DropShips

"Sure, you'd think DropShips and immediately think combat forces, but even civilians use them. Why? Because they're the only vehicle getting from the surface of a planet to the JumpShips which travel between systems."

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General Overview

DropShips are the backbone of all interstellar commerce, since JumpShips cannot enter gravity wells with their extremely-sensitive K-F Drives. As such, there are many DropShips owned by civilian shipping companies in addition to those owned by mercenary outfits or Successor State armed forces. DropShips are expensive to procure, often costing hundreds of millions of C-Bills, and are often prone to being snapped up quickly by the Successor States as soon as new ones are available. As such, it is much easier to find DropShips which have been decommissioned from active duty and declared space-worthy.

Physical Description

There are two types of DropShip designs in use: spherical and aerodyne. Spherical DropShips are designed with the engines on the bottom, and landing gear parking those engines in a position where thrust is generated perpendicular to the gravitational pull to escape the planet. Aerodyne DropShips are designed with a very loose definition of 'aerodynamics' and look far more maneuverable than they really are. The description of "flying like a foam brick in a storm" can often apply, and they can require a larger clear area for takeoff and landing. They also make it easier to "hot-drop" units into combat areas, though this is far from recommended.

Armaments and Defenses

While DropShips can be armed and have weapon emplacements, these weapons are often of the same grade used on BattleMechs and combat vehicles. As most DropShips sport heavier armor, the weapons are more useful for deterring attackers than attacking other ships. Even so, a DropShip with no escort outside of itself is considered a very easy prize for anyone with more mobile forces.

Transport Capacity

Most DropShips which are of interest in the parlance of this discussion have BattleMech, Combat Vehicle, or Aerospace Fighter bays. Each bay is almost freely interchangable with each other, or 150 tons of cargo space, to a point. It takes a significant amount of time, money, and expertise to swap bays of one type for another; it takes a less significant amount of money or expertise to convert a bay into cargo space, though converting it back is sometimes more difficult.
A BattleMech bay is not, in any notable way, limited to servicing certain weight classes. The design of such bays is slightly variable depending on the class of DropShip, but inevitably they are made to service the small 20-ton Locust as easily as the massive 100-ton Atlas. The limiting factor is, instead, in the personnel and supply; by no means is it cheap to service the larger Assault-class 'Mechs, and it can take multiple technician crews to fully service them where smaller Light-class 'Mechs may be reliably serviced by one or two teams.
Aerospace and Combat Vehicle bays are different, as they are specialized for securely carrying their particular type of unit. Aerospace fighters often require their own egress point from the DropShip, though Combat Vehicles can use egress points meant for BattleMechs with only a minor logistical issue.
Passenger space, or to put it more broadly, 'room for any people who are not the crew' is also limited on DropShips. Assumedly, when seeing a DropShip it can be assumed there is enough space for one technician team for each bay, the crews for each unit in a bay, and a handful of officers. This does not, however, mean that space is comfortable, there is room for considerable personal baggage, or that each person has a private sleeping area.

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DropShip Classes

What follows is a brief examination of DropShips known to be active around White Reach, or commonly used. This is not an exhaustive examination of these ships, nor is it a complete listing of the different classes to exist. Links are provided at the end to more detailed entries on the Sarna wiki.

Leopard-class DropShip

Overview

The Leopard is a smaller aerodyne-style DropShip design in use by mercenary outfits, capable of carrying a full Lance of BattleMechs, two Aerospace Fighters, and the required support staff. It's relatively simple and inexpensive to maintain, though there is not much more room for more than this in the structure. A common modification is to remove the Fighter Bays for Vehicle Bays or cargo space, since no cargo space is inherent in the factory design. Despite these being a somewhat commonly-used DropShip, they still are very difficult to acquire outright.

Transport Capacity

• Four BattleMech Bays
• Two Aerospace Fighter Bays

Armaments

• 2 Particle Projection Cannons
• 3 LRM-20
• 7 Medium Lasers
• 5 Large Lasers

Union-class DropShip

Overview

The Union is a fairly standard military DropShip design used to transport up to three Lances of BattleMechs to a battlefield. The spherical design is well-armed, and it is armored well enough to land while fending off enemies. It is, however, not too comfortable for passengers as it was designed as a military vehicle first. Mercenary outfits who look to expand beyond the size of a single Lance usually reference getting a Union over other designs, as they are still in limited production across the Inner Sphere.

Transport Capacity

• Twelve BattleMech Bays
• Two Aerospace Fighter Bays
• 74.5 metric tons cargo capacity

Armaments

• 3 Particle Projection Cannons
• 6 AC/5s
• 6 LRM-20s
• 12 Medium Lasers
• 5 Large Lasers

Black Eagle-class DropShip

Overview

The Black Eagle is an old, obsolete DropShip design which existed since before the Star League. It has since been supplanted by later refinements of design, but there are a few still existing. The design which supplanted it, the Pentagon-Class DropShip, did not survive the fall of the Star League. The comparatively primitive nature of it means the ease of maintenance is balanced out by the need to either adapt or fabricate parts.

Transport Capacity

• Twelve BattleMech Bays
• 520 metric tons cargo capacity

Armaments

• 8 LRM 20s
• 9 Large Lasers
• 12 Medium Lasers

Gazelle-Class DropShip

Overview

The Gazelle is a smaller aerodyne design often found operating alongside other DropShips, and is used to transport combat vehicles. An unwieldy loading ramp into the cargo area through the nose of the craft, coupled with the weapons mounted primarily forward-facing, the design of the Gazelle leaves it quite vulnerable during its time on the ground.

Transport Capacity

• 950 metric tons cargo capacity

Armaments

• 2 Particle Projection Cannons
• 1 LRM-20
• 1 AC/5
• 2 SRM-6s
• 1 Large Laser
• 10 Medium Lasers

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External Links

Link to Sarna Wiki Article: Leopard
Link to Sarna Wiki Article: Union
Link to Sarna Wiki Article: Black Eagle
Link to Sarna Wiki Article: Gazelle

Used by

• "Aquila"

Rarity

Very Rare

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