Howdah

Model 96C Howdah
Production information
Manufacturer	Nimakachi Fusion Products Limited
Production Year	2695
Use	Tug, SDS Controller Ship
Type	Military Spheroid
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	15,000 tons
Structural Integrity	25
Length	150 meters
Width	68 meters
Height	68 meters
Drive System	PlasmaStar Interplanetary Drives
Safe Thrust	5
Max Thrust	8
Fuel (tons)	700
Fuel (days)	1.84
Armament	10x Gauss rifle 12x PPC 11x ER Large Laser 4x LRM 10 w/ Artemis IV 10x Medium Laser
Armor	77 tons Ferro-Aluminum armor Nose = 371 Sides = 325 Aft = 279
Crew	9 officers 38 enlisted/non-rated 9 gunners 10 bay personnel
Passengers	None
Heat Sinks	200 (400)
BV (2.0)	10,750

Description

The Model 96C SDS Command Ship, also known as the "Howdah", was a drone command ship employed by the Star League Defense Force to control drone fighter spacecraft.

Commissioned in 2695, the Howdah was originally was based on an early variant of the Model 96 "Elephant" space tug. Aside from its role of providing a mobile drone controlling platform, the ship would also act as aerospace drone fighter carrier, controlling and maintaining six drones.

When it was first commissioned, the drone fighter complement consisted of six MK20 SwiftStar Robotic Drones, which were replaced over the decades with Mk30 BlackWasp and later Mk39 VoidSeeker robotic fighters.

The Howdah saw service during the Star League Civil War, and ultimately all were scuttled by order General Aleksandr Kerensky as part his efforts to destroy all SDS related technology.

Armament and Capacities

The Howdah shares much of the 2650 update of the Model 96 Elephant's armor, engine, tug adapter, and weapons. Unlike later versions of the Elephant it does not feature Extended-Range PPCs. For protection, the ship is armored with 77 tons of Ferro-Aluminum armor, with slightly more of this thick armor protection found on the nose.

The weapons bays are laid out as follows:

• Nose Section: ER Large Laser with two medium lasers, four standard PPCs, two Gauss rifles and an Artemis IV Fire Control System-enhanced LRM-10 launcher;
• Forward Side Arcs : One bay contains an ER Large Laser with two medium lasers, along with two standard PPCs, two Gauss rifles and an Artemis-enhanced LRM-10 launcher;
• Aft Arcs: Two standard PPCs, a pair of medium lasers, and two Gauss rifles in their own weapons bays;
• Aft Arc: This section of the ship has four ER large lasers, a pair of medium lasers and an Artemis-enhanced LRM-10 Launcher.

For its primary mission as a drone command ship and aerospace fighter carrier, the Howdah features an Autonomous Tactical Analysis Computer (ATAC), which can handle up to 20 drones at a time.

Cargo

• Bay 1: Cargo (1,462 tons) - 1 Door
• Bay 2: Small Craft (2) - 2 Doors
• Bay 3: ARTS Fighter Cubicles (6) - 4 Doors

Related Designs

• Model 96 "Elephant"

  The base design from 2600 on which the Howdah was based. Early version of the Howdah were converted Elephants of this version, prior to the Howdah getting its own production line.

See Also

• Category:Individual Howdah-class DropShips
• As of this writing there are no known examples of this class surviving beyond the Star League Era.

Bibliography

• Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2