Approved Starship EGS-3 "Kriffin Kritter" Escort Gunship

[Irumakka Sednava]

Pictured: An EGS-3 in spaceflight mode, with most weapons concealed and unusable.​

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Create an orbit-to-surface escort gunship to protect the perimeter of dropship and landing craft squadrons/formations
• Image Source: Generated by Selrik Lorcas using ChatGPT
• Canon Link: N/A.
• Permissions: N/A.
• Primary Source: N/A.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Adumar Advanced Starcraft Design and Repair
• Affiliation: Adumar Advanced Starcraft Design and Repair, Risen Empire.
• Market Status: Closed-Market
• Model: AGS-3
• Production: Mass-Produced.
• Material: Enhanced carbon-durasteel plating, transperisteel, alusteel, starship components.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Escort Gunship
• Length: 16.4 meters.
• Width:
  • Body: 6 meters.
  • Wingspan: 16 meters.
• Height: 5.3 meters.
• Armament:
  • Spaceflight Armament: Low
  • Atmospheric Armament: Very High
    • 1 ion cannon, chin-mounted, manned ball turret. (Depressurized and sealed off from ship during spaceflight, contributing to variable rating.)
    • 2 dorsal torpedo tubes, fed by a magazine of 6 ion torpedoes each.
    • 1 nose-mounted medium blaster cannon.
    • 2 pintle-mounted "Roba" M45 repeating ion blasters, forward port and forward starboard doors. (Doors seal during spaceflight, contributing to variable rating.)
    • 2 pintle mounted E-Web heavy blaster cannons, rear port and rear starboard doors. (Doors seal during spaceflight, contributing to variable rating.)
• Defenses: Average
  • No deflector shields of any kind.
  • Enhanced carbon-durasteel plating.
    • (Heavy armor compensates for the lack of deflector shields.)
• Squadron Count: Very Low: 4
• Maneuverability Rating:
  • Spaceflight Maneuverability: High.
  • Atmospheric Maneuverability: Low.
• Speed Rating:
  • Spaceflight Speed: Low.
  • Atmospheric Speed: High.
• Hyperdrive: No.
• Minimum Crew: 2.
• Optimal Crew: 7.
  • 1 Pilot.
  • 1 Copilot/Main Gunner
  • 1 Engineer/Ball Turret Gunner
  • 4 Door Gunners.
• Passenger Capacity: 8.
• Cargo Capacity: Small.

STANDARD FEATURES

• (Provide all of your submission's standard features, including non-combat items, here in a list -or- alternatively simply state 'all standard features'. This includes all features that are common for vessels of this class. Please link to all Factory Submissions used. Links: Starship Weapons, Approved Technology, Shields, Engines)
• Standard Life Support Systems.
• Standard Flight Controls.
• Standard Targeting Systems.
• Standard Diagnostic Computer.
• Standard Comms Systems.
• Hanging Straps.
• Seating.
• Sublight Engines.
• Repulsorlift Engines.
• Turbothrust Engines.
• Maneuvering Jets.
• Pintle-Mounting Systems.

ADVANCED SYSTEMS

• MK II Votoly "Booster Seat" elevating tracked seats.

STRENGTHS

• Devastating Weaponry (In Atmosphere): Built to carve pathways through enemy defenses, its robust selection of ion weaponry disables most obstacles it encounters... and its E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons are there to add injury to insult as needed.
• Space Invader: Unlike many gunships of this size that require a parent carrier to insert them into the atmosphere, this one is spaceflight-capable, capable of escorting its assigned formation all the way from deep in system space, if need be.
• Self-Sufficient Engineering: Most ships of this size and class rely on larger fleet vessels to provide repairs. This one comes with a robust engineering station for battlefield repairs, meaning that a bad strike or blast doesn't send it back to its carrier. It can land, make quick repairs, and, as a result, get back in the fight much faster.

WEAKNESSES

• On My Six: A complete lack of rearward weaponry and bad atmospheric maneuverability means that if an enemy gets behind this ship, they can dispose of it at their leisure.
• Clipped Wings: Although more maneuverable in spaceflight, this ship has poor sublight speed and reduced access to weaponry in space, making it a challenging target for enemies... but also unable to effectively counterattack.
• Limited space: Many gunships can serve as dropships themselves, featuring large troop bays holding around 30 passengers. This one, as a result of its large crew size, ordinance amount, and small stature, can only hold eight passengers, roughly equivalent to two fireteams. It can supplement the troop count of the dropships or landing craft it protects, but not as effectively as other gunships. Its cargo capability is similarly disappointing.

DESCRIPTION

The AGS-3 is an ambitious orbit-to-surface capable escort gunship designed by Adumar Advanced Starcraft Design and Repair to supplement Risen Empire's planetary invasion forces. Four-unit squadrons are meant to be deployed along the front perimeter of a dropship or landing craft formation, using their vast array of Ion weaponry to target enemy ships, armored vehicles, and ground emplacements between the troops and cargo they are protecting and the designated landing zone where they will be released. Additionally, they are equipped with a pair of E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons, which they use to try and sweep up enemy infantry and lightly armored vehicles as they pass overhead.

Ultimately, the AGS-3 Escort Gunship is a devastating tool built to cut its allies a straight, linear path through enemy defenses. Yet it does have some weaknesses because, without a formation of other ships behind it, its lack of maneuverability and rear-facing weaponry means that it can quickly get finished off by an enemy ship outmaneuvering it and getting behind. An enemy facing these ships knows this vulnerability is present and will do everything in their power to separate them from the flock, making it imperative that pilots of these craft don't let themselves get led astray. A further weakness is its lack of weaponry and slower speed during spaceflight. A large portion of its weapon complement remains inaccessible until it enters the atmosphere, making the period between leaving its parent ship and reaching the planet a prime window for counterattack on the invasion force it escorts.

The interior of the vessel is quite cozy. At the nose of the gunship is a hatch down into the manned ball turret that controls the ion cannon, which seals off during spaceflight to maintain a pressurized interior. The front of this corridor also features the engineering station, which houses the diagnostic computer and a variety of repair tools. Here, the engineer/ball-turret gunner stands and monitors power levels during spaceflight. Directly behind, still in this corridor, are two tracked elevating seats that travel upwards into the canopy, where the pilot and copilot/main gunner stations are. Aft of these, the corridor widens, and the first set of hanging straps can be seen, meant for two door gunners to hold during spaceflight. The forward doors are on the port and starboard sides, equipped with pintle-mounted "Roba" M-45 repeating ion blasters. These weapons must fold inward against the corridor walls, and the crew must seal the doors during spaceflight. Beyond this, we enter the passenger cabin, which features hanging straps and standing room for eight passengers to squeeze in but lacks any amenities for comfort. Past the cabin is the second "corridor", which is just a compartment with hanging straps for the remaining two door gunners to use during spaceflight and a pair of E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons, pintle-mounted to the rear port and starboard doors of the vessel in the same manner as the M-45s towards the bow.

From the outside, this ship bears some resemblance to the "Lartie" style of gunships descended from the designs of the Galactic Republic. The cockpit is a raised canopy along the sloped top of the bow, with the copilot/gunner seated behind the pilot. Rather than two manned ball turrets on either side of the ship, a single one has been integrated into the ship's chin, used to operate a powerful-looking ion cannon. It gives the impression that the ship has a single cyclopean eye at its front, designed to look ahead and to the sides, as well as down at prey on the ground. The front set of archway-shaped doors house those nasty M-45s. Then, rather than larger bay doors directly into the passenger compartment, there is instead a second set of archways behind it, with the E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons holding a wide range of fire towards the sky and ground. Its wings, rather than tilting downwards, sticking straight out at a 90-degree angle from the hull, massive five-meter-wide affairs shaped like the wings of a glider. Where they meet the hull is where the sublight and turbothrust engines live, distinct pairs of long cylinders stacked atop each other. Between them, along the rear dorsal ridge of the ship, two torpedo tubes nest.

 

[MANIAC]

Irumakka Sednava

Simple and solid.

Approved.