Northern Gun Maverick

I first found this design a couple of years ago, and it has been sitting in my archive ever since. I did some error correction to the original file and am posting it here.

Background:

The NG Maverick was first put on the market in 94 P.A. It was meant to fit the niche in aircraft above airborne power armor and jet fighters, and below large craft like Falcon attack jets and Air Castle bombers. Designed for air to ground confrontations, the aircraft is a heavy hovercraft built to get into and out of hostile areas quickly, and to inflict as much damage as possible with it's bomb and missile armnaments. Not meant for direct dogfighting with other aircraft, the Maverick's main focus is bombardment and strafing runs. It's considerable forward mounted weapons and upper Ion Turret give it a chance in an air-to-air battle, as do it's missiles, but it's relatively low altitude of 6000ft and slow speed in comparison to jet aircraft tend to put it at the disadvantage. However, should the Maverick manage to get an enemy fighter in it's sights, it's ability to link the forward weapons allow it to inflict massive damage.

The Maverick's other strengths lie in it's compact size (idea for low altitude manuevering), and mini nuke-plant. The powerplant of these fighters is not the standard 10-20 year one, but a toned down, smaller, cheaper version with a life of only 5 years. The theory is that more expensive reactors are pointless in aircraft that rarely last more than a few years in combat situations.

Combat History:

The NG Maverick has seen extensive use in the north in combating the advancing Xiticix. Capable of entering their territory and summarily bombing their hives out of existance, the Maverick has been quite successfull in halting immediate Xiticix advancements. Pilots love it because it is able to enter and leave the alien's airspace before the main warrior swarms can mobilize. An independent Kingdom north of Tolkeen has purchased many of these craft, and due to its close proximity to the hives, routinely sends wings of them in to damage and destroy the aliens. On numerous occasions the Mavericks have destroyed large portions of the Xitixic's above-ground hives, but as of yet no one has managed to seriously damage the undergound tunnels. While the continous bombardment does keep the aliens in a form of check, the kingdom spends large amounts of it's funds on ammunition and repairs on it's anti-xitixic air-force.

The Maverick's other main use has been in urban and anti-tank/robot vehicle situations. Filling the roll of the helicopter, without the vulnerabilty of easily destroyed rotors, it excels in this duty. Mavericks have been deployed against tanks and robots many times, capable of accurately bombing them from high altitudes, and able to manuever quickly through urban areas while avoiding fire with it's high speed.

While many military experts have argued that a platoon of well trained airborne power armors are more effective than anything else, this has not stopped many nation states and mercenary companies from purchasing the Mavericks. While power armor tends to be difficult to repair, standard hover vehicles are much easier and less expensive to upkeep. Thus, the vehicle is used by many settlements with the technology to maintain them, but who lack the facilities for full robot/power armor repairs. NG managed to find a nice little niche in this vehicle, and duplicates have been produced by quite a few other souces. The main ones being the Manistique Imperium, and Iron Heart. Both of these companies have purchased manufacturing licensing rights, and also produce near copies of the craft under different names with minor modifications (Iron Heart for instance does not use the nuclear power).


Northern Gun Maverick
Model Type: NG-A80
Class: Ground Assault Hovercraft
Crew: Three, one pilot, one co-pilot/missiler, one gunner/bombadeer

MDC by Location:
Forward Mounted Lasers (2) - 40 each
Forward Mounted Railguns (2) - 50 each
Missile Pods (2) - 60 each
Laser Turret - 60
Rear Thrusters (2) - 75 each
Reinforced Pilot's Compartment - 80
Main Body - 380

Speed:
Flying: Max Speed 275mph, cruising speed 100-150mph.
Hover: Up to 1000ft, flying altitude 6000ft.
Flying Range: Unlimited, jets must cool after 12 hours of above cruising speed flight.

Statistical Data:
Height: 14ft
Width: 18ft
Length: 56ft
Weight: 18 tons fully loaded
Cargo: Small weapons bins under seats, the bomb bay could be filled with cargo (4x3x10)
Power System: 5 year nuclear, or possibly electric/fossil fuel
Market Cost: 12.5 million credits

Weapons Systems:
NG-202L Forward mounted Heavy Lasers (2)
Primary Purpose: Assault
Secondary Purpose: Defense/Air-to-Air dogfighting
Damage: 5d6MD each (can pair for 1d6x10MD)
Range: 4000ft
Rate of Fire: Number of pilot's attacks

NG 202 SUPER Forward mounted Railguns (2)
Primary Purpose: Anti-Armor
Secondary Purpose: Defense/Air-to-Air dogfighting
Damage:1d6x10MD per burst (can pair for 2d6x10MD)
Range: 4000ft
Rate of Fire: Number of pilot's attacks
Payload: Two 6000 round drums (100 bursts each)

Medium Range Missiles: (12), 6 in each launcher.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Armor
Secondary Purpose: Anti-Fortification
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1,2, 4, 6, or 12

Short Range Missiles: (8), 4 in each launcher
Primary Purpose: Anti-Missile
Secondary Purpose: Assault
Rate of Fire: Volleys of 1, 2, 4, or 8

Ion Turret: 360 degree rotation, 180 degree elevation.
Primary Purpose: Anti-Missile
Secondary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft/Defense
Damage: 1d4x10MD
Range: 3000ft
Rate of Fire: equal to gunner's attacks
Payload: Unlimited
Note: This gun is unmanned, it is controlled via a HUD system linked to the pilot's compartment (used primarily by the gunner).

Medium Smart Bombs (same as the AC-29's)
Primary Purpose: Anti-Armor/Anti-Fortification.
Secondary Purpose: Anti-Personnel.
Damage: Varies with type (as per long range missiles), triple blast radius.
Rate of Fire: 2, 4, 6, or 8
Payload: 8
Note: Hits stationary objects automatically, hits moving targets at -6

Special Notes:
Has all standard robot sensors, communications, and systems, and is +2 to dodge over cuising speeds. The forward mounted weapons can all be linked for 3d6x10MD, this is primarily used for strafing and dog-fighting.

 


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