Delta Class Aerial Transport

The spearhead of the Galactic Hegemon

Astraesto    Nations    The Federation    Federation Military      Federation Armed Forces      Delta Class Aerial Transport

The Delta Class "Hummingbird" Aerial Transport is the primary transportational hovercraft for the Federation of Anfieden and Allied Planets. Three versions of the transport exist, the Federation Army version - suitable for in atmosphere transport and equipped with some armaments, Federation Navy transports - which are sealed and can transport through space but have even less armaments than the Army version, and finally the unarmed version, which is similar to the Army version but is completely unarmed and lightly armoured, it is usually used for transporting government and military officials, although it is also used for law enforcement purposes - specifically by Federation Federal Intelligence.
Jaydei Aerospace Industries & Manufacturing were responsible for the design, creation, and manufacturing of the transport. The company had been contracted by the Federation Armed Forces in 4717 to create a transport faster and with a higher capacity than their Gamma II Class Transports - which were becoming increasingly obsolete, within the next five years. A team would be formed to design the transport, led by Xi'an Chen - who would end up being the primary designer for the vehicle. Over two dozen designs would be sent to the Federation Armed Forces for evaluation, with hundreds more being scrapped. Eventually the first design was approved for prototyping in January, 4720.
Envis Shipyards Incorporated granted a medium sized shipyard for the creation of this first prototype, due to the limited capabilities of the Laceli shipyards. While construction of the prototype was underway, engineers from Envis Shipyards Incorporated began designing a space faring version. Significant problems arose with both versions, with engineers having a hard time meeting all of the minimum specifications given to them by the Federation Military. Specifically, the minimum amount of weapon systems, and the maximum carrying capacity clashed, as well as the overall cost of the transport.
Despite many attempts, engineers and designers from both companies couldn't make a ship that fit all of the Federation's specifications to the letter. After consulting with third party contractors, the Federation agreed to lower their weapons specifications, which allowed for a full complement of 28 people - although at an absolute maximum the transports could theoretically carry 32, in addition to 2 pilots and 2 gunners on both port and starboard side. This was much more manageable than the initial 37 passenger number that the initial contract was for, and both atmosphere and space versions of the transport were quickly created. After several more rounds of testing and prototyping, the final completed atmosphere and astrosphere versions were completed and presented to the Federation Armed Forces in November of 4721. The finished version took on the name Delta Class Aerial Transport, which had been the name used during the construction of the transport. Full scale production would not begin until halfway through 4722, although when it finally did thousands of transports were built each month, allowing for a full replacement from the Gamma II Class Transports.
The Delta Class Aerial Transport has since become the primary design used across the Federation. Copycat designs have emerged in all major nations, although none perform as well as the original. The Republic of Kandino was offered a hundred very similar transports for law enforcement purposes, an offer which was accepted. The Transports have been nicknamed "Hummingbird", due to their distinctive hum from the hover engines it is equipped with.

Nickname

Hummingbird

Manufacturer

Jaydei Aerospace Industries & Manufacturing

Creation Date

November, 4721AC

Owning Organization

Federation Armed Forces

Rarity

Common

Length

19.3m

Height

6.2m

Speed

446km/h (Maximum)

Complement / Crew

2 Pilots + 2 Gunners (Army Version Only)

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

28 (Designated Maximum) | 32 (Absolute Maximum - non Navy Version Only)

Federation-Jenmoreneat War

The  Federation-Jenmoreneat War has, thus far, been the only major conflict in which Delta Class Transports have played (or are playing) a significant role. They have been used to transport both police and marine units around Jenmoreneat planets, allowing the Federation to quickly respond to Greater Jenmoreneat attacks, and large protests by the civilian population.

During the initial  Federation Navy attack against Greater Jenmoreneat, dozens of transports were used to quickly take over vital points on Jenmoreneat worlds, including space and airports, and governmental facilities. The transports have since completely forced Greater Jenmoreneat aligned forces to retreat from urban areas, where they now fight an even deadlier guerrilla war against Federation forces.