Aquilla

Aquilla.JPG
Aquilla-class Transport JumpShip
Production information
Manufacturer Boeing Interstellar
Introduced 2148
Use Civilian Transport
Colony Ship
Tech Base Inner Sphere (Primitive)
Cost Unknown
Technical specifications
Mass 100,000
Length 305 Meters
Sail Diameter None
Fuel 2,500 (25,000)
Burn Rate 19.75
Safe Thrust 1
Top Thrust 2
Sail Integrity None
KF Drive Integrity 4
LF Battery N/A
Armament
Armor Primitive Armor
DropShip Capacity None
Crew 13 Officers
65 crew
12 Gunners
Grav Decks None
Escape Pods/Life Boats 20/0
Heat Sinks 165
Structural Integrity 10
BV (2.0) 957

Description[edit]

The Aquilla-class Transport JumpShip was an early starship designed first used by the colonialists during the first Exodus. It should be noted that the division between compact core and standard core JumpShips significantly postdates the Aquilla's development - the earliest JumpShips, due to the lack of the features that define the modern standard JumpShip, were closer to WarShips in an overall design because of the necessity of powerful maneuver drives and large cargo bays.

Conceived by Boeing Interstellar and built in Luna orbit in the Terra system, the Aquilla was among many designs being built in humanity's first big push into interstellar space. A number of Aquillas were utilized by Samantha Calderon and her followers in their eventual colonization of what became Taurian Concordat.

During the Outer Reaches Rebellion, the design was utilized as an auxiliary combat vessel. At Ryde, an Aquilla was used to lay space mines at the system's jump points, destroying several Terran Alliance JumpShips that were transporting troops. The design's last noted use was during the newborn Star League's Reunification War, where Periphery nations pressed these ships into service as part of their attempt to resist the Star League navy, though they were ultimately unsuccessful.

The development of modern JumpShips and DropShips presented an economic challenge that led to the decline and ultimately the demise of the Aquilla.[1]

Weapons, Equipment and Capabilities[edit]

The Aquilla has a Primitive K-F Drive which limits the vessel to 15 light-years per jump. The ship design predates the modern DropShip by centuries as well as the solar sail and as such lacks both, relying on a squadron of Small Craft to convey its cargo from surface to orbit.

The ship has very little in the way of armament, never being intended for actual combat. Later models of the ship utilizes a pair of Class 5 Autocannons, one in each forward side mount, and an array of machine guns mounted along the ship's flanks with paired mounts fore and aft for point defense. A total of six tons of autocannon ammo and ten tons of machine gun ammo were supplied. The ship is protected by 80 tons of capital-grade primitive armor.

The ship has three bays. The first bay is a docking bay for its complement of eight small craft while the remaining bays are reserved for cargo which both have maximum capacity of 18,057 tons.[2]

Variants[edit]

During the Reunification War, a number of Aquilla-class ships were navalized by Magistracy of Canopus.

See Also[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • Like all JumpShips and WarShips, the Aquilla is an advanced rules design.
  • As of this writing, only the standard version of the Aquilla has a published record sheet.
  • The TAS Charger was confirmed to be an Aquilla, as was the TAS Philadelphia, through the use of a copped copy of the image of the TAS Philadelphia on the Record Sheet for the Aquilla published on page 28 of Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 1.
  • Following the publication of Interstellar Operations, the Aquila has become an illegal design, as the AC/5s mounted on the Aquilla postdates the introduction of the JumpShip class by over a century. Although the introductory date of the entry given in Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 1 is 2148, the stats given reflect what must be a later build standard of Aquilla introduced - or created via modification - after the introduction of the prototype and production standards of AC/5 in the twenty-third century.

References[edit]

  1. Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 1, p. 16: "Aquilla"
  2. Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 1, pp. 16, 29: "Aquilla" & Record Sheet

Bibliography[edit]