Grand Admiral, First Order Central Command
Intent: To create a multirole aircraft to support the Imperial Force Recon in both transport and fire support roles.
Development Thread: N/A
Manufacturer: Shadowline
Model: UA-101A 'Hell Hawk' Airspeeder
Affiliation: Shadowline
Production: Minor Production
Material: Durasteel
Description: Besides armor, one of the key pieces of equipment for the nascent Imperial Force Recon was a multirole gunship. Following guidance from Vice Admiral Cyrus Tregessar, Imperial Shipworks submitted an airspeeder design that surpassed expectations.
The core elements of the design was to act as a fast transport that could deliver a squad of soldiers quickly, quietly, and accurately to a designated point; and then provide fire support while the team undertook its mission. The Hellhawk, as it was quickly dubbed, is well equipped for that role. A spacious internal bay allowed for a full squad of 8 with all required equipment. They could be delivered by landing or fast-rope, and the highly maneuverable Hell Hawk was able to squeeze in to some of the tightest urban environments the designers could imagine.
The stealth aspect was primarily achieved by using sloped armor design with a lining of composite carbon padding. This reduces the radar cross section of the vehicle, though it is far from a perfect system. Primarily it allows for a Hellhawk to evade detection until far later than normal. it provides no defense whatsoever against fire control radars (though they do have to know it is there), and so has a standard chaff and flare system for missile defense.
The armament of the craft is extensive. The nose mounts a rapid fire heavy repeating blaster, designed for anti-infantry work. While effective in that role, it lacks the punch to deal with enemy armor. To compensate, a pair of blaster cannons were mounted on the ends of the wings. These, however, have a more limited range of mobility and a low rate of fire compared to the nose gun. They perform adequately in an anti-air role as well. Hardpoints were also added to the wings, capable of mounting a variety of weapons, or possibly carrying fuel tanks, ECM Pods, Battle Droids or anything else that can be lashed to them. Finally, a pair of door guns could be mounted, though this exposed the troops inside to small arms fire. Typically a dedicated gunner has control of the blasters, with the rocket pods or missiles (not mounted on turrets and thus forward-firing only) controlled by the pilot.
Perhaps the biggest innovation was accidental. Designed initially as an airspeeder with ion afterburners, the equipment used included Maneuver Thrusters, commonly seen in starfighters. After some testing, it was determined that the dampeners could be used to give the Hell Hawk incredible maneuverability in short bursts, including allowing for movement at top speed in any direction, including sideways and backwards! Unfortunately, there was no way to adequately shield the dampeners, and they are easily damaged by enemy fire, and prone to mechanical problems.
Most of the weaponry and equipment can be removed if necessary, and the Hell Hawk used as a more conventional transport. Lack of parts often sees Hell Hawks going into action with one or both of the wing blasters missing. Standard tactical doctrine is to have one fully-equipped Hellhawk acting as a gunship for every two acting as transports. Not carrying troops provides no technical advantages, it simply frees the craft up from having to go low and slow to drop off its cargo.
Role: Multirole (Transport, Fire Support, and general utility) Airspeeder
Height: 6.7 meters
Length: 22.6 meters
Width: 24 meters
Propulsion: Repulsorlift, Ion Afterburners
Top Speed:
Top Speed: 635 km/h
Attack Speed: 340 km/h
Nose Mounted Heavy Repeating Blaster.
2 Wing Mounted Blaster Cannons.
4 Weapon Mounts (2 per wing), typically mounting 4-pack laser guided anti-vehicle missiles, or 17-pack dumbfire rocket pods.
2 Door-mounted Repeating Blasters, must be fired by passengers.
Cargo Capacity: 6-80 tons (depending on how many people are being transported.
Misc. Equipment:
- Standard Comms Suite
Aerial In-flight Refueling Probe
Standard Sensor Suite
Nose Mounted Thermal, IR, Nightvision and Laser Designator Combined Sensor Pod
2 Maneuver Thrusters, combined with the Ion Afterburners
Chaff and Flares (mounted in tail)
