Pelium heavy fighter
Named after one of Alexander the Great’s earlier sieges and a battle that helped cement his hold over Macedonia the Pelium is based on the popular HMR-HD Hammerhead heavy fighter that saw service in the SLDF and was upgraded to Royal standards with the HMR-HDb of which several score still existed within Clan space and even saw service in PGC’s.
Clan Cloud Cobra, who had one of the largest contingents of Hammerheads still in service would use this craft as a base frame as well as inspiration for their new craft.
Like the Hammerhead the new fighter massed 75-tons and was built around a 375 rated engine giving it superior performance for a craft its size and let it keep up with smaller and lighter craft like the Turk or ever popular Visigoth in chase or dogfight. Unlike other Clan fighters the Pelium featured a generous (by Clan standards) 5 ton fuel tank but the fighters mission profile changed somewhat from a ‘boom and zoom’ attacker with a single heavy weapon to a multi-role heavy fighter that was at home as an interceptor or ground attack aircraft.
To this end the HDb’s gauss rifle was retained, although of Clan standard, but with the weight freed up by the use of an XL engine and Ferro-Aluminium armour the design now had a considerably more tonnage to spare for other weapons.
For additional long range firepower the Pelium featured a pair of ER large lasers, one in each wing, whilst short range firepower was covered by a pair of SRM-6’s, also one in each wing, and each with their own ammunition hopper. A single ER medium laser covered the fighters rear but with the speed and agility offered, it was felt that only lighter interceptors would dare turn with the Hammerhead in a dogfight or try to get in on the fighter’s vulnerable 6.
Draped in 13.5 tons of Ferro-Aluminium armour the Pelium also boasted superior protection than its Hammerhead progenitor as well as the Jagati and Sabutai’s and its armour levels were more akin to the formidable Jengiz Omnifighter.
Structurally the forwards lifting surfaces were all but eliminated and smaller canards were fitted that could be retracted when in space. The large wings were angled forwards slightly and the body ‘flattened’ out to use some lifting body ideas when in an atmosphere whilst keeping the profile down.
Initial test flights discovered some issues but these were mainly with control surfaces and the ideal location for RCS thrusters when in space but test pilots gave very good marks for the Pelium’s speed and agility as well as its heavy protection and solid firepower. In mock dogfights the heavy fighter was able to out manoeuvre the current generation of Clan Omnifighters and only the Visigoth proved to be a serious competitor with the Omnifighter having a heavier short range punch but being far weaker at long range.
The Pelium, like the Hammerhead can also trade its gauss rifle for a heavy bore autocannon and the weapon mount was built to be semi-modular and the fire control to accept either an LB or Ultra-20 pattern autocannon is pre-installed, considerably increasing its firepower at the cost of endurance.
Pelium Heavy Fighter
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 2,698
Cost: 13,443,031 C-bills
Movement: 7/11
Engine: 375 XL
Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 259 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 78
Left Wing 65
Right Wing 65
Aft 51
Weapons Loc Heat
----------------------------
ER Large Laser RWG 12
ER Large Laser LWG 12
Gauss Rifle NOS 1
ER Medium Laser AFT 5
SRM 6 LWG 4
SRM 6 RWG 4
Ammo Loc Shots
-------------------------------------
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] NOS 8
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] NOS 8
SRM 6 Ammo LWG 15
SRM 6 Ammo RWG 15
And here's a 35-ton fighter
Aretes Interceptor
Massing 35 tons the Aretes started off as being inspired by the ZRO-114 which still soldiered in in Clan Cloud Cobra Solahma units. But whereas the Zero was a multi-role fighter the new Aretes, named after the Commander of Alexander the Great’s cavalry at the Battle of Gaugamela was designed to be a straight up interceptor. With its 5-ton fuel tank the fighter immediately boasted superior endurance to current Clan fighters and like the Zero it featured 10-tons of armour, now updated to Ferro-Aluminium, making it very heavily armoured for its size with protection comparable to craft 20 tons heavier.
A 280 rated XL engine provided more than enough thrust and let it match the same speeds as the Avar OmniFighter. The size of the fuel tank and the weight of the crafts armour did cut back on the available weapons space but, taking inspiration from the Zero it was built around a single large weapon and some supporting weapons.
An ER PPC gave the Aretes a massive punch and was mounted under the pointed nose whilst a pair of ER medium lasers, one in each wing gave additional firepower. Initially a pair of ER small lasers were also mounted to cover the fighter’s rear but tests found these weapons to be all but unused as the Aretes could out turn or out run almost any other interceptor and any fighter it couldn’t out run, it outgunned and could out last thanks to its thick hide.
Instead the lasers were replaced with an Active probe as the fighters high speed and endurance, thanks to its big fuel tank and energy based weapons made it an ideal scout.
The fighter’s hull used a blended wing with the ER PPC mounted almost under the forward placed cockpit which offered exceptional visibility. Lacking the Zero’s famous folding wings, the Aretes was sleek and refined and had superb handling characteristics in an atmosphere or in space. Although not as fast as the Vandal or Bashkir the Aretes was far more survivable and had a far greater range allowing it to loiter over a battlefield for longer and the particle cannon gave the small fighter a very nasty bite. It could also out run any current Clan light fighter other than the Avar and even that redoutable standby was outgunned at long range by the Aretes' big cannon.
Aretes Interceptor
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 35 tons
BV: 2,059
Cost: 5,146,128 C-bills
Movement: 10/15
Engine: 280 XL
Heat Sinks: 10 [20]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 10
Armor: 192 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 58
Left Wing 48
Right Wing 48
Aft 38
Weapons Loc Heat
----------------------------
ER PPC NOS 15
ER Medium Laser RWG 5
ER Medium Laser LWG 5
Equipment Loc
--------------------------
Active Probe [Clan] NOS
Miletus Assault fighter.
Along with the Aretes and Pelium the Miletus is a second line fighter that also formed part of the Horses rebuilding efforts. With a comparably small Aerospace arm the Horse Touman was quite prone to losses having disproportionate effects as each pilot lost represented a serious investment of training and resources. Because of the lower number of Omni-Fighters being avalable the majority of the Horses' aerospace arm was filled out with either lighter craft or a mix of second line fighters. Whilst the second line craft were at best, adequate for their role and the large number of lighter interceptors like the Avar were capable of securing aerospace superiority over a local area, these fighters were largely fragile and poorly protected. And, with REVIVAL looming, the Horses wanted more survivable craft should they win a space in the Invasion. It was a concern that with the Federated Commonwealth pressing ahead and the Inner Sphere being on the cusp of starting to close the technology gap, that the aerospace arm would suffer heavy casualties.
And these, would not be easily replaced and any pilots brought in to fill gaps would probably be less experienced than those that had fallen, starting a degenerative cycle where more inexperienced pilots are killed and then have to be replaced with even less skilled pilots.
The Aretes and Pelium were counters to this. The Pelium with its solid protection and impressive speed and firepower was a superb heavy interceptor and other Clans were already trading and trialing for the fighter. The lighter Aretes was also on its way to establishing a solid reputation and whilst its firepower wasn't the heaviest, its endurance was a huge change from the typically short legged light fighters of the Clans, allowing it to remain in battle for longer and be able to effect a battlefield more thanks to its increased loiter time.
The final craft developed prior to REVIVAL was in part based on the Stuka which had seen limited service with the SLDF prior to the Amaris Civil War. Massing 100 tons the new fighter was a pure attack craft with a heavy focus on ground targets. The nose section held a pair of ER PPC's which were the fighters primary long range weapons and these could boil through the armour of any fighter currently in service. But it was at short range that the fighter shined. An LB-20 autocannon, also fitted in the nose could fire a mixture of heavy caliber and proximity fused shells which could cause heavy damage to ground and air targets. Each wing sported a trio of medium pulse lasers as well as a single Streak SRM-6 and the fighters rear was covered by another two medium pulse lasers. Although no faster than the Kirghiz, it was also better armed than the older OmniFighter with thicker protection across its nose and wings whilst mirroring the Kirghiz's endurance with its 5 ton fuel tank.
Twenty five double heatsinks helped keep the fighter cool but if a pilot dared fire all their weapons then they put their craft and lives in immense danger, risking falling out of control or an ammunition explosion.
Tests did reveal some problems with the fighter, smoke ingestion from the autocannon being a significant issue, causing a flameout and near crash in a prototype, but with the air intakes altered and the gun repositioned along with its exhaust this problem was eliminated. The pulse lasers also had to be hard mounted into the wings instead of the small turret like arrangement initially planned which mirrored the Hydaspes layout. These sub-turrets caused significant issues with the control surface response due to vortices formed by the turrets. Instead of having to redesign the whole wing, the turrets were just eliminated and the lasers mounted into the leading edges of the wings. Additional changes to the aerodynamics resulted in a powerful fighter that handled well despite its great mass. Production rates remained low though and the Pelium would be produced in far greater numbers with the aggressive and far more manouverable heavy fighter being more popular than the 'air to muck moving' assault fighter.
Miletus Assault Fighter
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3051+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-D-D
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 3,734
Cost: 17,476,500 C-bills
Source: TRO 3039 - Clan Invasion
Movement: 5/8
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 25 [50]
Fuel Points: 400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 10
Armor: 297 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 90
Left Wing 74
Right Wing 74
Aft 59
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------------
LB 20-X AC NOS 6
ER PPC NOS 15
ER PPC NOS 15
Medium Pulse Laser LWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser LWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser RWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser RWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser LWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser RWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser AFT 4
Medium Pulse Laser AFT 4
Streak SRM 6 LWG 4
Streak SRM 6 RWG 4
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo NOS 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo NOS 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo NOS 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo NOS 5
Streak SRM 6 Ammo LWG 15
Streak SRM 6 Ammo RWG 15
Yes I know I need to change the fluff of the other two but i'd like to use them.
Author
Topic: My Little Tankies...Or Hells Horses with some actual flavour. (Read 52292 times)