DropShip

Description

In the BattleTech universe a DropShip is defined as any spaceship massing between 100 and 100,000 tons that is itself incapable of faster-than-light (FTL) travel. They essentially conduct all other space travel, including transit between planets and jump points and planetary landings (hence their name). For FTL interstellar movement, they dock with JumpShips by means of a Docking collar.

The mass range is given in the construction rules and reflects the fact that it is more or less impossible to build DropShips which are smaller than 100 tons or larger than 100,000 tons. Since DropShips are meant to be carried by JumpShips, a Docking collar is an implied neccessity and is automatically included in the structure of any DropShip.

Construction and Subtypes

DropShips are the workhorse of interplanetary space travel. It is DropShips (and occasionally their smaller cousins, the Small Craft) that move cargo and passengers between planetary surfaces, orbits, space stations and jump points. While transport is their primary role, some have been built for special purposes and act as tugs, rescue ships, fighter carriers or even designated combat DropShips. Accordingly, a wide and diverse variety of DropShip types exist.

The smallest known spaceship to meet the DropShip criteria is arguably the 200-ton K-1 DropShuttle, although it is generally classified as a Small Craft instead. The largest DropShip ever constructed is the 100,000-ton Behemoth (DropShip), which due to its sheer size tends to require (or block) a second Docking collar on JumpShips, and is incapable of operating in atmosphere or planetary gravity. The biggest DropShip that can actually land on a planet and take off again is the 52,000-ton Mammoth.

The most common military BattleMech transport classes are the 1,720-ton Leopard (one Lance: 4 'Mechs, 2 Fighters), the 3,500-ton Union (one Company: 12 'Mechs, 2 Fighters) and the much rarer 9,700-ton Overlord (one Battailon: 36 'Mechs, 6 Fighters); the most common Aerospace Fighter carrier is the 1,720-ton Leopard CV class (one Squadron: 6 Fighters).

DropShips are usually cramped inside, featuring relatively little in the way of creature-comforts or extra space. Every possible hole or space in a DropShip has some sort of system or mechanism important to the operation and maintenance of the vessel. Most crews live in small, spartan quarters bunking four crewman or more a piece, though Star League-era DropShips, as well as some newer ones as of the late 3060s, feature comparatively spacious twin cabins. Except for passenger liners, which afford their attendants a bit more privacy, DropShips are very public places. Most DropShips described talk of stale air and overly-cramped living conditions.

They are based around two basic hullforms, aerodyne and spheroid (egg-shaped). Depending on their intended role, DropShips can be constructed following either of these two alternative approaches. With advantages and disadvantages evenly balanced, roughly half all DropShips belong to one subtype and half to to the other.

Aerodyne DropShips

Aerodyne DropShips are shaped roughly similar to conventional aircraft. They are generally smaller than spheroid DropShips and cannot be bigger than 35,000 tons (the biggest known aerodyne class being the 12,000-ton Titan). Through their speed, they generate lift within an atmosphere which makes them easier to control. Even if the ship suffers damage or loses thrust it is still possible to crashland so that crew and cargo might survive. They usually require runways to land and take off, making them impractical wherever runways are not readily available.

Spheroid DropShips

Spheroid (egg-shaped) DropShips use sheer thrust to vertically descend onto a planetary surface and take off in the same way. This allows them to operate independent from runways or even spaceports, making them ideal for exploring unknown planets and giving them a tactical advantage in military operations. However, their simple and versatile landing and taking off pattern comes at a great risk as there is no failsafe whatsoever. They are utterly dependent on the functionality of their powerful engines to generate lift, and a control computer to manage their unstable flight. These systems require more maintenance than on aerodyne ships, and their failure means a swift and deadly crashlanding that leaves few if any survivors or salvageable parts.

Deep space DropShips

Although all DropShips are either of the aerodyne or the spheroid subtype, there is arguably a third subtype: Those incapable of atmospheric operations and/or landing on a planet, rendering the differences between aerodyne and spheroid ships irrelevant. Instead, these ships are limited to operating in deep space for one reason or another and would be destroyed when attempting to enter an atmosphere or land on a planet. Examples include the super-large Behemoth (DropShip) class cargo hauler, which is a spheroid design but too large and fragile for planetary operations, and the nominally "aerodyne" (i.e. non-spheroid) Achilles and Vengeance class military dropships which were not designed for atmospheric operations, lacking wings or lifting surfaces.

Manufacturing

DropShips are precious LosTech items and, for a time at least, were considered sacrosanct and would be treated as non-combattants by all sides. As lost technology was rediscovered, they became viable targets again although they are still too valuable to be sacrificed lightly, and typically well protected. However, it would seem that the loss of a dropship was not quite as bad a blow as could be expected, as spare parts could often be scavenged from a downed DropShip that would bring another defunct ship back to functional status or keep others in operation for some more time.

Maintenance of a DropShip usually costs more in resources in a year than the average citizen in the BattleTech universe would ever earn in several lifetimes. The chassis itself costs a large fortune to make, let alone the weapons, armor, avionics, and those powerful fusion engines required to even lift it off the ground.