The RWA was wanting for a lot of things even up to the Amaris Coup, but thier use of VTOL transported infantry was legendary even to the SLDF. this expertise was MOSTLY attributied to the training of pilots and soliders, but one asset that could not be denied was the RWA's Black Raven Helicopter. based on the concept of a 21st Century American vehicle the Black Raven was built to be mass produced on the cheap, and only accomplish the mission of delivering it's payload to battle. air support of infantry was to be carried out by other better equipped helicopters.
the Black Raven did it's job well enough, despite low tech manufacturing standards when compared to the SLDF. it's battlemech grade armor was specially crafted top repel even mech busting autocannon fire on the nose, and the flanks were protected enough from fire as well. armor protection from the rear was anemic, but was justified in that targeting a withdrawing helicopter was a waste of ammunition.
if the Black Raven had any flaws it was not tied directly to battlefield performance. it's airspeed was better the the older Strike Falcon, but a quirk in the engine governer made getting up to speed difficult under combat conditions. this governer was specifically installed to mitigate it's extremely poor fuel consumption, wich despite all intentions gave the Black Raven a range that barely justified it's own existence when compared to ground APCs. despite all of this the craft was an unsung success, praised by pilots and crew as "the most reliable hunk of junk you can fly. just don't pass up a base or you will crash."
eventually the black raven was out performed by the SLDF Vector, though the RWA continued to use it until the fall of the Terra.
Black Raven Transport
Mass: 15 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: VTOL
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Age of War/Star League
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/C-C-C-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 277,500 C-Bills
Battle Value: 224
Power Plant: 40 I.C.E.
Cruise Speed: 97.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 151.2 km/h
Armor: Standard Armor
Armament:
2 Machine Guns
1 Infantry Compartment (3.0 tons)
Manufacturer:
Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 10 points 1.50
Engine: I.C.E. Engine 40 2.00
Cruise MP: 9
Flank MP: 14
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 0 0.00
Control Equipment: 1.00
Lift Equipment: 1.50
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 64 4.00
Armor
Factor
Front 20
Left/Right 18/18
Rear 6
Rotor 2
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Spaces Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Machine Gun LS 0 1 0.50
Machine Gun RS 0 1 0.50
Infantry Compartment (3.0 tons) BD 0 1 3.00
@MG (200) BD - 0 1.00
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 2 Points: 2
9v 1 0 0 0 1 0 Structure: 1
Special Abilities: EE
Quirks: Gas Hog, poor performance, easy to pilot, easy to maintain.
