Achilles (DropShip class)

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Achilles
Production information
Manufacturer	Galileo Instruments Rashpur-Owens Incorporated
Use	Assault Ship
Type	Military Aerodyne
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass	4,500 tons
Structural Integrity	16
Length	125 meters
Width	37.4 meters
Height	23 meters
Drive System	Xevex-12
Safe Thrust	8
Max Thrust	12
Fuel (tons)	300 tons
Fuel (days)	163 days
Armament	6x PPCs 3x AC/20s 2x AC/10s 4x AC/5s 1x LRM-10 6x LRM-20s 4x Large Lasers 12x Medium Lasers
Armor	60 tons Standard Fore: 29 Sides: 26 Aft: 17
Crew	60
Escape Pods/Life Boats	4/1
Heat Sinks	124
BV (1.0)	6,744
BV (2.0)	8,118

Description

Relatively rare, the Achilles-class Assault DropShip is a deadly threat to DropShips and AeroSpace Fighters alike.

The design of the non-atmospheric craft is relatively simple, with over half of the ship's mass taken up by the extremely powerful Xevex-12 drive system, capable of unleashing up to 6Gs of thrust and giving the Achilles surprising agility, a boon when combating fighters. For all its abilities, the drive system is a major maintenance sink and whenever the it operates above 4Gs, intense vibrations shake the craft so violently that prolonged flight at that speed can cause serious harm to the crew and systems such as the ammunition feeds for the craft's weapon systems. Sixty tons of armor and hundred and twenty-four Heat Sinks combined with its three hundred tons of fuel give the craft reasonable endurance for its role.

Much like the lighter Avenger, the Achilles forms the vanguard of planetary assault fleets, a role which led to attrition rates much higher than production during the Succession Wars. The single largest user of the Achilles the Inner Sphere is the Draconis Combine, though the loss of Galileo Instruments of Schuyler to Clan Smoke Jaguar prior to it recapture during Operation Bulldog has only made the design even rarer in modern fleets.

Armament

Incredibly well-armed, the Achilles was the closest thing to a WarShip in the technological decline of the Succession Wars. Two PPCs, LRM-20s, Large and Medium Lasers mounted in the nose allow the craft to unleash blistering fire upon its enemies. Each "wing" mounts a single PPC and Autocannon/20 supported by a pair LRM-20 and Medium Laser facing forward, with another PPC, Autocannon/10, Large Laser and another two Mediums pointed rearward. Directly aft, the Achilles mounts another AC/20, two medium lasers and an LRM-10. Four tons reloads for each of the smaller autocannon, eight for the mammoth AC/20 and a total of seventeen tons of long range missiles allow the craft to engage seemingly at will.

Cargo

Due to focused role of the class the Achilles boosts a minimal two-hundred and fifty tons of cargo capacity, instead devoting most of free space towards two AeroSpace Fighter bays and two Small Craft bays for marine boarding operations.

Variants

• Upgrade - Coming as somewhat as a shock given that no Capellan or Marik facility produced it previously, an upgraded version of the Achilles first emerged from the facilities of Rashpur-Owens Incorporated above Capella in 3055. Replacing all the standard heat sinks with double strength freezers, the upgraded Achilles has greatly improved endurance, with the PPCs and large lasers are upgraded to extended range models, the standard mediums are replaced with Medium Pulse Lasers and Artemis IV FCS is added to each LRM launcher. The four AC/5s have been dropped entirely and replaced with two Gauss Rifles, carrying five tons of reloads for these weapons and the AC/10s, six tons of AC/20 shells and a combined fifteen tons of missiles at the cost of a halving of the previous cargo space. BV (1.0) = 10,010 BV (2.0) = 10,331

References

• DropShips and JumpShips, pp. 46-47
• Technical Readout: 3057, pp. 38-39
• Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, pp. 36-37