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Minotaur Class Gunship
Type: Aerodyne
Mass: 200 tons
Thrust: 4/6
Fuel: 20 tons
Structural Integrity: 10
Crew: 4 (1 Pilot, 1 Co-Pilot, 1 Flight Engineer, 1 Gunner) - 2nd Class Quarters
Armor: 21 tons standard armor  Nose: 110  Wings: 90   Aft: 86
Heatsinks: 22
Cargo: 0 tons
Weapons:
Nose :
2 AC/20s
2 Large Lasers

LW(R)/RW(R):
1 Medium Laser

Ammo:
6 tons AC/20 Ammo

Overview:
The Minotaur class gunship was developed by the Concordat Navy  in the early 26th Century as a defense ship for Taurian shipyards and naval facilities.  Used to operating in the debris strewn Hyades and Pleiades Clusters, Taurian ship handlers are considered some of the best in known space.  It is unsurprising that the Concordat has chosen to take advantage of these skills to locate many of their naval facilities in asteroid belts and debris fields, reducing the exposure of these normally very vulnerable bases.   As more and more facilities were opened to support the expanding Concordat Navy, there was a need for craft to defend these bases.  Rather then tying down warships and assault dropships defending these bases, the Concordat looked for alternatives that were smaller and cheaper to operate.  After studying several options, including a variety of aerospace fighters and gunships, the Concordat settled on the Minotaur class gunship.  Slower then most aerospace fighters, the ship was much better armed and armored, making it ideal for engaging dropships and even small warships.  Soon the Minotaur was being produced in large numbers by Vandenberg Aerospace. 

Capabilities:
The Minotaur is designed to be used to attack and destroy dropships and warships.  Equipped with a powerful punch, in the form of a pair of Weston Super Heavy Autocannon Class 20 and 2 Taurus Warworks Large Lasers.  Mounted in the nose of the craft, these weapons can inflict series damage on dropships and even pose a threat to smaller warships.  To provide protection against enemy aerospace fighters, the Minotaur has 2 rear firing medium lasers.  Unfortunately the designers were not able to include enough heatsinks to handle all of the weapons carried by the Minotaurs so the crews must stagger their fire to avoid overwhelming the system. 

With so much of the ships mass dedicated to weapons, the designers were forced to install small engines on the ship.  While this does not allow the Minotaur to keep up with nimbler aerospace fighters, this is not much of a hindrance when operating in the tight confines of an asteroid belt.  To protect the ship against damage from both the enemy and debris, the ship carries an impressive 21 tons of armor. 

The biggest complaint by crews is the relatively spartan quarters on board the ship, however despite carrying enough fuel for patrols of over 1 week in duration, crews are rarely in the ship for more the 12 hours at a time. 

Deployment:
The Minotaur has been deployed in large numbers across the Concordat.  The biggest concentrations of the ships have been in the Hyades Cluster, the Pleiades Cluster and the Anaheim system where they form a key part of the system defense forces.   It was in the Anaheim system that the Minotaur scored its biggest success.  In December of 2583 the SLDF Navy attack the Anaheim system in effort to destroy the Concordat fleet base in the system's asteroid belt.  When the SLDF fleet entered the asteroid belt, they were engaged by nearly a thousand Minotaurs, supported by a similar number of aerospace fighters and several hundred assault dropships.  During the battle the Concordat managed to destroy dozens of warships.  While a large number of Minotaurs were lost, the SLDF Fleet was forced to retreat from the system.   

Variants:
Recently the Concordat has introduced a new version of the Minotaur that takes advantage of advanced SLDF technology that has been reverse engineered by Taurian engineers.  Removing 4 heatsinks and replacing the remainder with double strength ones, the ship has superior heat dissipation.  The design team was also able to replace the large lasers with Taurus WarWorks Particle Projection Cannons, increasing the damage capacity of the Minotaur.