once he’s there, he’s already won half the battle...Once in your airspace, an enemy can do just about anything; fire missiles, drop bombs, spread poisons and bioweapons, strafe civilians, drop agents, gather information, test your defenses, map your terrain...even if they turn back short of the strategic targets, they’ve won a moral victory just by being there....When your people look up, they see the enemy, not you...To truly beat an enemy air attack, you have to go up and meet him with your own aircraft....intercept him, chase him from the sky, follow him home, and compromise HIS airspace...Make him work just to get out into his own yard, and out of yours, make him worry about his civilians and what you can do while flying over his real estate...And to do that, you need aircraft to match what your enemy has...
Gentlemen, we have no such aircraft, and I am afraid we have lost half the battle there, unless we do something immediately to remedy the situation!”
----Air Marshal General Valen Keizor, of the newly formed Vermont Free State Air Force, in an address before the National Council, 103 PA.

“Thing looks like a freakin’ flyin’ GUPPY!”
“When’s the last time you saw a guppy that could fly at Mach one plus, with four five hundred pound bombs tucked up under each wing?”
----Overheard on the flight line at New Otis Air Station, Commonwealth of Massachussets, 104 PA.

The F-32P Avenger is a fighter design that was ordered by the Vermont Free State Armed Forces during the virtually explosive expansion period of 104-108, when the VFS and PS pushed their borders along the Eastern Seaboard, at a time when the Coalition States and Free Quebec were paying lipservice to their borders in their increasingly intense war for dominance in North America. With the threat of the Coalition Air Force’s fleets of new high performance fighter aircraft, and rumors of similar Free Quebec fighters in the works, the planners for the Vermont Air Force(once the Civil Air Guard) were worried that the two staples of their own forces, the GyreFalcon and the Dragonfly, would be unable to plug the holes in the expanded borders, as expansion outstripped consolidation and the extension of the air defense net. The GyreFalcon had long been the main fighter aircraft of the frontline, but it had always been considered to be akin to a light plane, or a fast attack helicopter, rather than a high-performance jet fighter, and the Dragonfly, while it had the speed and firepower, was really intended as a light bomber or assault carrier. Dual purpose aerospace craft like the AstraTiger were too expensive for groundside Air Guard units, and anyway, were still years away, while the GNE’s allies’ lines of conventional aircraft were turned down as a primary air fighter on logistical concerns(the spare parts factories being a continent away, even with the Circles of Transport).
Another consideration was that PS needed an aircraft that could easily be modified for commercial sales, to match competitors like Northern Gun and GAW, who had long held dominance over the market. This imposed another set of requorements, for hardware that could be easily modified, upgraded)or downgraded) according t the perceived greater market. However, with so many other projects---New Bath, New Boston, robots and power armors, and the Space Effort, taking up so much of the talent of PS, the Fighter Procurement Directive issued by the VFSAF got rather short shrift, and the young design teams assigned to the task of coming up with new fighter designs for submission were shorthanded on the resources to come up with wholly new designs. Furthermore, the ‘Market Bar’ put limits on the sort of innovative, overly complex, designs they could come up with, in favor of simplicity. Nevertheless, the design teams were able to come up with several different designs fairly quickly----by taking a page from their competitors, and pulling a ‘GAW’, in adapting pre-Rifts designs.
The first of the FPD submission designs to take flight was an adaptation of a pre-Rifts aircraft, the Boeing (X)F-32 Joint Strike Fighter, that had entered service with the American Empire in the early 2000’s. The F-32 JSF was, as its name suggests, a multi-service fighter-bomber that had both land-based and carrier-borne versions, the better to reduce logistical support costs and streamline development. Produced in limited numbers at the beginning of the Golden Age, and deployed with a number of naval and air guard units before the Coming of the Rifts, a few examples had managed to survive the nuking of Plattsburgh Air Station in Plattsburgh, New York, across Lake Champlain from Burlington, Vermont. Salvage teams had managed to find a few airframes, none flyable, as well as numerous technical manuals and associated data, in the remains of several bunkers near the air base.
The F-32P, as it has emerged, is a robust, not overly sophisticated(compared to the Dragonfly), aircraft with a large delta wingplan, twin canted tail fins, multi-vector 2-D engine nozzle, and a chin air intake below and behind the bubble canopy. Originally a VSTOL(very short take off and landing) aircraft that could take off with as little as 1200 feet of runway(or a high power catapult), the Avenger has been subsequently modified with forward vectoring jets, similar to the BAE Harrier, allowing it to perform true VTOL operations. The Avenger can be fitted with either a liquid-fuel(hydrogen) turbojet, or a fusion-nuclear powerplant. Some attention to stealth has also been paid; the extensive use of radar-absorbant composites in both the armor and the structure of the Avenger, combined with a low IR-signature drive exhaust, give the fighter an increased chance of confusing enemy radar and sensor-guided weaponry.
The lack of an advanced long-range Doppler radar in the rather stubby nose was considered to be a shortcoming, but a relatively minor one. To compensate, Avenger formations were often grouped with flanking EW Dragonflies or Starfire aircraft on electronic overwatch.
For armament, the Avenger has two lateral internal bomb/missile bays, two medium range AAMs for self-defense, and an internal rapid-fire cannon. If stealth is not at issue, the aircraft can be fitted with additional ordnance on four wing-mounted pylons, two on each wing. The lack of any energy weapons as standard has drawn some criticism from critics, who feel that the Avenger is overly reliant on ammunition-dependent weaponry, limiting its battle endurance in the battlefield, and the addition of self-contained/powered energy weapon pods to the list of options has only partially quieted these concerns.
Though the F-32P Avenger is not as well armed as the contemporary Grey Falcon(the standard against which most other aircraft are measured), the Avenger is considerably lighter and cheaper. The Avenger quickly entered service with both the Vermont Free State and Greater New England Joint Air Forces and the Navy, as it could be quickly produced at less expense than equal numbers of Dragonflys. By 109 PA, however, the F-36P was already losing its luster to more numerous, flexible, and available PS designs such as the -Tiger and Vixen series, and subsequent production went towards equiping auxiliary units and outside buyers/affiliates. in 108 PA, PS began supplying the New Roman Republic with F-36P Avengers for the NRR’s own armed forces. F-32Ps are still in widespread use in 112 PA, but are increasingly being transferred to second-echelon Air National Guard units and ‘air militias’. The F-32P is still used aboard many of the GNEN’s Escort Carriers due to its VTOL capabilities.

Type: PS-F-36P
Class: Jet Fighter, V/STOL
Date of Introduction: 104 PA
Crew: One
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 350
Reinforced Cockpit 100
Wings(2) 100 each
Tail Fins(2) 40 each
Height: 3.5 m
Width: 9.15 m
Length: 13.6 m
Weight: 22,100 lbs empty. 40,000 lbs fully loaded
Cargo: Small space in ejection seat rack for a survival kit and wallet-sized pouch for personal possessions
Powerplant: Liquid Fuel with 1,100 km radius of action(2,000 mile direct range) or fusion-nuclear w/ 10 year energy life
Speed: Hover to Mach 1.5. maximum altitude of 44,000 ft
Market Cost: 10 million for the liquid fuel version, 12 million credits for the nuclear powered model.
Systems of Note:
Life Support---Robot vehicle standard
Ejection Sear
Long Range Radio and Distress Beacon-Wide band and directional, radio and video transmission capabilities with a 300 mile range.
Thermo-Imaging
IR/UV Optics
Telescopic/Image Enhancement Optics
Low-Light/Nightvision system
Combat Computer: All combat aircraft are equipped with an advanced combat computer that can store and analyze data during combat with hostile forces. Data collected by the combat computer can be fed directly to the virtual environment cockpit (and/or conventional pilot HUD), which allows the system to display large amounts of data to the pilot and even highlight enemies and missile attacks with overlaid graphics.
The combat computer tracks and identifies specific enemy targets, and has a database of over 10,000 images stored in memory. The computer can identify and track up to 250 targets simultaneously, and gives the pilot the following bonuses (in addition to any others): +2 to Initiative, +1 to Strike, Parry and Dodge.
Head Up Display and Virtual Cockpit System---Early form of the advanced systems that would later be used on robot and aerospace vehicles. The extensive use of user-configurable computer-generated screen interfaces and tactical display imagery simplifies the pilot’s information proccessing tasks and control duties.
Laser Targeting: +2 to strike with range weapons.
Audio/Visual Flight Recorder

Long Range Radar-Range 90 miles and can track up to 100 targets at once. See also Combat computer for enhanced tracking.
Radar Detector and Warning System---Detects search and weapon lock radars
Motion Detector/Collision Warning System: (particularly useful for maneuvering in close quarters) 500 foot warning alarm.
ECM/ECCM---Basic scrambler system protection-Guided missiles are -1 to strike and Laser Targeting systems lose half of their bonus.

Weapons Systems:
1) 20mm Autocannon(1)---The F-32P comes standard with a rapid-fire 20mm cannon tucked up under one side of the nose.
Range: 7,000 ft
Damage: 4d4 MD single rd, 1d6x10 MD per 5 shot burst, 2d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst
Fragmentation burst does 4d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 500 rds

Option B---Alternately, buyers can elect to replace the explosive shell cannon with the same type of rapid fire rail gun (also manufactured by PS) as seen on the Grey Falcon.
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per 40 rd burst; can only fire bursts
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload: 8,000 rd internal magazine(200 bursts).
Cost: 80,000 credits

Option C---Alternately, the F-32 can also be fitted with a rapid-fire laser cannon
Range: 4,000 ft
Damage: 6d6 MD per pulse
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 400 shot battery, effectively unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 100,000 credits

Option D---A late addition to the F-32, and available to GNE air units, is a more powerful laser cannon based on the weapon fitted to the Coalition’s jet fighters(the weapon was reverse engineered from crashed examples and offered as a retrofit). This weapon eats power at a high rate, but its range and damage potential justify the expediture.
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 2d4x10 MD per burst
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 200 shot battery, effectively unlimited if nuclear powered
Cost: 200,000 credits

2)MRM Launch Racks(2)---The F-32 has two dedicated launch racks for medium range Air to Air Missiles(AAMs). The favored weapon of choice is the SkyFlash ‘brilliant’ missiles, based on CS hardware, and reverse-engineered by Paladin Steel.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-2
Payload: 2 MRMs can be carried 0n each rack for a total of 4

3)Internal Weapons Bays(2)---The Avenger has two small internal weapons bays immediately aft of the forward air intake and landing gear well, on the sides of the main fuselage. Each weapons bay can accomodate ONE of the following:
a)Mini-Missiles-------10 shot rocket pod each
b)Short Range Missiles---4 SRM launch box each
c)Medium Range Missiles---2 MRMs each

d)Bombs-----Can carry warhead equivalents of missiles, but DOUBLE the respective number, or retain the same number, and DOUBLE the damage.

e)Light Gun Pod--------Standard light autocannon spewing explosive shells
Range: 3000 ft
Damage: 5d6 MD per 10 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,000 rds(100 bursts)

f)Heavy 80 mm Cannon Pod-----Actually a heavy rail gun
Range: 19,000 ft (3.8 miles)
Damage: High Explosive(HE)----1d4x10 MD to 15 ft radius
High Explosive Anti-Tank(HEAT)---- 3d4x10 MD to 5 ft radius
Fragmentation--- 5d6 MD to 30 ft radius
Plasma----- 1d6x10 MD to 20 ft radius
(APFSDSDU)(Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot Depleted Uranium) 3d6x10 MD out to 6,600 ft, 2d4x10 MD out to maximum range
Rate of Fire: 4 shots per melee
Payload: 30 shots

h)Laser Cannon Pod--------A battery-fed pulse laser
Range:6,000 ft
Damage: 6d6 MD per shot,
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload:100 shot battery, Effectively unlimited if nuclear powered

i)Particle Beam Cannon Pod-----A light, but powerful weapon with the disadvantage of short range.
Range: 2,000 ft,
Damage: 1d4x10 MD,
Rate of Fire:EPCHH
Payload: 50 shot battery, Effectively unlimited if nuclear powered

j) EW Pod--electronic jamming system that gives radar-guided weaponry a -4 to strike the aircraft. Or it can be used offensively, to foil ALL radar-guided weaponry in a 15 mile radius(-2 to strike)

k) Chaff/Flare Pod
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is nuetralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher

l) Internal Auxiliary Fuel Tank---Added internal fuel tank that adds about 30% to the aircraft’s range. Applicable only to liquid-fueled versions

4)Wing Hardpoints(4)---The Avenger has four mounting points for slinging additional weaponry, though this slightly compromises the aircraft’s stealth capabilities and speed, due to the extra mass and drag. NO bonuses for stealth, and reduce top speed by 15%.
Note: Similar weapons, such as laser pods or rocket launchers can be fire-linked to fire as ONE SALVO. Each pylon can accomodate ONE of the following configurations:
a)Mini-Missiles-------24 shot rocket pod each
b)Short Range Missiles---5 SRM launch box each
c)Medium Range Missiles---4 MRMs each
d)Long Range Missiles---1 LRM each
f)Bombs---can carry ‘iron’ or ‘smart’ bombs; either take the equivalent missile warhead and DOUBLE the blast radius, or can carry TWICE the number of warhead equivalents as missiles
g)Weapons Dispenser(SAW)--This is essentially an oversized bomblet dispenser that can be used to bomb targets directly, ‘seed’ areas with minelets, or can launched to act as a stand-off ‘glide bomb’.
Range: SAW has an effective range of 20 miles in atmosphere Submunnitions can be launched up to 300 ft out to either side of the SAW’s flight path.
Damage: (AP Grenade) 4d6 MD to 8 ft area
(Chemical Grenade) Varies by chemical type and atmospheric conditions. A chemical grenade will generally generate a cloud of aerosol 15 ft in radius.
(HE Shell) 5d6 MD to 20 ft area
(Fragmentation Mine) 4d6 MD to 12 ft area
(Incendiary Bomb) Does 4d6 MD to 40 ft area, does an additional 2d6 MD for 1d6 melees, and 1d6 MD per melee for an additional 2d4 melees
(Angel Hair)---Does NO damage, but against conventional power generators and uncovered power lines and distribution systems, it can short out power grids, clog generator air intakes(80% effectiveness against industrial generators and internal combustion engines), and be a general nuisance to clean up.
Rate of Fire: A SAW can volley its submunitions in any combination
Payload:(Typical loadouts)
400 AP/Chemical grenades
OR
100 HE/anti-vehicle grenades
OR
100 Fragmentation Mines
OR
50 Incendiary Bombs
OR
500 spools of wire, each spool holding up to 4,000 ft of aluminum-coated filament

h)Light Gun Pod---
Range: 3000 ft(12,000 ft in space)
Damage: 5d6 MD per 10 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,000 rds(100 bursts)

i)Heavy Cannon Pod
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 4d4 MD single rd, 1d6x10 MD per 5 shot burst, 2d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst
Fragmentation burst does 4d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 500 rds

j)Laser Cannon Pod---A larger, more powerful laser weapon
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 1d4x10 MD per blast
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 100 shot battery pack

k)Drop Tanks(applicable only to liquid-fuelled versions)---The two inner Hard Points can be fitted with drop tanks, extending the range of liquid-fuelled models by an additional 200 miles per tank.

l)EW Pod--electronic jamming system that gives radar-guided weaponry a -4 to strike the aircraft. Or it can be used offensively, to foil ALL radar-guided weaponry in a 15 mile radius(-2 to strike)

m)Chaff/Flare Pod
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is nuetralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher

n)Jammer-----A mini-radio jammer, that can pump out enough multi-wavelength white noise to jam civilian band communications with 90% effectiveness, and military comms with 70% effectiveness, over a 20 mile radius.

o)Sensor Pod---Includes a Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) turret and a target illumination laser for ‘smart’ bombing and target designation. Range: 6 miles

p) Recon Pod---Standard Recon mission loadout consists of a Hycon II high-res digital imaging system able to wide-angle and record an image swath 22 miles wide by 800 miles long, with 1 ft image resolution, thermo-imaging and infra-red, low-lite enhance, and EM-band surveillance/recording.


5) Chaff/Flare Countermeasures Launchers(2)
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is nuetralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fy into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 12 per launcher, 24 total.

a) Mini-Missile Pod----each hardpoint can accommodate a 10-shot MM pod
b) Short Range Missile Launcher----each hardpoint can accommodate a 5-shot SRM launch box
c) Medium Range Missile Launcher---each hardpoint can accommodate 2 MRMs
or Canadian HERET missiles( 75 miles, 2d6x10 MD, +7 to strike)
d) Long Range Missile---each hardpoint can accommodate 1 LRM

e)Light Gunpod-----one gunpod per hardpoint
Range: 3000 ft(12,000 ft in space)
Damage: 5d6 MD per 10 rd burst(can only fire bursts)
Rate of Fire: EPCHH
Payload: 1,000 rds(100 bursts)

f) Light Autocannon----This is actually an attempt to adapt the 20mm ‘Taskin’ Infantry Cannon and ‘Waybur’ OICW’s twenty-millimeter proximity-fuzed ‘smart’ munition.
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 4d4 MD single rd, 1d6x10 MD per 5 shot burst, 2d6x10 MD per 10 rd burst
Fragmentation burst does 4d4 MD to 5 ft blast radius.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 500 rds

g)Flare/Chaff Launcher Pod--
Range: Close Defense
Damage: None; similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: 18 per launcher

h)Bombs---can carry ‘iron’ or ‘smart’ bombs; either take the equivalent missile warhead and DOUBLE the blast radius, or can carry TWICE the number of warhead equivalents as missiles

i)Light Weapons Dispenser(L-SAW)--This is essentially an oversized bomblet dispenser that can be used to bomb targets directly, ‘seed’ areas with minelets, or can launched to act as a stand-off ‘glide bomb’.
Range: SAW has an effective range of 10 miles in atmosphere Submunnitions can be launched up to 300 ft out to either side of the SAW’s flight path.
Damage: (AP Grenade) 4d6 MD to 8 ft area
(Chemical Grenade) Varies by chemical type and atmospheric conditions. A chemical grenade will generally generate a cloud of aerosol 15 ft in radius.
(HE Shell) 5d6 MD to 20 ft area
(Fragmentation Mine) 4d6 MD to 12 ft area
(Incendiary Bomb) Does 4d6 MD to 40 ft area, does an additional 2d6 MD for 1d6 melees, and 1d6 MD per melee for an additional 2d4 melees
(Angel Hair)---Does NO damage, but against conventional power generators and uncovered power lines and distribution systems, it can short out power grids, clog generator air intakes(80% effectiveness against industrial generators and internal combustion engines), and be a general nuisance to clean up.
Rate of Fire: A SAW can volley its submunitions in any combination
Payload:(Typical loadouts)
200 AP/Chemical grenades
OR
50 HE/anti-vehicle grenades
OR
50 Fragmentation Mines
OR
25 Incendiary Bombs
OR
250 spools of wire, each spool holding up to 4,000 ft of aluminum-coated filament

[taalismn]

Hmmm...'Delete' function doesn't seem to have loaded...
Oh well...thankfully I didn't adopt this little guy out...
'sic 'em, my little Redundancy Hound!
*gggrrrrrrrrr*
Gnash/SNARL!growlGROWLgrowlGGGRRRraaararrarraGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*slurpchewslurpmasticate*gggrrrrrreeeeeeee....
Good dog...

[glitterboy2098]

shoot, Taalism, your really annoying me with your constant unintentional use of stuff i had been planning to do.

first you did the Handitrac personal helper robot, which came just after me making notes about a similar drone vehicle for one of the articles i'm writing. had to go a different route with that unit.

then you did your "jetson" vehicle based on the Avrocar...which was something i had been considering writing up myself. i love the idea of the Avrocar and sometimes wonder if it would work with modern tech.

and now you do the F-32, which i had submitted to the NG netbook but never got accepted. then again, i could easily refit the stats now to be closer to the orignal design...

is this a case of great minds think alike, or are you just reading my thoughts?

[taalismn]

shoot, Taalism, your really annoying me with your constant unintentional use of stuff i had been planning to do.

first you did the Handitrac personal helper robot, which came just after me making notes about a similar drone vehicle for one of the articles i'm writing. had to go a different route with that unit.

then you did your "jetson" vehicle based on the Avrocar...which was something i had been considering writing up myself. i love the idea of the Avrocar and sometimes wonder if it would work with modern tech.

and now you do the F-32, which i had submitted to the NG netbook but never got accepted. then again, i could easily refit the stats now to be closer to the orignal design...

is this a case of great minds think alike, or are you just reading my thoughts?

Terribly sorry...
If it's any consolation, if I had telepathy, I'd be mindpeeping people I could make a tangible profit off of...not lifting game ideas off colleagues...

Because we're using existing hardware as a base for our ideas...I think Kitsune did an Avenger version, and I put off doing mine for awhile...then figured that more than one group could find the same old warbirds and model modern craft after them....

[glitterboy2098]

meh, i'm just teasing. there is only so much research material to go around, and we seem to lean towards the same tastes in game styles.

i did have to rewite a drone vehicle though. one of my articles draws alot from the Future Combat Systems concept, and i had been considering a small "packbot" like those built by iRobot. the same day, you posted your HandiTrac stuff, so looked for alternative options, and ended up basing the ground drone on the Mule Drone from FCS. Avrocar technology went into the airdrones, but those were sufficently different not to worry me.

[abtex]

Don't feel bad the day I was looking at SkinSuits on the web he posted his SkinSuits article. I too sometimes think he and others are mining our minds or we are all part of a hive mind, that helps them create their postings.

[Arnie100]

taalismn probably has a resident psychic on his payroll!

[abtex]

taalismn, is an artist. Go here to see his self portrait(s). Which is yours? How many are Library staff?

But if really pressed, I'd say the Swiveller is closest in overall attitude (and moribund physical shape)

I think is his chair is the problem, it's haunted or made for him by his future self and back to him. Or maybe his glasses are linked to some device sent back, so he will known what to post.

[taalismn]

meh, i'm just teasing. there is only so much research material to go around, and we seem to lean towards the same tastes in game styles.

i did have to rewite a drone vehicle though. one of my articles draws alot from the Future Combat Systems concept, and i had been considering a small "packbot" like those built by iRobot. the same day, you posted your HandiTrac stuff, so looked for alternative options, and ended up basing the ground drone on the Mule Drone from FCS. Avrocar technology went into the airdrones, but those were sufficently different not to worry me.

Well...there's the Cypher helicopter drone(among other ducted-fan RPVs)....I;m redoing the Canadian 'flying peanut' RPV, but bogged down on the Cypher...

[taalismn]

:lol: taalismn probably has a resident psychic on his payroll!

I wish I had that sort of budget that I could even CONTEMPLATE hiring a psychic(considering what the California crowd charge by the phone time....)

[taalismn]

taalismn, is an artist. Go here to see his self portrait(s). Which is yours? How many are Library staff?

But if really pressed, I'd say the Swiveller is closest in overall attitude (and moribund physical shape)

I think is his chair is the problem, it's haunted or made for him by his future self and back to him. Or maybe his glasses are linked to some device sent back, so he will known what to post.

Don't have a swivel chair, but I definitely gotta change the posture...three days of hunched sitting at work and now if I cough, the ribcage cramping feels like somebody took a chunk out of a lung(plagh!)

KS has aliens beaming ideas on the Republicans to him...Me? They just buzz the house and trigger the phone(you know those telemarketing calls where you pick it up early? And there's nobody there? You set it down...and five minutes later, just as you're getting comfortable...the phone goes off again with another empty message...It's aliens, I tellya!)

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel X-RLR-18 ‘Exel’ Heavy X-Ray Laser Rifle
“The Exel’s got tremendous range for a rifle, but don’t be fooled; it won’t make you invincible or invisible to a GB...Boom Gun’s got nearly twice the range and good sensors, so if it can spot you and figure out what you’re packing, that Glitterbrat can back out of your range and pound you to pieces...And even with the sensor package on the Exel, planting a beam through an eye-slit or nailing some other critical target’s a real feat...Fortunately, a shined-up Glitterboy’s an easy enough target to spot at just about ANY range, so if you can pick a spot with some real distance to where you know the GB’s gotta come, you can set up a nice long field of fire...enough to get off three-four shots that will hurt the ‘boy before he can get a bead on you...
During the last spat along the borders, that meant hiding up on hilltops overelooking valleys...at least until the GBs got wise and started climbing over the hills rather than walking between them...and having their flyboy buddies strafe the hilltops before the GBs crawled into view...Some of our unit snipers had some brave buddies of their own who’d engage the air support with LSAMs and visibile weapons like plasma-bolters...drew enemy fire and GB attention while the snipers sighted in on the latter.
But not everybody has brave and insane buddies willing to take Boom Gun fire for their partners to try to get a chrome-burning shot off. Be careful out there if you’re hunting chrome; the x-laser doesn’t make it easy, it just makes it a little easier.”

“Looks like Herman the German won’t be using his fancy new boom gun any time soon...Let’s scat before he remembers he has a radio and cries for a-support!”

When Paladin Steel learned of X-Ray laser weaponry either in existance or in development in various regions, they made the development of their own x-ray photonic weaponry a priority. Even though they themselves made and deployed several varieties of laser-resistant armor(including one unaffected by variable lasers), and bother serviced and depended on Glitterboys in the Irregular units of their military, their homeland’s proximity to Free Quebec made weapons able to overcome laser-resistant armors vital to their self-defense. With signs of a thaw in the Free Quebec-Coalition conflict, and the prospect of again facing ‘fleur-GBs on their western borders a strong probability, the GNE needed more weapons able to overcome the GBs’ armor advantage in the field. The extensive use of projectile weapons(especially the twenty-millimeter variety) throughout the GNE Regular Army was a plus, but made the front lines dependent on bulk supplies of ammunition...And in a total war situation, the Quebecois would know enough to go after ammunition depots and production plants. Energy weapons that could be recharged from a variety of sources were preferred, and PS had provided the Regular Army with the reliable Maximus VFL rifle.
The XRLR-18 is the first of PS’s production model infantry x-ray lasers, developed after no small armount of intensive research and corporate espionage. Designed for long range sniping and ‘headhunter’ missions, PS modelled the weapon after examples of the ATL-7 they’d acquired in trade with South America, but used advanced optics to increase the range and modify the beam to lase in the x-ray spectrum. The resulting weapon has great range for an infantry laser, delivers a massive amount of energy on target, and is unaffected by laser-reflective armors.
The XRLR-18 has its share of problems...it’s heavy and cumbersome, and in operation the weapon produces prodigious amounts of heat. The large cooling vanes around the barrel help disipate this somewhat, and the gunner is protected by both insulation on the handholds and by any armor he/she/it may be wearing, but of greater importance is the thermal plume created. The spike of heat can give away the sniper’s position to thermal sensors, forcing the gunner to abandon their selected position if they don’t want to draw fire. PS has attempted to alleviate the problem by adding additional romm-temperature superconductor thermal-wicking to the weapon, but the best solution so far has been a coolant piping and heat jacket, with attached portable heatsink. This adds to the carrying weight of the weapon and decreases its portability.
The XRLR-18 is available in limited numbers as a ‘specialist’ weapon used primarily by Regular Army snipers, SpecFor units, and Ranger forces. A few have been given to approved affiliates and Irregular units.
The effectiveness of the XRLR-18 has led to Paladin Steel trying to develop x-ray versions of its other laser weapons, such as the Blazer and Maximus, increasing the effectiveness of these weapons against Glitterboys and other laser resistant armors.

Weight: 30 lbs; optional heat sink system weighs another 8 lbs
Range: 6,800 ft
Damage: 2d6x10 MD per single shot; laser resistant armor does NOT apply to stopping x-ray lasers.
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 3 shots per long e-clip
Bonuses: +2 to strike on an Aimed Shot
Special Features:
*Bipod Stabilization
*-Targeting Module Package:---This sophisticated, precision sensor package is one of the most compact scope mounts to be produced by PS.
Telescopic Optics
Passive Night Vision
Thermo-Imaging
Laser Targeting: +1 to strike
‘Fuzzy Logic’ Stabilization: +1 to strike
Optional Smart Gun Link---Can be fitted for a ‘Smart Gun’ link or any other targetting interfacing.

Cost: 100,000 credits
Note: Heat-Plume--Unless shielded or screened, the X-ray laser generates a hotspot that can be readily picked up on thermal sensors(even though the beam itself is silent and invisible); +15% to Read Sensory Instruments to pinpoint the firing point in the melee after firing.
Options:
*Heat Sink System---A portable coolant pack about the size of a football, and connected to the weapon heat jacket by a coolant hose. It reduces the heat signature of the weapon, removing the heat-sig detection penalty. Firing more than ten shots consecutively, without cool-down(1d4 minutes) overloads the cooling capacity of the pack(penalties are re-instated, unless one swaps in a new HSS). Cost: 9,000 credits.

*Laser Illuminator---A barrel attachment that adds a laser illuminator function to the weapon, allowing the sniper to ‘paint’ the target for other laser-homing weapons systems. Range: 9,000 ft. Cost: 9,000 credits

*Regenerating Power Pack---PS introduces its own version of the NG Regenerating Power Pack in 111 P.A., using more advanced d-bee-donated engineering and synthetic power matrix-crystals. This 10 lb unit fits on the buttstock and provides the weapon with 18 single shots, and regenerates 4 shots per hour, up to seven times. The technology is still fairly expensive, though; a single PS RPP costs 80,000 credits, though as PS’s orbital manufactories increase production, the cost is expected to come down in coming years.

[Aramanthus]

Nice new gear! We can use this over here in the Federated States! So I guess we'll be contacting PS about adding them to our next purchases.

[taalismn]

Going to try my hand at some personal armor or semi-autonomous robots next...
but I keep coming up with naval vessels!

[abtex]

Some Paladin Steel Engineer just can not leave their work at the office. Are is a new form of home security system?

[taalismn]

Some Paladin Steel Engineer just can not leave their work at the office. Are is a new form of home security system?

Engineer Wallin...his kids complained about boogiemen...Rather than turn the matter over to the GNE State Police, he's apparently taken things into his own hands...
If it works, he's getting a raise at work...

[Aramanthus]

I have to admit that he has sold us on many projects that he is working on. Thank you for always reommending him! His name is synomius with success!

[taalismn]

His neighbors complain about the noise, though....

[abtex]

The boogiemen were real or the auto defense system thought they real and fixed the problem. Good.

[taalismn]

The boogiemen were real or the auto defense system thought they real and fixed the problem. Good.

Of course, now Santa has a problem getting to the chimney past the automatic cannon...

[abtex]

Does PS have a Musical instrument section as well?

[taalismn]

Does PS have a Musical instrument section as well?

Nope...But I'm half-done with a Dwarven Elemental-powered portable Wurlitzer that could probably be reframed/packaged for PS and give them a start...

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel ‘Skuld’-class Air Cushion Escort Corvette
(Special thanks to Jane’s Fighting Ships, Palladium Books, and the Norwegian navy for investing in such a cool-looking ship as the Skjold)

“Okay, I’ll bite..why the heck are we naming an AMERICAN patrol boat after a NORDIC goddess?”
“Why not? It’s small, it’s attractive, it’s fast, it’s cutting edge, its transportation medium is water, and it hits like a sledgehammer!”
(*Sigh*)”You know, for once I wish those rogue scholars HADN’T dumped all those pre-Rifts anime tapes on us....some of you engineers just watch too much of that stuff...”


“So what if it can’t outrun the Triax SeaBlade Interceptor? Nine times out of ten, the Skuld can blow the hell out of the Interceptor! And Wave Demons? Can’t get within range before we can blow them away! ”
----Captain Vin Callis, Penobscott Bay Coastal Patrol


The PS ‘Skuld’ PCFG is one of two new escort craft being built by Paladin Steel to protect its shipping in the wake of the shift in Coalition Navy strategy against GNE’s mercantile shipping. The ‘Skuld’ is based on plans uncovered in the remains of Old Bath for a patrol craft patterned after a pre-Rifts European(Norwegian) design called the ‘Skjold’...what the plans were doing in America is unknown, but the common presumption is that the design was being studied as a template for similar American coastal patrol craft. In any event, the design was similar enough to the Capricorn hydrofoil patrol craft and the far larger Storm Skimmer ACV Frigate that PS felt certain that they could build a craft that would meet the satisfaction of the Vermont Free State Navy for speed, power, and cost.
The Skuld was rushed into service to counter the threat of newer, faster, ships in the Free Quebec and Coalition State Navies, as well as reports from the West Coast Pacific War, where early analysis of strategies, tactics, and technologies, indicated that faster attack craft fared better against the swift Horune pirate Dreamships.
The Skuld has a rather handsome, minimalist design; a broad, wide hull resting on a flexible, contoured air cushion ‘trapped bubble’ lower ‘skirt’, with a single large superstructure/bridge tower located to the rear of the center of the upper hull. A streamlined gun turret is faired into the forward deck, as well as several retractable missile launchers. Towards the rear of the ship, what look like two turbo-jet engines are really missile drums, based on those carried by artillery support vehicles. These massive launchers reduce overall speed and maneuverability somewhat, but give the small ship a serious attack capability against larger vessels. A launch rack for PS ‘Black Talon’ Light SAMs is built onto a retractable ‘mast’ in the bridge. For recon purposes, the ‘Skuld’ carries two ‘Aquila’ drones.
The Skuld can be propelled by either gas turbines(lower top speed and less range, but lower cost) or a nuclear fusion power system. High speed was a requirement for the Skuld, as the VFSN fears commerce raids by smaller, high speed, attack craft such as the Coalition’s Wave Demon or Free Quebec’s XS-120 ‘Sea-Runners’. Unlike the Stormskimmer and the Miami-class Frigates, the Skuld CANNOT raise itself completely out of the water or travel across land; it relies on the two outer edges of its hull to act as hydrofoils rather than heavy mass, for stability at high speed. The Skuld has been often compared to an ocean-going GEV assault tank in terms of firepower.

The ‘Skuld’ was also the first operational vessel to be fitted/designated for use with the new experimental ‘SeaFire’ rocket-propelled dual mode torpedo, a weapon seemingly based on Kittani weaponry, but actually based on another pre-Rifts European design, the Russian ‘Shkval’ torpedo...capable of doing an astonishing 400 MPH!

If there is a major complaint, it is that the Skuld is grossly uncomfortable for anything other than short patrols...the cabin facilities aboard ship are small and cramped, serviced by a small head and a kitchenette. Between the buffeting at high speed, and the roar of the engines, it’s nearly impossible to get any sleep aboard the ship on an extended patrol or escort. The other major complaint is that the Skuld is ‘slippery’ on the water when at full speed and is almost completely out of the water; the ship requires a firm and attentive hand at the wheel, if the ship isn’t to drift quickly off true course. However, with an experienced helmsman, this tendency to slip and stray can be used to the ship’s advantage, allowing the craft to nimbly dodge and dance across the water(hence the bonuses below).

Type: PS-PCFG-11
Class: Air Cushion Attack/Patrol Boat/Light Corvette
Date of Introduction: 108 PA
Crew: 15
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 1,000
Bridge 300
Forward Gun Turret 150
Forward Missile Launchers(4) 65 each
Rear Missile Launchers(2) 150 each

Height/Draught: 7.5 ft cruise, 2 ft on air cushion
Width/Beam: 44.3 ft
Length: 150 ft
Weight: 270 tons
Cargo: Up to 5 tons of provisions
Powerplant: Gas Turbine ( 70 MPH maximum speed, 3,000 mile range) OR Nuclear Fusion w/ 15 year energy life
Speed: 120 MPH on air cushion drive, 45 MPH conventional motoring)
Bonuses: +3 to Dodge. +1 to strike with all weapons systems.
Market Cost: As yet unavailable to the Black Market, limited to GNE and its allies. A fully equipped Skuld would cost 25 million credits or more with all systems.
Systems of Note:
*Long Range Radar---100 miles
*Long Range Radio--- 100 mile range
*Sonar-------80 miles
When traveling at 60+ MPH, the sonar is effectively useless(-30% to Read Sensory Instruments skill to read the sonar display), because the skimmer drive and air cushion provide too much interference.
*Limited Life Support---The main crew compartments can be sealed airtight and supplied with air conditioned tanked air for up to 48 hours, or filtered external air for 4 days.


Weapons Systems:
1) Forward Gun Turret---Originally designated for a rapid-fire 57mm cannon, but can be fitted with any ONE of the following:
a) 80mm Mass Driver Cannon---Gauss cannon lobbing 80 mm shells
Range: (Direct Fire) 19,000 ft ( 3.6 miles)
(Indirect Fire) 46,000 ft(9 miles)(-2 to strike)
Damage:(Armor Piercing) 1d6x10 MD (no blast radius)
(APSD) 2d6x10 MD(no blast radius)
(Fragmentation) 1d4x10 MD ( 30 ft blast radius)
(High Explosive) 1d6x10 MD(20 ft blast radius)
(Plasma) 3d6x10 MD(15 ft blast radius)
Rate of Fire: Six times per melee
Payload: 120 shells

b) Plasma Pulse Cannon---A multimode PS design that can fire either a straight stream of plasma, or a plasma ‘torpedo’ with area of effect
Range:(Stream) 4,000 ft
(Pulse Torpedo) 5 miles
Damage:(Stream) 4d6x10 MD per blast
(Pulse Torpedo) 2d4x10 MD to 15 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire:(Stream) Five times per melee
(Pulse Torpedo) Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Double-Barreled Long Range Ion Cannon---A fairly basic, but high powered, ion energy weapon
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 1d4x10 MD single blast, 2d4x10 MD double blast(1 attack)
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee, per barrel
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

d) Heavy Blue-Green Pulse Laser(Version 1a)---Based on an Orbital killsat weapon, adapted for sea-level use.
Range: 2 miles
Damage: 3d6 MD single blast, 6d6 MD double blast, 1d4x10 MD triple blast(1 attack)
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited


2) “Sea Fire” Rocket-Torpedo Launchers---The equivalent of a Heavy Torpedo with a sea-skimming airborne attack mode.. The Sea Fire CAN be programmed at the end of its run to use its last remaining propellant to leap out of the water to jump anti-torpedo defenses and perform a ‘pop-up’ ‘death from above’ attack on the decks of a ship. These launchers are set into the forward deck of the ship and normally set flush into it, until firing, when they tilt up, revealing themselves.
The Sea Fire is actually based on a pre-Rifts Russian design for a rocket-powered torpedo, the ‘Shklav’, which used a special ‘shockwave conduit’ to produce a ‘water vacuum’ or ‘air skin’ along the body of the torpedo, thus streamlining its movements. The major problem with the torpedo was, at least initially, that the high speed and ‘air skin’ prevented the effective use of a conventional homing sensor head...a problem that was solved by giving the torpedo the ability to slow down periodically, take sensor readings, and re-orient itself on the target.
PS modified the design with data they reverse engineered from study of captured Kittani weapons to incorporate a low power Magfield ‘skin’, double the speed of the weapon, and allow the Sea Fire to also be used in an SSM mode. This was extremely difficult, as the handling characteristics with regard to control surfaces and thrust ratios between missiles and torpedoes are rather different, but PS has managed to give the Sea Fire a fair degree of accuracy both in and above the water. Of course, the weapon is twice as expensive as a normal MRM, but now has the option of being used as either a sea-skimming weapon, or a deep-diving attack projectile. How far PS will ultimately develop this technology remains to be seen, but with the deterioration of the Grand Banks Accord, and the anticipated renewal of hostilities from Atlantis, naval weapons technology has priority in future development.
Range:(Underwater) 20 miles
(Air) 75 miles
Speed:(Underwater) 400 MPH
(Air) Mach 3
Damage: 4d6x10 MD
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2, 3, 4, 6, or 8 (all)
Payload: 8
Bonuses: (Torpedo)Because of the torpedoes’ higher speed and advanced targeting systems, the Sea Fire doesn’t suffer the same range and accuracy penalties as conventional torpedoes. The Sea Fire has a +1 to strike, and a +3 to strike within 3,000 ft of the target.
(Missile)---Not quite as accurate as a Harpoon III, but more powerful. +3 to strike

3) (Optional)Multi-Missile Pods (2) --- These massive launchers give the Skuld a bite that’s way out of proportion to the little craft’s size.
Penalty: Carrying these launchers is offered as an OPTION, because their weight and placement impose a slight speed and handling penalty of -25 MPH to top speed, and a -1 to Dodge.
Note also that the Skuld lacks electronics with sufficient range to make full use of the longer ranged missiles, so it must either make use of firing data supplied from other vehicles/sources, or fire preprogrammed missiles(like cruise missile ground-navigating radar systems).

a)LRM Pod (optional)
Range: Varies with missile type
Damage: Varies with missile type.
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1-10
Payload: 20 LRMs per launcher.

b. MRM Pod (optional)
Range: Varies with missile type
Damage: Varies with missile type.
Rate of Fire: From one to 25 MRMs
Payload: 50 MRMs per launcher.

c. SRM Pod (optional)
Range: Varies with missile type
Damage: Varies with missile type.
Rate of Fire: From one to 40 SRMs
Payload: 80 SRMs per launcher.

1d. MiniM Pod (optional)
Range: Varies with missile type
Damage: Varies with missile type.
Rate of Fire: From one to 45 MiniMs can be fired in one volley,
Payload: 160 MMs per launcher !

(Optional)----Long Range Anti-Shipping/Attack Missiles---If not carrying the heavy missile pods listed above, the default armament consists of two quad-launchers for sea-skimming anti-shipping missiles. Though this marginally increases the speed and performance of the Skuld, most crews prefer to sacrifice some of the Skuld’s tremendous speed in favor of the heavier fire power. Any LRM type can be used, but Harpoon IVs and
Range: Varies by Missile Type
Damage: Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2, or 4
Payload: 4 per launcher, 8 total

4)Light Anti-Aircraft Missile Launcher---Mounted on an extendable ‘broomstick’ in the Bridge, is a launcher for firing close-defense manpac PS ‘Black Talon’ LSAMs...’the smartest little missiles in all GNE!”.
Range: 3 miles
Damage: 3d4x10 MD to 40 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3, 4, or 6
Payload: 12
Bonus: +5 to strike, and gets TWO attempts to strike the target(agile enough to loop back on a target and try again)

5)LASRW-8 Anti-Submarine Mortars---Mounted in the rear of the ship, between the missile launchers, is a light, rocket-propelled depth charge launcher.
Range: 4,000 ft, 1,000 ft maximum depth
Damage: 7d6x5 MD to 50 ft radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,4, 5, 8, or 16
Payload:LASRW-8: 8 rounds
Must be manually reloaded.

6)Pulse Lasers(2)---Mounted in mini-turrets on either side of the main bridge are two rapid fire pulse lasers, adapted from the Free Quebec Q2-30 Rapid-Fire Laser(known as the PSQ2-30). Aside from stylistic differences, linkage to the ship’s power supply, and placement in a stabilized firing rig, the weapon is identical to the original Free Quebec weapon. See Rifts, Free Quebec, pg. 46-47 for details.
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD short burst(5 shots), 1d6x10 MD medium burst(20 shots), 2d6x10 MD long burst(40 shots)(2 attacks), 4d6x10 MD heavy burst(80 shots, and uses 4 attacks). 3d6 MD to 4d4 targets in a four-attack spray.
Rate of Fire: EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited, tied in to the ship’s nuclear power supply. If need be, the weapons can be dismounted and powered by their own e-clips(penalties for the infantry weapon, as well as E-clip limitations, apply as normal once the weapon is removed from the mini-turret).
Bonus: +3 to strike with single/short bursts, +2 strike with medium and long bursts, and +1 strike with full melee bursts, courtesy of the stabilized firing rigs and targeting systems. NO bonuses on a spray

7)Countermeasure Launchers(2)----------Paladin Steel has adopted a series of standard countermeasure packages for use aboard their vessels. Notably they have adapted the US Navy Mk 38 Rapid Bloom Off-Board Countermeasures(RBOC-2) launcher system and the Replica radar signature decoy system. The RBOC-2 fires rocket-mortar shells of flares and chaff up to 1.25 miles away, to heights of 3,000 ft(the better to fool missiles coming in over the horizon), and fires clouds of chaff from deck mortars at closer ranges to confuse other guided weapons).
A variant on this system includes attaching active sonar decoys or “Screamers” to attract or confuse acoustic sensors and homing torpedoes.
The Skuld has 2 RBOC mortar banks(2 2 amidships)
Range: The RBOC can toss decoy bundles 1.25 miles, and to an altitude of 3,000 ft
Damage: None. The RBOC is too inaccurate to be used as an effective weapon(oh, it could probably blow a person off the deck if they were standing too close, but that goes without saying) Effects are similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is neutralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
(Flare/Chaff)Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: Flare/Chaff launchers typically have 10 shells each.

[taalismn]

Paladin Steel Thorne Corvette

“The Thorne isn’t terribly fancy or well armed for a warship...heck, some Capricorns and Skulds outgun her!....so she’s not a high-tech gun-barge or electronic wunderkin..which suits the crews just fine, because the Thorne’s manageable...that is, you take a sailor off a ship in just about anyone else’s Navy and put them on a Thorne, and they can figure out how to handle a Thorne, pick up on its strengths, and know how to work around her weaknesses in only a day or two. That means less turnover training, and less gizmo-superiority-addiction....you’re NOT going to take on the Lord of the Deep or the Coalition Flleet in a spit-kit, but if either does come gunning for you, you’ll know how to get away....The Thorne’s limitations force crews to work intelligently to use its strengths to best effect., and since often crews of escort Thornes are often drawn from the ranks of the Merchant Marine, that simplifies things greatly.”
---Portmaster Rand Riley, New Boston Shipyards

“Grouping Thornes and Skulds in escort groups SOUNDED like a great idea at first, untl we got into actual wargames outside the Bay....then we discovered that high-speed ACVs and radar-invisible corvettes don’t exactly mix....if we’d been using live ammunition, the Coalition could have wiped out half our fleet without firing a shot.!..we had so many cases of Skulds openning up with long range fire without realizing that their corvette buddies weere between them and the target...and more than one incident of a high speed run almost running OVER a Thorne...Those Skulds can cross the twelve mile close-in ‘eyeball’ detection range between them and a Thorne before they know it, and at open throttle, they don’t exactly steer too well in the straightaway!”
“Damn straight! And even when they could turn...Almost had the nose of my ship rammed off by my own PBM squadron, and the wake spray that bastard kicked up turning away almost swamped my ship anyway!”
----Overheard at the Plymouth Bay Naval Station cantina, after ‘Halsey Reforger Zero-Ten’, December 109 PA.

The Thorne -class Corvette is another new PS design based on unearthed pre-Rifts plans for a European warship, the Swedish ‘Visby’ FSG, a handsome small craft which was doubtlessly being studied by American naval architects and engineers. PS has adapted and modified the design to be a long range escort and ASW vessel for the protection of the Merchant Marine, one that would be less expensive and more conventional than the Shadow Wave Multipurpose Corvette.
The Thorne has a rakish, streamlined profile, with a distinctive pyramidal bridge forecastle, sloped hull sides, sharp prow, angular main forward gun turret, and flat VTOL landing pad fantail....The Thorne is designed with stealth and speed, but its weapons fit is not to be underestimated either. Though one of the most frequent complaints about the Thorne is that it appears lightly armed in comparison to, say, the Skuld-class attack craft, the Thorne has a good compromise of both long and close-range weapons, well suited to its role as a patrol and escort craft.
Though not as fast as many of its intended opponents(hydrofoil attack boats and flying monsters), the Thorne can use its stealth to remain hidden from their sensors until the last ten or so miles of their attack run...when timing becomes critical to the element of surprise. Other points in its favor are its relatively low cost per unit, simplicity of construction(relative to more sophisticated designs), robust design, and systems familiarity to sailors and seamen, an important consideration in the GNE’s rush to build up its naval forces.
Because of the Thorne’s low sensor signature, the vessel is often used as a minesweeper, especially since the Coalition has taken to mining known GNE maritime trade routes and likely trade ports. In order to facilitate such mine detection and clearance duties, the Thorne carries 1-4 marine robots, such as the Orca in addition to its airborne RPVs. Because of their low observability, Thornes are also used to launch and maintain coastal minefields, replacing their missile launchers with mine racks.
Thornes are primarily produced at the New Boston Shipyards, where they often are assigned to escort convoys that assemble in the Bay....as well as to constantly sweep the region for mines placed by Coalition and Kittani submarines. The bulk of the ‘wet navy’ squadrons of the fledgling Free Mass Navy are made up of Thornes, acting as command cutters and motherships to flotillas of smaller patrol-torpedo boats and mini-subs.
PS has also sold three Thornes to the New Roman Republic, though these ships lack the exclusive GNE systems such as the Shrike III missiles. It is also rumored that PS is negotiating to sell several to an unnamed/currently unidentified kingdom in Britain.

Type: PS-FSG-07
Class: Fast Corvette
Date of Introduction: 109 PA
Crew: 43, plus room for a 20 man Marine contingent
MDC/Armor by Location:
Main Body 3,200
Bridge 400
Forward Gun Turret 150
VTOL Pad 300
MRM SSM Launchers(4) 300 each
MRM SAM Launcher 300

Height/Draught: 8.2 ft/22 ft(above waterline)
Width/Beam: 34 ft
Length: 236 ft
Weight: 620 tons
Cargo: 50 tons
Powerplant: Nuclear Fusion w/ year energy life
Speed: 36 knots( 40 MPH)
Market Cost: Upwards of 40 million credits
Systems of Note:
*Long Range Radar---100 miles
*Long Range Radio--- 100 mile range
*Sonar-------80 miles
*Variable Depth Sonar---A small, retractable ‘fish’ that can be reeled out to 100 ft to peer under thermoclines and provide better acoustic coverage of the sea area. This improves sonar sensitivity by a +15% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls.
*Limited Life Support---The main crew compartments can be sealed airtight and supplied with air conditioned tanked air for up to 48 hours, or filtered external air for 4 days.
*Stealth Design---Special composite hull materials, and the specially angled design configuartion make the Thorne less susceptible to detection by radar...the Thorne can remain invisible to radar detection from as close as 13 miles. More advanced radar systems, like those used by the Kittani and New Navy, will only be -10% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls to detect the Thorne, however.
Also, the extensive use of megadamage plastic and concrete forms greatly reduces the magnetic signature, rendering magnetic mines and even magnetic limpets ineffective...the Thorne doesn’t have to carry an integral hull degausser as a result.
The use of hydrojets(especially when combined with a nuclear drive) results in a lower acoustic signature as well. -15% to Read Sensory Instrument rolls when attempting to use passive sonar to detect the craft.

Weapons Systems:
1) Forward Gun Turret--Originally designated for a rapid-fire 57mm cannon, but can be fitted with any ONE of the following:
a) 80mm Mass Driver Cannon
Range: (Direct Fire) 19,000 ft
(Indirect Fire) 46,000 ft(9 miles)
Damage:(Armor Piercing) 1d6x10 MD (no blast radius)
(APSD) 2d6x10 MD(no blast radius)
(Fragmentation) 1d4x10 MD ( 30 ft blast radius)
(High Explosive) 1d6x10 MD(20 ft blast radius)
(Plasma) 3d6x10 MD(15 ft blast radius)
Rate of Fire: Six times per melee
Payload: 300

b) Plasma Pulse Cannon---A multimode PS design that can fire either a straight stream of plasma, or a plasma ‘torpedo’ with area of effect
Range:(Stream) 4,000 ft
(Pulse Torpedo) 5 miles
Damage:(Stream) 4d6x10 MD per blast
(Pulse Torpedo) 2d4x10 MD to 15 ft blast radius
Rate of Fire:(Stream) Five times per melee
(Pulse Torpedo) Once per melee
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

c) Double-Barreled Long Range Ion Cannon
Range: 6,000 ft
Damage: 1d4x10 MD single blast, 2d4x10 MD double blast(1 attack)
Rate of Fire: Four times per melee, per barrel
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

d) Heavy Blue-Green Pulse Laser(Version 3)---Based on Orbital laser designs, this triple-barrelled laser cannon has both range and fire power.
Range: 6 miles
Damage:3d6 MD single blast, 6d6 MD double blast, 1d4x10 MD triple blast(1 attack)
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: Effectively Unlimited

e)PS-XGECAL 50 “Ripkiller” ---A relatively new weapon, based on the pre-Rifts .50 caliber GECAL 50 Six Barrel Machine Gun. This weapon fires high explosive shells(based on the Wellington Industries Heavy Explosive shells) over three miles, to devastating effect. In theory, the XGECAL 50 can fire off 8,000 rounds per minute(or 2,000 rounds a melee), but PS has limited the weapon to a maximum of 100 rounds per burst , and even that can shoot the magazines dry in one melee! Only a special coolant jacket, shock-absorbing stabiilizer, and burst limiter prevent this weapon from tearing itself apart under maximum rate of fire, and keeps enough rounds on target to inflict maximum damage. The weapon also tears out its meter-long barrel linings faster than any other weapon in PS service(a cannon barrel is estimated to have a standard combat life of 4,000 shots).
Part of the high damage capacity is accounted for by the steady shipboard firing platform and the extensive fire control hardware directing it. This allows the cannon to lay even more shells directly on target with greater accuracy than previous rapid fire cannon models.
Range: 19,000 ft!
Damage: 1d4 MD single shot, 1d4x10 MD per 12 shot burst(1 attack), 2d4x10 MD per 24 rd burst(2 attacks), 4d4x10 MD per 60 rd burst(3 attacks), 1d4x100 MD per 120 shot burst(takes ALL attacks that melee)
Rate of Fire: ECHH
Payload: 2,400 round drum (20 full-melee bursts)
Bonuses:Independent laser and radar tracking system(range: 11,000 ft). +1 strike set on automatic against aerial attack, +2 strike fired by pilot


2) ASW Mortars(2, forward deck)---Rocket-propelled light depth charge launchers.
Range: 4,000 ft, 1,000 ft maximum depth
Damage: 7d6x5 MD to 50 ft radius
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,4, 5, 8, or 16
Payload: LASRW-16: 16 rounds each launcher

3) Medium Range/Multi Missile Launchers(4)---Built into the rear sides of the Thorne are two sets of retractable MRM launchers, that angle out for firing. These multi-mode launchers are able to fire SAMs in an anti-aircraft support role, but they are typically reserved for firing anti-shipping missiles(Harpoon IIIs) and ASROCs.
Because of the modular nature of these launchers, they can be quickly stripped out and replaced with other launchers. The launcher-pods aren’t as large or as versatile as those on the Skuld, but they do offer a degree of multi-mission utility to the Thorne, and allow for fast and simple upgrades.
Range: Varies by Missile Type
Damage:Varies by Missile Type
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2, 4, 8, or 16
Payload: 4 LRMs per launcher OR 16 MRMs, 0R 32 SRMs(standard box-type launchers)
Specialty Missiles(MRMs)
a) Harpoon IIIs
Range: 40 miles
Damage: 2d6x10 MD to 40 ft blast radius
Bonus:+5 to strike

b)ASROC-B(rocket-assisted torpedo)
Range: (Booster)5 miles(Torpedo)5 miles
Damage: 3d4x10 MD(HE) or 2d6x10 MD (plasma)
Bonus:+3 to strike within 1,000 ft

4) MRM SAM Launcher---This is a dedicated anti-aircraft missile launcher directly behind the bridge, for engaging missiles and aircraft. The Thorne carries an advanced PS Shrike III ‘lite’ system, though any standard/generic MRMs can be carried in the modular launcher. The three NRR ships lack the Shrike III system, instead substituting a similar Albatros-VIII system.
Range: 75 miles
Damage: 3d4x10 MD per missile
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,4, or 8
Payload: 8 missiles ready to fire, 32 in storage(takes 1 melee rd to load and test)
Bonus: +6 to strike

5) Heavy Torpedo Tubes(4)---Mounted in launchers in the sides of the hull, beneath the waterline, angled out to fire to the front and sides, these tubes can be used for either anti-submarine or anti-surface attacks.
Range: 20 miles
Damage: 4d6x10 MD
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2,3, or 4 torpedoes per melee
Payload: 32 torpedoes carried
Bonuses:+3 to strike within 1,000 ft. -2 to strike at any range over 1 mile

6)Pulse Lasers(4)---Mounted in mini-turrets on either side of the main bridge and rear deck are four rapid fire pulse lasers, adapted from the Free Quebec Q2-30 Rapid-Fire Laser(known as the PSQ2-30). Aside from stytlistic differences, linkage to the ship’s power supply, and placement in a stabilized firing rig, the weapon is identical to the original Free Quebec weapon. See Rifts, Free Quebec, pg. 46-47 for details. These weapons were added to improve the close-in defenses of the Corvette.
Range: 3,000 ft
Damage: 3d6 MD single shot, 6d6 MD short burst(5 shots), 1d6x10 MD medium burst(20 shots), 2d6x10 MD long burst(40 shots)(2 attacks), 4d6x10MD heavy burst(80 shots, and uses 4 attacks). 3d6 MD to 4d4 tragets in a four-attack spray.
Rate of Fire:EGCHH
Payload: Effectively unlimited, tied in to the ship’s nuuclear power supply. If need be, the weapons can be dismounted and powered by their own e-clips(penalties for the infantry weapon, as well as E-clip limitations, apply as normal once the weapon is removed from the mini-turret).
Bonus: +3 to strike with single/short bursts, +2 strike with medium and long bursts, and +1 strike with full melee bursts, courtesy of the stabilized firing rigs and targeting systems. NO bonuses on a spray

7)Countermeasures(2 mortars, 1 launcher):------Paladin Steel has adopted a series of standard countermeasure packages for use aboard their vessels. Notably they have adapted the US Navy Mk 38 Rapid Bloom Off-Board Countermeasures(RBOC-2) launcher system and the Replica radar signature decoy system. The RBOC-2 fires rocket-mortar shells of flares and chaff up to 1.25 miles away, to heights of 3,000 ft(the better to fool missiles coming in over the horizon), and fires clouds of chaff from deck mortars at closer ranges to confuse other guided weapons).
The Replica system resembles a folded-liferaft capsule when in its launcher, but can be fired off up to 300 ft, and rapidly unfolds to become two linked floating radar and sonar reflectors that give the appearance of a much larger object, and hopefully divert enemy fire and attention away from the targetted vessel.
A variant on this system includes attaching active sonar decoys or “Screamers” to attract or confuse accoustic sensors and homing torpedoes.
The Thorne has 2 RBOC mortar banks( 2 forward), and 1 Replica System launcher on the rear deck
Range: The RBOC can toss decoy bundles 1.25 miles, and to an altitude of 3,000 ft
Damage: None. The RBOC is too inaccurate to be used as an effective weapon(oh, it could probably blow a person off the deck if they were standing too close, but that goes without saying) Effects are similar to Triax-style chaff
01-50 Enemy Missile or volley detonates in chaff and threat is nuetralized
51-75 Missile/Volley diverts and may pursue/lock on to other targets
76-00 No Effect! Missile(s) still on target!
(Flare/Chaff)Will also temporarily blind and impede flying monsters who fly into it.
Reduce APMs/combat bonuses/ speed by half for 1d4 melees
Payload: Flare/Chaff lauchers typically have 10 shells each. A Replica launcher will have 2 decoys per launcher.

Other Countermeasure Options available to the Thorne, but not listed here, include Hull Shock Systems, towed sonar decoys, mine-sweeper planes, onboard PPE Generators and shipboard Multiplexors, and other systems currently in development.


Auxiliary Craft:
1 ASW VTOL
4 Aquila or Sentinel light drones, or two folded Firebird long range drones
4 Orca Marine Drone Robots

[abtex]

Thanks for Scandinavian babe and the Thorne Corvette.
Hope you are feeling better with less desk top chest ache.

[taalismn]

Thanks for Scandinavian babe and the Thorne Corvette.
Hope you are feeling better with less desk top chest ache.

Yeah...just in time for another stint of desk work(really can't complain, though....it's money...and in these harsh economic times...)

[glitterboy2098]

STOP READING MY IDEA NOTEBOOK!




well, sorta kidding. i had been planning to base a cruiser off the Visby Class Corvette. thankfully the weapons mix has nothing in common with your corvette....
and i was looking at the Skjold patrol boat as the basis of a high speed landing craft....

oy, i realy should jusy stop reading this thread, it really isn't very good for my self-esteem....but the stuff in the thread is so shiny...

[taalismn]

:frust:

STOP READING MY IDEA NOTEBOOK!




well, sorta kidding. i had been planning to base a cruiser off the Visby Class Corvette. thankfully the weapons mix has nothing in common with your corvette....
and i was looking at the Skjold patrol boat as the basis of a high speed landing craft....

oy, i realy should jusy stop reading this thread, it really isn't very good for my self-esteem....but the stuff in the thread is so shiny...

I'm also doing LCTs, LSTs, some SWATH designs, and a version of the giant Russian 'Bison' hovercraft...just so you know...

But a CRUISER?! Go for it...

Yeah, yeah, well, as for the shiny...we're trying no-gloss, low-contrast paint, but the customers keep complaining that they miss that 'fresh-outa-the-box' look, even with we practically fumigate the interiors with 'new car' aerosols...

[glitterboy2098]

i was going to combine the LCT role with an Escort carrier, making a Amphibious assualt ship able to do both roles. i was looking at using a catamaran hullplan to do it, along the lines of the defunct Sea Archer UAV carrier proposed back in the late 90's. unfortunately they probably won't fit in the main article, and i'll have to write up an expansion article later.


to be honest, my annoyance at you using the concepts first stems more from my frustration than anythng else. it's finals week and thanks to several tests, an educational portfolio needing completion, and a multimedia presentation i need to prepare, i haven't been able to do any writing for my rifts article...

and my muse was just coming back too...

[taalismn]

i was going to combine the LCT role with an Escort carrier, making a Amphibious assualt ship able to do both roles. i was looking at using a catamaran hullplan to do it, along the lines of the defunct Sea Archer UAV carrier proposed back in the late 90's. unfortunately they probably won't fit in the main article, and i'll have to write up an expansion article later.


to be honest, my annoyance at you using the concepts first stems more from my frustration than anythng else. it's finals week and thanks to several tests, an educational portfolio needing completion, and a multimedia presentation i need to prepare, i haven't been able to do any writing for my rifts article...

and my muse was just coming back too...

GAH! Now you're reading my mind! I was planning on doing an escort carrier, but it would end up looking like Kitsune's conversion, only with PS systems, so I decided to expand the deck size by adding a catamaran deck plan!

Well, I'll let you go ahead on that, and thrash up my version afterwards, to make it different...One of the advantages of having a short attention span is I have MANY half-finished projects that I can switch to...

Good luck on the finals...I remember those days with barely-forgotten terror and loathing...

[glitterboy2098]

since i wouldn't be messing around with the naval stuff for a while, and might change my mind to a more conventional approach, do what you want.

and in all probability, my plan for the carrier will change anyway.

[taalismn]

since i wouldn't be messing around with the naval stuff for a while, and might change my mind to a more conventional approach, do what you want.

and in all probability, my plan for the carrier will change anyway.

I was thinking of working around a sketch my brother did...oh, 30 years ago or so of a futuristic aircraft carrier crossed with a high-speed hydrofoil...big as hell, expensive as hell, fast as hell....the sort of fusion-powered juggernaut you don't want your munchkins to get ahold of. but you'd kill to get ahold of yourself......

[Aramanthus]

Nice additions! I think the Federated States could use these and add them to their arsenals.

[taalismn]

Strange...at one point I could hardly do ANY PS naval assets to teh point that I had the fictious head(Vernon Bach) of the PS Naval Systems Division bemoaning in posts that his department was bein g shorted by the Robotics program...now the only thing on my mind is wet-navy equipment, and the robot designs are languishing...Vernon Bach seems to have had his revenge and vindication at last!

[Arnie100]

taalismn, plans for an escort carrier or something like that? Or did I miss that somewhere...

[Aramanthus]

I know we are all looking forward to seeing these projects reach fruition! The Federated States are interested in them.

[taalismn]

:D taalismn, plans for an escort carrier or something like that? Or did I miss that somewhere...

Kitsune's done an excellent version on his big website that I'm trying not to re-invent, and Glitterboy's thinking along the same lines as I was with a trimaran hulled version...I'll probably do them anyway, but I'll try to get some other vessels done before then..

[Aramanthus]

Still happy to see those new creations from everyone!