Minerva class Dropship, maybe some other ships later

[Liam's Ghost]

Author: I've got a few dropship designs rattling around the hard drive at the moment, mostly relatively minor variants. I may have to gather them together in this thread

                    AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
                                  VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name:  Minerva class Dropship 
Tech:              Inner Sphere / 2520
Vessel Type:       Aerodyne DropShip
Rules:             Level 3, Standard design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              1,300 tons
Length:            65 meters
Power Plant:       Standard
Safe Thrust:       4
Maximum Thrust:    6
Armor Type:        Standard
Armament:          
    3 Large Laser
   12 Medium Laser
    3 Autocannon/5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Launched from the shipyards of the Hyades cluster, the Minerva was the standard light mech carrier of the Taurian Concordat during the Reunification War. As she appeared only a few years before the famous Leopard, and found herself frequently in competition both on and off the battlefield, it's almost impossible to talk about the Minerva without comparing her to her more famous competitor. The Minerva could easily be considered the more graceful, elegant design, renowned for her handling both in space and in the atmosphere. She was also the cheaper craft, and her local availability won her hefty orders from the Concordat's immediate neighbors (notably including the border territories of the Federated Suns. Only the Capellan Confederation was specifically restricted from purchasing the Minerva). On the other hand, the larger Leopard could match the Minerva's acceleration, while also carrying both heavier weaponry, greater fuel capacity, and a pair of aerofighters that gave it greater flexibility. In combat, the Minerva still performed well, however this was mostly due to the skill of the Taurian crews and the ship's relatively heavy armor.

The Minerva had spread across the Periphery in the years before the Reunification War, and as such saw action on several fronts of the war. Though many were destroyed, and their primary shipyard crippled in the last days of the Taurian Campaign, enough survived the war intact to remain relatively common for most of the Star League era, even as they were gradually phased out of military service in favor of the more capable Leopard. Even today, the odd Minerva can still be found, though the majority of these ships have long since been converted to civilian cargo carriers and transports.

One odd footnote is the Star League's unusual Leopard B, which was built using a heavily modified (significantly weaker) form of the Minerva's hull. Though it had the look of the classic Minerva, it was in every way a heavily scaled down Leopard. The design (only able to transport two battlemechs and a single fighter) ultimately proved unsatisfactory, with only a few ships constructed. Today, the Leopard B is so rare as to be considered virtually unique, though it still occassionally see's use by small, special operations units.

Class/Model/Name:  Minerva class Dropship 
Mass:              1,300 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass  
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                          338.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 4
      Maximum Thrust: 6
Structural Integrity: 11                                                71.50
Total Heat Sinks:    44 Single                                          28.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                      41.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:                 10.00
Fire Control Computers:                                                   .00
Armor Type:  Standard  (790 total armor pts)                            47.00
                           Standard Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                220
   Left/Right Wings:                 210/210
   Aft:                                 150

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Cargo (1)                                                    63.50
   Bay 2:  BattleMechs (4) with 2 doors                                600.00

Life Boats:  1 (7 tons each)                                             7.00

Crew and Passengers:
      8 Crew Quarters                                                   40.00
      8 Bay Personnel                                                     .00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Large Laser              Nose     2(18)   1(8)     --     --    8      5.00
  2 Medium Laser                                                  6      2.00
1 Autocannon/5(20 rounds)  Nose      1(5)   1(5)     --     --    1      9.00
1 Large Laser              L/RW     2(18)   1(8)     --     --   16     10.00
  2 Medium Laser                                                 12      4.00
1 Autocannon/5(20 rounds)  L/RW      1(5)   1(5)     --     --    2     18.00
2 Medium Laser             L/RW(A)  1(10)     --     --     --   12      4.00
2 Medium Laser             Aft      1(10)     --     --     --    6      2.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                               Heat: 63       1,300.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        146,435,760 C-Bills
Battle Value:      2,375
Cost per BV:       61,657.16
Weapon Value:      4,592 (Ratio = 1.93)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 63;  MRV = 20;  LRV = 0;  ERV = 0
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 13,271
                   (7,898 Structure, 4,180 Life Support, 1,193 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 4,504  (34% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      MP: 4,  Armor/Structure: 13 / 13
                   Damage PB/M/L: 7/4/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: DS;  Point Value: 24

[Alsadius]

I don't understand the appeal of dropships this small. As far as I can tell, docking collars are the most precious commodity in the whole of the BT universe - they're super-rare, add tremendous amounts to the costs of ships, and are totally insensitive to the size of the dropships they're carrying. Why on earth would anyone use a small dropship?

(Not entirely related, I know, but BT economics bugs me sometimes)

[Daryk]

Initial cost.  The multipliers for dropship construction are huge (28 for spheroids, more for aerodynes).  On a strategic scale, you're absolutely right.  States should be buying the biggest ships their yards can build.  Smaller operators need to consider the capital investment.

[Liam's Ghost]

I desperately want to like small dropships like the Leopard or my Minerva, just because if I lose one on the way in, I don't lose a third of a regiment or all of my supplies.

If only there were enough jumpships to make that a worthwhile tactic.

Though there are a couple of other roles where small dropships are useful. If you're launching a small raiding force at a target, it's better to use a smaller, somewhat more expendable vessel than one that's mostly going to be empty space and hurts more to lose.

Also, there's purely interplanetary or in-system service. They carry more cargo than a cargo plane or shuttle, they're faster than an ocean going cargo ship, and if it's a medium sized job, you can handle a hefty bit of cargo in one trip without using a larger freighter that would be mostly empty.

Initial cost.  The multipliers for dropship construction are huge (28 for spheroids, more for aerodynes). 

Dear god that cost multiplier. I dropped a small naval comm scanner into an intruder. That fifty million cbill scanner ballooned the total cost from a quarter billion to 1.6 billion, all on its own.  [tickedoff]

That is some government bureaucracy grade cost calculations...

[Daryk]

I'm totally with you on that, Liam!  I think they should have made engines and structure more expensive up front vice cranking up the multiplier to compensate.  Putting a machine gun into a new design ship is over 100K! :idiot2: