TR-11A Traverse
StarDate 3/3
John A. Theisen
Overview:
As the Succession Wars continued and House Liao came under increasing pressure on both fronts, the need developed for a highspeed, high-altitude reconnaissance aerospacecraft. This craft, unarmed except for defensive weaponry, had to be capable of ascertaining the exact location, nature, and composition of ground forces, friendly and unfriendly. The TR-11 Transit, a reconnaissance version of the TR-10 Transit fighter, was built for the task. Though a fair craft, it was not a complete success, due to its inherent design limitations.
The uprated TR-11A Traverse was the result. Although never produced in large numbers, this fine aircraft of medium-tonnage looks much like its smaller cousin, and continues to serve in limited quantities on many Liao border worlds or wherever its services may be called upon.
Capabilities:
One of the fastest aerospacecraft of its size anywhere, the Traverse is known for its high velocity and enormous range. One of the largest fighter engines ever built is mounted into the craft, a component that is, at times, a mixed blessing. The engine, though reliable in operation and rarely responsible for a mission failure, is notoriously maintenance-intensive and requires almost three times the technician man-hours per flight-hour of many less massive engines.
Still, with double-sized fuel tanks and an overthruster comparable to a fighter half its size, the Traverse can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. This speed and endurance, combined with its substantial armor, give the Traverse excellent survivability, a characteristic that is predictably popular with its pilots. They often say it has "the speed of an eagle and the hide of a rhino.â€
However, the same pilots also admit that the TR-11A fights "like a wounded rabbit," because its only armament consists of a single long-range missile launcher and magazine located in the tail. This ensures that even the most trigger-happy pilot will disengage and run, if challenged by an enemy aerospacecraft. Theoretically, any heavy fighters would be unable to keep up, and the LRM would ward off any smaller craft that might be capable of matching the TR-11A's high-speed evasive maneuvers. All things considered, the theory has held up reasonably well in practice.
One special feature of this craft is its unusually powerful computer and optical tracking system. A dozen cameras of diverse shapes and sizes covering both extremes of the spectrum (and everything in-between), are mounted in the camera bay and tied into the on-board computer, providing almost instantaneous target-identification capabilities. The exact quality of resolution and memory capacity is classified, but some sources have said the computer could "record, recall and identify" unique characteristics of every BattleMech or other ground vehicle anywhere on a planet's surface. Even if this claim is somewhat exaggerated, the TR-11A is still an undeniably impressive craft.
