Aazat Class Gunship

[Graham Kennedy]

The Aazat class gunship is designed for use during planetary conflicts, where it functions in support of ground forces. The small two man craft is equipped with a fusion plant which powers four toroidal repellor engines. Maximum acceleration is 50 gees in the clean configuration. In a standard environment the maximum speed at low level is Mach 4. The craft is not designed for deep space operation, but is capable of making planetfall from orbit and returning to orbit again. It is rated to operate in hostile environments and is resistant to a wide range of corrosives, pressures and temperatures.

The Aazat carries a twin heavy duty plasma cannon under the nose; this unit can swivel +/- 110 degrees, elevate 20, and depress 45. It is fed plasma from the fusion tanks, and each weapon can fire five rounds per second. Maximum effective range is 15,000 metres.

Pylons provide four 2,500 kg hardpoints. A wide range of weapons can be carried; 30 mm plasma rockets are a common choice, as are Antara missiles. Targeting information is provided through a sensor pod above the fuselage which is mounted on an extendable mount, allowing the gunship to hover behind cover whilst exposing only the sensor. The Aazat is armoured in all key areas, and can augment this with forcefields when needed.

[Captain Seafort]

Nice. Distinctly reminiscent of the Mule, but much more Apache-esque, fitting its role.

What sort of firepower does it have?

[Graham Kennedy]

I haven't really thought it through yet in detail, but oodles and oodles. This is tech OF THE FUTURE, after all!

[Captain Seafort]

Can't be too great though - no point in capturing a planet if it looks like a sieve afterwards.

[Teaos]

It can still be pretty strong, they just have to hold back.

[Graham Kennedy]

Well I'll hold it back to the ability to destroy only one continent... maybe two, okay?

[Sionnach Glic]

Pretty cool.

[shran]

Is this a bellysitter or does it have landing gear? If it doesn't have it, the chin turret may seem to be just too low.

[Graham Kennedy]

It has landing gear.

[Mikey]

Mule? I would have called it the Cobra... OF THE FUTURE!

[Captain Seafort]

This isn't the Mule - this is. The Coalition equivalent of the Black Hawk.

[Mikey]

Ah. You were referring to Graham's own design. I'm on board now.

[MetalHead]

A very interesting design, but given the coalitions general level of technological might, I can't really see great use for this unless there wasn't any orbital support -- saying that only because you say its designed to support ground forces and not achieve air superiority.

[Graham Kennedy]

Well you have to understand that the vast majority of naval weaponry couldn't be used on a planet unless you were not at all bothered about holding that planet afterwards, or at least unless you were willing to engage in a long and expensive effort to clean it up afterwards.

Heavy battleship cannon run to more than 10^22 Joules per round. That's in the same ballpark as a dinosaur killer asteroid impact. The Mark 5s and 6s that Destroyers typically carry run about a hundred times less than that, and even the little Mark 2s they use for fighter defence run at about 1.8 gigatons per round. They can adjust the yield of these things, but not in infinite increments. And even with a Mark 2 at 0.1% power, what good is a 1.8 Megaton detonation for close air support?

There are ships which are designed specifically to provide surface bombardment to troops on the ground, surface bombardment units they're called (imaginative name, huh?). They use large numbers of low energy weaponry; plasma weapons usually, and large silos with lots of missiles in them. And some amphibious types have such bombardment cannon as well, so orbital bombardment is done. But the likes of an Aazat is damn cheap compared to an SBU.

There's also an inter-service rivalry thing to consider. Marines and paratroops don't operate Naval ships like SBUs or even amphibious units. And they don't like having to rely on the Navy for all of their fire support needs.

Of course you don't need any of that if all you want to do is annihilate the enemy; a few broadsides from a battleship will render any planet largely lifeless, and a planetbuster cannon which can be fitted to any battleship will destroy the planet completely, if you want to engage in what are usually rather pointless theatrics.

But war isn't often about wiping out the enemy en masse. That is sometimes done - the Coalition once did it, rather controversially - but it's usually overkill, to put it mildly. Suppose an enemy captures one of your planets for example; you have to retake it, but you can't exactly go and wipe out all life on there and declare victory.

[Mikey]

it's usually overkill

Considering that this is in reference to "too much killing," I'd say that's an appropriate term.