Gnat Recon UAAV (2765)
Mass: 0.971 tons
Chassis: Unknown
Power Plant: Fusion
Armor: BAR 2
Armament:
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 2765
Tech Rating/Availability: D/E-F-F-X
Cost: 19,500 C-bills
Mass: 0.971 tons
Frame: Unknown
Power Plant: Fusion
Armor: BAR 2
Armament:
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 2765
Tech Rating/Availability: D/E-F-F-X
Cost: 19,500 C-bills
Type: Gnat Recon UAAV
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Tonnage: 0.971
Battle Value: 2
Equipment Mass
Engine Fusion 0.5
Safe Thrust: 6
Max Thrust: 9
Structural Integrity: 0
Heat Sinks: 0 0
Fuel: 0 0
Cockpit: 0
Armor Factor (BAR 2): 4 0.052
Armor
Value
Nose 1
Wings 1/1
Aft 1
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
Recon Camera NOS 0.5 - - - - -
SV Chassis Mod (Ultralight) BOD 0 - - - - -
SV Chassis Mod (VSTOL) BOD 0 - - - - -
SV Chassis Mod (Propeller) BOD 0 - - - - -
Smart Robotic Control System BOD 0 - - - - -
The Gnat Unmanned Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (UAAV) is a Star League era drone designed to provide the Star League with a cheap, light, and available aerial reconnaissance assets to units and remote areas where more sophisticated aerial recon assets (such as Aerospace fighters or sattelites) were either unavailable or not desirable to use due to risks posed to the aerospace asset.
The UAAV was developed directly as a response to the New Vanderberg uprising and was rapidly prototyped in record time, owed in part to its simple construction. Completely unarmed and weighing in at just under a ton, more than half of its weight is taken up by a sophisticated reconnaissance camera in what can loosely be described as the UAAV's nose. Another quarter is devoted to the powerplant, which drives a propeller to provide thrust to the aircraft and together with the Smart Robotic Control System allows the UAAV to feed intelligence to its ground crew for indefinite periods. The Gnat owes its name to its propeller, which emits a quiet but annoying hum while idle. Such a light craft has necessarily negligible armor, suitable only for protecting the Gnat from rough handling or taking the rare lucky shot from small arms fire.
The Gnat had some teething issues, most notably with the propeller sometimes randomly shaking itself loose while on patrol due to vibration. These issues were solved relatively quickly and the final production versions were coming off of assembly lines by early December 2766; its Terra-based manufacturing plant was interrupted later that month by the onset of the Amaris coup. Emperor Amaris, seeing no use of these unarmed toys, ordered its production ceased in favor of "actually useful" aircraft. On Kerensky's side, not enough Gnats had made their way to his forces, and the ones that did were pre-production UAAVs with the propeller vibration issues, so they did not meaningfully contribute to the war effort.
Still, a surprisingly large number of Gnats had been produced over its short production run, now scattered everywhere from military reserve stockpiles to garbage bins. Aleksandr Kerensky took hundreds of tons of later-model Gnats with his Exodus Fleet, the bulk of which continued with him to the Pentagon worlds while a small number went with Gen. Aaron DeChavilier's detachment to the Vela Corridor. Kerensky's group became the Clans, which were not believed to still use the UAAV until Operation SERPENT spotted them during the Battle of Huntress, apparently integrated into Huntress's SDS. DeChavilier's group became the Republic of Crossroad, which continues to use and produce the Gnat UAAV with only minor modifications.