Assault T-birds, Hot LZ troop carriers Options

[lodestar]

Most of the T-Birds in the Rigger3 and SR rules tend to be those of a flying tank or armored car type, But do any have any significant personel carrying capacity? If not I'm looking for a vehicle similar to those that appear in a lot of Shirow's Appleseed works. Units for quick deployment of special forces teams and such, with the capacity to deploy sections or squads of troops.

OTOH a T-Bird might not be as suitable for this role with the significant jet blast area. So how is the AGV tech progressing in the SR universe...

[TinkerGnome]

It'd be a simple matter to add some setting into most of the T-birds in Rigger 3. A bench seat takes up 6 CF, and all of the birds listed can hold at least 4 of them. Aside from that, you could probably do quite a good job with the Hughes WK-2 utility chopper. You'd need to armor it and install the seating after market, of course. The Ares TR-5 T tilt wing craft might also be a good solution for you.

[Ed_209a]

Regarding the downblast, it might be practical for the pilot to actually touch down and throttle back to idle while the troops get out and run for cover.

However, this is probably 10-20secs that the T-bird HAS to stay on the ground, stationary. Might not be tactically feasible.

[Camouflage]

Another use for t-birds should be for heavy airborne combat-units. Fly the t-birds in with some heavy-duty cargo-aricraft for better fuel efficiency and then drop them over a LZ und blast away any resistence before the lighter airborne units come.

Perhaps you could even construct a VT-carrier for heavy ground-vehicles, basically a short-rang flying tank-transporter that simply drops of the cargo-bay, goes down to a minimum safe altitude without any running angines (to get down stealthy) and then puts all engines to full throttle to decelerate to zero just above the ground, drop the tank from a safe altitude (like 1-2 meters above the ground) and then get the hell up in the air to make it back to the cargo aircraft on the last drop of fuel. This could be a good way to get MBT's and IFV's behind the enemy lines quickly.

PS: Sorry for hijacking the thread....

[Camouflage]

[Nath]

I think the Russian BMV-2 from SOTA:2063 (and so probably the "equivalent models", ie Saab Viggen and GMC Thunderbird) has some room inside for personel . Can't remember how many however.

[Camouflage]

[Ed_209a]

If you have a heavy transport with a heavy T-bird inside, and a AFV inside the T-bird, why not paradrop the AFV with maneuverable chutes, and skip the middleman?

[TheScamp]

[Laughlyn]

The downblast will be an issue. You don't see people walking directly behind a fighter jet for a reason. That being said you can simply push the down jets off to one side away form the door.

As an added bonus a good pilot can do a quick fast fly over of enemy positions using said blast to his advantage.

Given the power of most weapons in the game, a Shadowrun helicopter won't stand a chance because of it's low end body (compared to most combat vehicles) and low end armor. Compare that to an LAV and you can do much better. Granted it's at a higher cost. But in the end, what's cheaper? Experienced troops aren't free or easy to come by.

[Ed_209a]

[Camouflage]

[Laughlyn]

Wait an AFV on chutes? I don't mean to sound ...well harsh, but go out and look at the size of chutes that are put on something as small as jeep/truck/etc. Then add lots of weight and thus lots more square feet of chute.

Dear God!!! Bobby Joe, look that there cloud is fallin."

The other huge issue with a AFV for getting into and more importantly out of a hot LZ is getting out fast. Nothing on the ground can be relied on. That's why you move troops in and out quickly on things that fly. So even if you air drop that AFV in, it has to roll out.

[Birdy]

[TheScamp]

Slap some electric fuel cell engines in a T-bird, and the exhaust heat becomes a virtual non-issue.

[Lantzer]

[Laughlyn]

TheScamp

By changing the type of powerplant to fuelcell you limit the capabilities to much bother with a T-Bird. You may as well use a helicopter at that point.

The on only issue with the hot wash is that you can't land right next to people. They'd have to make a run for where you landed. Or you'd have to arrange an LZ where you could either provide cover (ie hard object in the way of fire) or where you had a stepped landing like a small wall, around a corner, etc.

Birdie

As was said above. Short of attaching a few LAV powerplants to said vehicle for jump capabilities you'd either on the ground, hovering just above it, or flying. For jump capabilities though you incur a huge cost just to be LAV capable. You put an underpowered powerplants on said vehicle and just use it for small jumps by adding a stress point. It might be fun to play with, but in the long run I can only see it ending in tears.

[TheScamp]

[Daishi]

In a campaign about a year ago, I think, our group's rigger designed a transport LAV based upon the Pelican from Halo. It was actually fairly effective and entertaining until it was shot down by a missle towards the end of the campaign. We replaced it with a zeppelin, which we found to be much more useful for long range insertions. Of course, this just felt really wrong...

[Laughlyn]

I can think of few reason why a fuel cell powered T-Bird would suck big time.

1. First they have a starting range of 100km, compared to the 350km for regular one. Or for that matter the 500+ for helicopters.

2. Cost. Cost is a huge issue when you’re talking about a LAV. The initial, cost, the overhead, etc. The powerplant cost on a fuelcell is the most expensive out of all of the LAVs. Considering your need to modify it upgrade it to get it up to decent, that spell more cost.

3. The load ratings starts out of “man I’m wimp” and can be bought up to “I guess I can hang”. Making it an expensive target for people to shoot at. One that may or may not have enough armor hang out with the big boys.

4. Electronic warfare is weaker on fuel cell and battery-powered vehicles.

5. The heat isn’t that big of a deal.


Bonuses for Fuelcell LAV:

1. It doesn’t run as hot.

2. You only have two choices: Lame and ultra expensive

Bonuses for a Helicopter:

1. It’s cheap enough to upgrade and still be in the reasonable price range.

2. It’s got a 6,000m flight ceiling.

3. Doesn’t have nearly the financial impact if you loose one or two.