BLOB Class Dropship
Overview:
The story of the BLOB, or the Big Land to Orbit Bulkcarrier, goes back to the pre-war Phoenix program and the attempt to repair as much as possible of the damage caused by the Amaris war. Unfortunately the program was put on the back burner once the war erupted and there was neither time nor resources available to proceed with the BLOB project until the early 2790'ies. At this point the destruction of jump ships and orbital assets had really started to hurt, particularly in the Terran Republic that had started the war with a shortage of interstellar space-lift capacity. Despite the yards producing jump ships at peak capacity, when the resources needed were available, the space-lift capacity in the Inner Sphere have plummeted rapidly.
Kresters, who along with Boeing Interstellar, had been the prime contractors in the BLOB project, as well as the primary manufacturer of super heavy drop ships in the Republic, decided to attempt to revive the Big Land to Orbit Bulkcarrier concept so that the shrinking jump ship capacity could be exploited better than it was with the rather small drop ship types that had been the norm under the Star League. The plentiful availability of jump ship capacity under the long peaceful and prosperous era had contributed to reducing the size of cargo drop ships as customers generally favored the speed and ease of point to point space-lift without the need for time consuming reloads at major spaceports, as was required for larger drop ships like the Mammoth. The only lines that were dominated by large bulk carriers during the Star League era were the long trade routes to the periphery.
Capabilities:
The Big Land to Orbit Bulkcarrier was designed to haul bulk cargo between worlds without relying on the fragile orbital infrastructure for loading and offloading that limits the usefulness of the Behemoth type bulk haulers. Even though the landing of a Blob is described as one of the most frightening experiences a spaceport ground crew can have, the massive demand for freight capacity combined with the sharp decline in Jumpship capacity have made this huge drop ship the preferred cargohauler for all who can afford to acquire or hire one.
The ability to lift over 70,000 tons of payload from planetary surface to planetary surface via a single docking collar makes the BLOB the optimum usage of the still available though declining interstellar space-lift.
The BLOB is designed to operate in a dangerous universe and is better protected and armed than most pre-war transports. It carries a simple laser array to keep aerospace fighters at bay and have anti-missile laser clusters to improve the ship's chances to survive an encounter with hostile gunboats. Despite these improvements the BLOB is entirely dependent on escorts to survive in combat against any serious opposition.
Variants:
The BLOB comes in many variants, a customer is given great freedom to specify required features.
BLOB-B, Bulk carrier for solid materials, standard version of the BLOB.
BLOB-T, Tanker for liquids features a 60,000 ton zero-g tank system.
BLOB-O, Ore carrier features reinforced cargo decks.
BLOB-BL, Special version with a single extra large cargo bay for large volume loads.
BLOB-C, Container carrier with integrated automatic loading and unloading system.
BLOB-Q, The Quartermaster version is a military fleet tender.
Deployment:
Despite being built in increasing numbers the BLOB is still a rare sight outside of the core of the Republic. It is a favorite target for enemy raiders and suffers disproportionate casualties as a result there off. Still along the relatively safe space lanes in the core of the Republic the BLOB is rapidly replacing the plethora of smaller dropships.
BLOB Class Dropship
Type: Civilian Spheroid
Tech: Standard
Introduced: 2796
Mass: 100.000 tons
Fuel: 1,000.00 tons (40.000)
Tons/Burn-day: 8.83 tons
Safe Thrust: 3
Max Thrust: 5
Heatsinks: 204 (204, 176 free)
Structural Integrity: 25 (90 ton Max)
Armor: 90 tons standard
Nose: 170 (17)
R/L sides: 150 (15)
Aft: 170 (17)
Weapons:
Arc (Heat) Type Short Medium Long Xtreme
Nose(34 Heat)
2 Large Laser
4 Medium Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
6 small Laser 2(18)* - - -
LS/RS front(34 Heat)
2 Large Laser
4 Medium Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
6 small Laser 2(18)* - - -
LS/RS rear (34 heat)
2 Large Laser
4 Medium Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
6 small Laser 2(18)* - - -
Aft(34 Heat)
2 Large Laser
4 Medium Laser 4(36) 2(16) - -
6 small Laser 2(18)* - - -
* Anti-missile system
Cargo:
Bay 1: Cargo ( 35,895.0 tons ) 8 Door
Bay 2: Cargo ( 35,895.0 tons ) 8 Door
Bay 3: Small Craft (6) 2 Door
Escape Pods: 10
Life Boats: 0
Crew: 10 Officers, 30 enlisted, 30 baycrew
