Agree with you regarding the compact core, but what is your source that primitive cores are more expensive than standard cores? Are you basing this on a post-jihad environment; that it would cost a lot to set up the infrastructure to build them?
No, I'm basing that on comments in StratOps about K-F drive development and costs as well as the fact that we know genuine "civilian" compact core designs have never fared well economically once the modern JumpShip evolved in the 25th century. (
Sylvester fluff, TRO3057R.) The only transport that really fared well at all - the
Carrack - was built by the SLDF, who had more money and yards than anyone else. The Clans just inherited them. The infrastructure just makes things even worse since the infrastructure to build primitive cores is well and truly gone, so you're starting from scratch.
Agree with you here. I think more than a few nations/entities/corporations wouldn't say no to a few Aquilas, if they can be built relatively easily.
Actually, you'd be surprised about how useful they might find them. Most entities need DropShip collars and an
Aquila would need a
Scout to haul a transport to unload it. Sure, you could find uses, but it's not as useful as, say, a few
Merchants would be for most people. You'd also have to find parts and trained workers to maintain a maneuver drive that's not really much like modern JumpShip drives. Building relatively easily isn't a situation you're likely to find in my opinion.
Simplified - With the destruction of Galax and Alarion engineers around the InnerSphere began to search for easier methods of KF Drive construction. Take a page from the RetroTech solutions sweeping the Sphere scientists were able to construct a simpler KF Core. Studying older primitive drives and new standard cores with the help of jumpship crews researchers discovered what was absolutely essential to its operations. This stripped down, bare bones device is smaller than the standard seen on modern jumpships and only capable of 20 Light Year Jumps. Easier to build it requires less sophisticated space facilities to construct and is cheaper than standard models as well. Generating a smaller KF Field vessels equipped with the new simplified drives cannot carry as many dropships as standard core jumpships. Simplified jumpships may mount 1 docking collar (dropship) for every 100,000 tons of the ship's mass.
Err, no. The end result of that same basic thought process - stripping it down to the minimum necessary -
is the standard core. Go reread StratOps if you don't believe me. Using more primitive parts (primitive and simple are
not synonyms, and whatever you're doing, you're going to have to be able to build parts no one's ever used before) is counter-productive, getting you a drive that doesn't use standard parts (unlike the
incredibly numerous handful of standard JumpShip classes, particularly the
Invader and
Merchant), is less capable, and in the long run, costs a hell of a lot more because you need more JumpShips to move DropShips even within its limited operating radius. Factor that in and things get worse again. It's likely not really going to get much cheaper out front, either, assuming it does it all, an assumption I do
not agree with since the entire point of the standard core is to be cheap. Given that it's going to take literally years and billions (if not tens of billions) of C-Bills, plus divert materials from expanding and repairing existing yard capacity that will give a much better economic return, I don't see this as viable. That doesn't mean no one would
try it, but I think the proposals would probably get rejected due to a cost-benefit analysis. At best, some FWL splinter or Periphery state might find it useful, but they're the ones least likely to have the experts available to domestically bring an entirely new type of K-F drive and ship into production from first principles.
