The Grey
Banshee with starboard side fore vectoring thruster visible and starboard access door open.
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Create a Space-to-Ground capable dropship for the First Order that can also serve as a Gunship or Material Transport, supplementing the more common Assault Landers. Essentially this will be a functional replacement of the LAAT/i as it can transport both personnel and material readily.
- Image Source: Source
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: U-wing, Theta-Class AT-AT Barge.
Designer:
Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (Intellectual Property Holder)
[*]
Manufacturer: Closed-Market
- First Order Corps of Imperial Engineers (Licensed Production)
- Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (Intellectual Property Holder)
[*]Model: Banshee 851-Carrier/Gunship
[*]
Affiliation: Closed-Market
- Core Imperial Confederation
- First Order
- Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (Intellectual Property Holder)
[*]Modularity: Yes (Passenger/Cargo Bay Layout)
[*]
Production: Minor
[*]Material: Alusteel, Durasteel, Reflec (Special Forces Only), Thermal Gel, Titanium, Transparisteel, Quadanium.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Classification: Vertical Take-Off and Landing Space-To-Ground Dropship-Gunship
- Length: 31 Meters, 6.21 Meters (Troop/Cargo Compartment Standard Variant)
- Width: 25 Meters (Wingspan), 4.67 Meters (Troop/Cargo Compartment)
- Height: 11.5 Meters (W/landing gear), 11.1 Meters (w/o landing gear), 3.25 Meters (Troop/Cargo Compartment)
- Weight: 72 Metric Tons
- Maximum Atmospheric Speed: 670 Km/h - 905 Km/h (Laden ~75 Tons - Unladen/Personnel Only)
- Engine(s): 8x FOCIE IC4 Ion Drive Engine 12,000 Kw (16,092 Hp), 4x FOCIE MZ11 Tertiary Ion Drive 3,728 Kw (5,000 Hp)
- Power/Weight Ratio: 1,540 kW/ton, 2,093 hp/ton
- Armament: 1x Ball-Mounted Repeating Medium Laser Cannon, 1x FWMB-10 Repeating Blaster, 16x Fin-stabilized ST2 Concussion Missiles (Moderate)
- Defenses: Moderate
- Squadron Count: 4 (Very Low)
- Manoeuvrability Rating: Moderate
- Speed Rating: High
- Hyperdrive Class: None
- Complement: 10 Passengers (Seated) OR ~75 Metric Tons of Equipment/Material (No Passengers)
- Minimal Crew: 1 (Pilot)
- Optimal Crew: 3 (Pilot, Air-Combat Officer, Loadmaster)
- Auto-Pilot Functionality.
- Access Doors (Port & Starboard Side, Electrically Driven)
- Blue-Force Tracking.
- Closed-Circuit Life Support System.
- Digital Avionics.
- Expanding Cargo Ramp
- FLEETCOM-Uplink.
- Flight Controls (HOTAS).
- Four-Point Quick-Release Seat Harnesses
- Global Positioning System.
- Guidance Computer.
- Heads-Up Display.
- Intercom System.
- Magnetic Compass.
- Navigation Computer.
- Overhead Durasteel Seat Occupant Restraints (Passenger Seats Only)
- Subspace Transceiver (11.0 Ly Range)
- Targeting Computer.
- TEAMCOM-Uplink.
- Weapon Racks (Seat Mounted)
- 300 Ghz Broadband Comlink Transmitter (300 Kilometer Range)
- Hull Thermal-Gel Layer.
- Matte Black Reflec Coating (FOSB & FOSF Variants Only).
- Armament: Thanks to its design and armament the Banshee can provide close-air support to disembarked or disembarking ground troops and vehicles mercilessly battering hostile personnel and material with what can be fatal effectiveness.
- Durability: Despite the fact it has no Deflector shielding the Banshee is fairly durable and capable of sustaining concentrated small arms fire without too much worry, even the likes of Heavy Repeating Blasters are given long pause by its' tough armour.
- Modularity: Each Banshee can have a variety of different interior cargo lay-outs, internally the Banshee can usually carry ten troops but their seats can be removed and the Dropship can then be laden with seventy-five metric tons of cargo or even a combat-ready Mk.I Tooka Force Scout Vehicle internally, in addition to an externally carried tracked tank.
- Reflec Coating: Banshee Dropships in service with the First Order's Special Forces or First Order Security Bureau are pained in sensor and radar-spoofing Reflec Coating which is designed to make them difficult to detect short of physically seeing them. Manufacture of models so equipped is less than the standard which reflects the size of the units equipped with them.
- Thermal-Gel Layer: Using a layer of Thermal-Gel in its Hull the Banshee is considered an incredibly safe airframe to be transported within by Troops. In the event of a crash the Thermal-Gel Layer within Hull hardens and absorbs the kinetic impact that would normally be exerted on the airframe and its' contents, short of the airframe completely disintegrating the passengers should survive even the most violent crashes if properly secured in their seats; it results in low casualties and greater combat effectiveness.
- Deflector Shields: Beyond an astmospheric friction shield for use when entering a planet's atmosphere the craft makes no defensive use of protective Deflector shielding as it was found they increased its' atmospheric drag; as a result the Banshee is very vulnerable to damage whatever weapon impacts it is going to hit the hull and not some amorphous ray or particle shield.
- Fighter Prey: Despite the fact it has quite a respectable speed in-Atmosphere that exceeds that of antiquated dropship designs it is still vulnerable to being intercepted by dedicated fighters both in a terrestrial setting and in space.
- Hyperdrive: Banshee dropships lack any hyperdrive capability which means they cannot operate independently of First Imperial Assets such as airbases or First Order Navy warships. Banshee dropships that find their warships destroyed more often than not find themselves trapped.
- Vector Pylons: Banshee Dropships uses pylon-mounted vectoring wings and thrusters to achieve its' VTOL and flight capability, if any of the vectoring wings are sufficiently damaged it could cause a crash in atmosphere unable to generate sufficient lift for its weight and disproportionate thrust on the two sides of the craft without an attentive pilot. The secondary vertical vectoring pylons mounted on the fuselage which provide the vertical take off and landing capability if destroyed during landing or take-off generally results in the heavy vehicle crashing gracelessly.
- Vehicle Transport: The Banshee has a magnetically sealable series of panels towards the rear of the fuselage and above the boarding ramp which permit the Dropship to carry a variety of wheeled and tracked vehicles upto a mass of seventy-five metric tons. However, the Banshee cannot carry a tank in this fashion through orbital re-entry and thus deployment of heavy vehicles requires a warship carrying Banshees to enter atmosphere which can increase said warship's vulnerability. Because the tank must also be carried outside the Banshees armoured Hull it renders them vulnerable to damage from heavy ground-based weapons, which is exasabated by the fact carrying a seventy to seventy-five ton load reduces maximum speed to around 670 km/h.
Left to Right: Banshee Dropship with Cargo Ramp Lowered and Extended, Banshee Cockpit with Pilot and ACO.
Description:
Named after an Umbaran Predator, the Banshee 851-Carrier/Dropship is an all-weather Space-to-ground capable craft that can effectively maneuver in exoatmospheric conditions and enter terrestrial atmospheres. Banshee dropships are considered 'Heavy' dropships both for their mass and capacity to deliver upto seventy-five tons of equipment or material, in contrast to the Atmospheric Assault Lander the Type 851-Carrier/Dropship carries less personnel although it transports them with greater safety and can also transport far greater amounts of material while featuring an airframe twice as large as the Assault Lander with greater amounts of weaponry to clear landing zones of fortifications and hostile infantry for its' embarked troops. Unlike the Assault Lander the Type 851 uses a number of Ion Engines to propel it's great mass and this gives a distinct roar not dissimilar to a TIE fighter but these same Ion Engines are also quite vulnerable to damage and the destruction of just one vectoring pylon or wing can be sufficient to down the entire airframe in this way the craft are more susceptible to anti-aircraft fire.
To aid in the protection of crew, passengers and any cargo loaded aboard the Banshee its' hull is impregnated with a Thermal-Gel Layer which is designed to absorb the massive kinetic energy usually placed on the airframe during a crash landing; protecting the crew and passengers from massive amounts of hydrostatic shock though unfortunately the aircrew are more susceptible to injury due to design limitations caused in part by the cockpit's transparisteel canopy. In this sense the craft is far superior to the assault lander even if it carries half the troops with the exception of the entire air-frame disintegrating it will get the embarked passengers on the ground one-way or another. The Banshee is popular within the Stormtrooper Corps for this reason as it gives them the capability to often get troops on the ground even through dense anti-aircraft defences even if they don't necessarily land at their desired target. Some troops on the ground is better than no troops on the ground.
Another interesting quirk about the Banshee is that it can carry a combat-ready Tooka Force Scout Vehicle within the cargo compartment although it must have the internal passenger seating removed, the Banshee can also carry an additional Tooka on the fuselage just behind the rear expanding cargo access ramp against the magnetized plating featured on the aircraft's "Tail" providing instant access to armour support for disembarking Infantry. As an example the Banshee's full combat load can include an internally stored Tooka Force Scout vehicle and an externally carried TX-230A Combat Assault Tank although the Banshee is incredibly slowed by this seventy-three metric ton load and makes it drastically more vulnerable to fighter interception and AA batteries. In contrast to the Atmospheric Assault Lander the Banshee is more heavily armed with a Medium Repeating Laser Cannon that sits in a rotating ball-mount on the aircraft's 'chin' with an impressive field of fire with two magazines of concussion missiles stored in each vectoring 'wing' giving a total count of sixteen missiles per Banshee. Both of these weapons permit the suppression and destruction of hostile armour, fortifications and infantry.
To prevent the mass casualties of Troopers while they disembark the Banshee features three access points; a thick square shaped receding door on the port and starboard sides in addition to the cargo ramp that can be lowered and extended or retracted as necessary. This permits the Banshee's pilots to use the vessels hull to protect vulnerable deploying troops or vehicles and allow the embarked troops to leave the Dropship in relative safety. Barely behind the main cargo loading ramp in the cargo compartment's interior ceiling is a vertically stored FWMB-10 Repeating Blaster in a pintle-type mount that can be pulled down and then used by the loadmaster or a passenger to cover disembarking troops. When descending through the Atmosphere of a planet the Loadmaster and ten Passengers sit in their opposed seats restrained in the cargo bay and remain so until re-entry is completed at which point embarked Troops will generally release their seat restraints and wait until one of the airframe's doors are opened by the pilot shortly before exiting the vehicle. Unlike some other vehicles such as the LAAT it is descended from the Banshee's cockpit can only be accessed via the interior with a door centred on a vacuum-proof bulkhead at the far end of cargo compartment; forming an armoured petition between the cargo/passenger compartment and cockpit. This adds an additional layer of protection for the troops or cargo as any projectile which penetrates the cockpit can be prevented entry into the cargo compartment by the Quadanium Bulkhead.
SUBMISSION MODIFICATION RECORDS
- 25/03/2019: Edited the Affiliations, Manufacturer, Designer to include the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and Core Imperial Confederation. Specified Closed-Market.
