Vampire

Vampire
Production information
Manufacturer	Jalastar Aerospace Markesan Astronautics
Production Year	2715
Use	Troop Carrier
Type	Military Aerodyne
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	400 tons
Structural Integrity	11
Length	42 meters
Width	28 meters
Height	9.5 meters
Drive System	Donovan XVIII
Safe Thrust	3 g
Max Thrust	4.5 g
Fuel (tons)	38 tons
Fuel (days)	20.7 days
Armor	25 tons standard
Crew	6 1 Officer 3 Enlisted 2 Gunners Bay Personnel: 63
Escape Pods/Life Boats	0/0
Heat Sinks	34 single
BV (1.0)	1,827
BV (2.0)	2,058 2,113

Description

One of the smallest DropShips ever to see combat, the Vampire could easily be mistaken for a heavy aerospace fighter based on its speed and weaponry, but in fact, it was the fastest Jump Infantry carrier in existence.

Conceived to minimize the time Federated Suns jump troopers were exposed to enemy aerospace fighters, Markesan Astronautics simply made the Vampire the equal in performance of any non-interceptor fighter it would encounter. When over the target, the jump infantry would be released via specialized drop hatches on the craft's ventral surface. At long range, this gave the Vampire the look of being an aerospace fighter on a bombing run. This misidentification would prove highly effective during the brief "Border War" between the Federated Suns and the Capellan Confederation, with Redfield's Liao troops thrown into total confusion when jump infantry began to rain down instead of bombs.

While highly effective in its role, the Vampire's high performance came at a cost: its engines. The powerful high-performance Donovan XVIII drive system had a relatively short lifespan and soaked up considerable resources in maintenance as compared to other propulsion units. Like many advanced designs that required a steady supply of spare parts to remain in operation, the destruction of the Markesan Astronautics manufacturing facilities during the Draconis Combine's First Succession War thrust towards New Avalon effectively doomed the few Vampires that survived the fighting.

Thanks to the recovery of the Hegemony Memory Core during the Jihad, Jalastar Aerospace was able to revive the Vampire and produce it for the AFFS's special forces.

Armament

Focused towards its high-speed infantry carrier role, the Vampire carried a meager weapons array more akin to the aerospace fighters it superficially resembled. Two medium lasers and an SRM-6 were carried in the nose, while a single Large Laser and LRM-20 were mounted in each wing. As if to reinforce its fighter-like weaponry, a further pair of medium lasers were carried aft to fend off any pursuit. Two tons of SRM reloads and a shared three tons of long-range missile reloads gave the DropShip more than enough endurance for its high-speed, low-loiter role.

Cargo

The Vampire featured a single infantry bay capable of carrying three platoons of jump infantry in highly cramped conditions. For this reason, the class was despised by infantry, and the troops assigned to a Vampire normally traveled on other ships, only transferring to the craft for the actual ground assault. The infantry bay was linked to four special drop hatches along the Vampires ventral surface, allowing the craft to continue on without stopping and often leading to misidentification as an aerospace fighter dropping bombs.

• Bay 1: Infantry (3 Jump Platoons), 4 doors
• Bay 2: Cargo (14 tons), 1 door

Variants

• Vampire II 

  This version of the Vampire was created for the AFFS Rabid Foxes for battle armor infantry deployment. Produced in 3070, the design weighs half as much again as the standard Vampire and is equipped with four battle armor infantry bays. The weapons of the Vampire II are energy-based. Four Heavy PPCs mounted in the nose are supplemented by a pair of Large X-Pulse Lasers in each wing. Each wing mounts a pair of Laser Anti-Missile systems to protect from missiles. Another pair of Laser AMS and a pair of ER Large Lasers cover the aft arc. A small control center beneath the cockpit has eight tons of communications equipment.

• Vampire III 

  This Vampire variant introduced in 3094 is protected by Heavy Ferro-Aluminum armor, has several battle armor bays, and uses more advanced missile and laser systems. Double heat sinks are also installed. BV (2.0) = 2,301

Design Quirks

The Vampire II variant is subject to the following Design Quirks:

• Difficult to Maintain
• Improved Communications
• Poor Performance
• Weak Undercarriage

Gallery

• 

  Original Vampire from TRO:3026 Revised

Bibliography

• Experimental Technical Readout: Phantoms
• Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged - Age of War
• Technical Readout: 3026 Revised
• Technical Readout: 3075
• Technical Readout: 3150