PIRANHA CLASS Troop Transport
Overview:
The Piranha troop transport originated from the army requirement for new troop transports capable of surviving heavy combat, particularly nuclear strikes from gunboats. Based on their Piranha class gunboats the Piranha-T was designed by Dassault-Shimmon in competition with the Cheetah-A of Federated Defense Systems. Ultimately the Republic selected the more advanced FDS design but the Piranha-T still entered production now intended for the mercenary market rather than the regular military forces of the Terran Republic.
As with the gunboat version of the Piranha the transport version was almost the only option available to mercenaries looking for a well protected transport. While specialized aerospace oriented units and larger mercenary units were the primary non-government customers of the gunboat variants the transport version attracted the most interest with smaller but highly regarded elite units.
Capabilities:
The Piranha-T sacrifices its capital missile armament for the ability to carry a company of battlemechs in the space freed up by the removal of the missile magazines. To boost its noticeable weak firepower a hexagonal mount of Large Lasers have been added to the ship’s bow along with a laser anti-missile array to improve survivability.
The gunboat origin of the Piranha shows. The armor layout it intended for a gunboat is not optimal for a transport and the single door cargobay seriously limits flexibility of loading and unloading and the placement of the door makes carrier operations impossible.
Despite its many flaws the Piranha have been rather successful and the order books have been filled since it entered production and several units have even been requisitioned by the Republic to make up for casualties or production interruptions at other yards.
Variants:
There are no official variants of the Piranha-T as such but Dassault-Shimmon offer their customers extensive liberty to configure the cargo bay in any way they see fit.
Deployment:
The Piranha is mainly marketed for the mercenary and foreign markets. Particularly mercenaries contracted to the Federated Suns are eager clients to get a safer ride for the furious campaigns on the Draconis Combine frontier.
PIRANHA CLASS Troop Transport
Type: Military Aerodyne
Tech: Star League
Mass: 5,000 tons
Dimensions
Length: 110.00 meters
Width: 83.00 meters
Height: 26.00 meters
Fuel: 200.00 tons (6000)
Tons/Burn-day: 1.84 tons
Safe Thrust: 4
Max Thrust: 6
Heatsinks: 138
Structural Integrity: 30
Armor: standard
Nose: 1200 (120)
R/L Wings: 400 (40)
Aft: 280 (28)
Weapons:
Arc (Heat) Type Short Medium Long Xtreme
Nose(54 Heat)
6 Large Laser 5(48) 5(48) - -
6 Small Laser 2*(18*) - - -
LW/RW(56 Heat)
2 Large Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
4 Medium Laser
Aft(28 Heat)
2 Large Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
4 Medium Laser
Cargo: 393.0 tons
Bay 1: Battlemech ( 12 ) 1 Door
Escape Pods: 6
Life Boats: 0
Crew: 5 Officers, 12 enlisted/non-rated, 8 gunners
Note:
Equipped with 135 tons of standard armor.
Cost:
330 million C-bills
