Spacecraft & Transatmospheric Craft
When the Solthari attacked Garden (a.k.a. Tocci III) in 2070, Humanity had no dedicated military spacecraft or transatmospheric (“transam”) craft. Freighters rapidly converted for wartime use formed the nucleus of the fledgling Star Navy. After the development of macromolecular construction in 2071, Luna and Mars embarked on a monumental military manufacturing effort to combat the Solthari invasion. Without a clear understanding of exactly what would be required for space, orbital, and surface warfare, both governments adopted the force models from terrestrial warfare on Earth, which included dedicated spacecraft and transam craft.
Spacecraft were defined as those craft whose primary theater would be in the vacuum of space, some with the ability to enter atmosphere to conduct strikes. Transatmospheric craft could takeoff and land on planetary and space body surfaces, operate in atmosphere, and transition between atmosphere and space. Such craft are significantly slower in space than their spacecraft counterparts.
The SIL never adopted either spacecraft or transatmospheric craft, with the exception of the Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HETS). In space, the Nova SGM-25 multirole missile proved so effective for space combat and surface attack, the SIL never saw a need for dedicated spacecraft or transams. On planetary bodies, Madu became the SIL’s sole means of attack, usually delivered by HETS. Despite this, modern Bonded SIL warships do use both spacecraft and transams to serve human-dictated roles. Though such craft can be manufactured by SIL vessels, they lack the SIL’s intelligence and self-awareness.
Spacecraft
Transatmospheric Craft
Terra Fighter (F-19)
The dedicated space fighter program begun in 2072 saw several iterations during the Solthari War (2070-2091). The Solthari had no dedicated spacecraft, instead relying on swarms of Solthari warriors fitted with various payloads to conduct their attacks against space and surface targets. Early fighter designs used traditional terrestrial concepts of missiles and short-range kinetic launchers. These proved ineffective against the sheer numbers employed in Solthari swarm tactics. By 2078, the F-11 introduced higher speed and extended weapons bays and external hardpoints to carry cluster munitions specifically to counter Solthari swarm tactics.
At the outbreak of hostilities in the First SIL War (2141-2162), the F-12, a faster, more maneuverable, and longer range iteration of the F-11 design, was still the Coalition’s primary fighter. Unfortunately for the Coalition, the SIL used warships and traditional stealth/active camouflaged munitions, for which the F-12 was completely unsuited. A rapid development program ensued, made even more urgent with the introduction of the Nova Multirole missile in 2143, and the first F-19 entered service in 2149. It proved effective escorting fighter/bombers on attack runs against SIL warships and surface targets, intercepting and decoying defensive munitions.
After the SIL Wars (2141-2203), the Humanity Republic modified the role of the F-19 to include counter-spacecraft in addition to escort duties as humans, engaged in criminal and insurrectionist activities, became the primary threat. The F-19 can fly in atmosphere but cannot land or take off from any surface with gravity exceeding 0.4 Earth gravity, nor can it descend more than 100 km into a gas giant atmosphere. The F-19 is produced on Sol IV, Tocci III Shipyards, Olympus, and on the 11 surviving fabricators.
Resting mass: 31,879 kg
Crew: 1
Dimensions: L-20.49m, W-23.66m, H-4.61m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 3 TAP PPW Terrawatt Antiproton directed-energy weapons
– 6 Internal KIL Launchers for SIM-3 or SIM-7 missiles
Burster Fighter/Bomber (F/A-24)
Like the dedicated space fighter program, dedicated fighter/bomber spacecraft began development in 2072 and saw several iterations throughout the Solthari War (2070-2091). The primary difference between fighter and fighter/bomber spacecraft was weapons capacity. Against Solthari swarm tactics, both fighters and fighter/bombers performed the same roles. The designation “Burster” derives from the use of cluster munitions against the Solthari.
When the First SIL War (2141-2162) began, the F/A-21 proved as ineffective as the F-12 against SIL tactics and a rapid development program led to the introduction of the F/A-24, designed primarily for anti-ship and fixed site attack, in 2150. The F/A-24 saw little change in its role when the SIL Wars ended in 2203 and remains a mainstay of fleet and planetary operations to this day.
The F/A-24 uses a flying wing configuration and can fly in atmosphere but cannot land or take off from any surface with gravity exceeding 0.4 Earth gravity, nor can it descend more than 200 km into a gas giant atmosphere. It has a crew of two: A pilot and a Weapons Systems Officer. It is produced on Sol IV, Tocci III Shipyards, Olympus, and on the 11 surviving fabricators.
Resting mass: 28,533 kg
Crew: 2
Dimensions: L-13.66m, W-30.49m, H-4.64m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 2 TAP PPW Terrawatt Antiproton directed-energy weapons
– 2 Internal KIL Launchers for SIM-3 or SIM-7 missiles
– 4 Internal KIL Launchers for Nova AGM-25 or 2x Stellar Fire AGM-67
Pulsar (EMW-1)
In the latter part of the First SIL War (2141-2162), the superior capabilities of SIL warships and munitions meant most fleet actions resulted in Coalition casualties of 30%-50% per engagement. Despite calls for intelligent weapons systems to counter the SIL advantage, political leaders refused to risk weapons systems becoming sentient or sapient and posing a threat to the Coalition. The EidIT Corporation on Sol IV proposed a different solution in 2155 by reviving the concept of electronic warfare craft from Earth terrestrial conflicts and produced the Pulsar Electromagnetic Warfare EMW-1. The craft employed a suite of jamming, deception, and powered decoys to disrupt and deceive SIL munitions, reducing average casualty rates to 20%-25% per engagement.
Following the SIL Wars (2141-2203), the EMW-1 saw little service until the Antipiracy Campaign (3476-3491) where it proved very effective in decoying pirate raiders and increasing capture rates. The EMW-1 is produced on Sol IV by the EidIT Corporation and under license at the Tocci III Shipyards and Olympus.
Resting mass: 31,734 kg
Crew: 2
Dimensions: L-20.54m, W-23.68m, H-4.62m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 64 Decoys in 8 Internal KIL Launchers
Eagle (EW-6)
The Eagle EW-6 Early Warning spacecraft is a concept carried over from terrestrial warfare on Earth and saw its first service in 2078 in the Second Battle of Garden. However, the RSP-3 Remote Sensing Platform, introduced by the SIL in 2142 and soon copied by the Coalition in a non-intelligent form, largely supplanted the EW-6 in the early warning mission space. The only real difference between the two is that the Eagle can perform Linear Star Drive Jumps whereas the RSP-3 cannot. For this reason, the EW-6 is rarely used in fleet or spacecraft operations.
The EW-6 is produced on Sol IV.
Resting mass: 25,134 kg
Crew: 7 (2 pilots, 2 air controllers, 2 sensor technicians, and a combat battlespace awareness officer)
Dimensions: L-20.49m, W-23.66m, H-4.63m
Standard weapon configuration:
– None
STAR
While many variations of search and recovery spacecraft exist, the first having seen service as early as 2072, by tradition they are all called “STAR.” Where this tradition began is lost to history, but the basic design is produced throughout the Five Galaxies and is used in every inhabited star system. It is also standard on battlecarriers and assault ships, and may be carried on smaller fleet vessels where warranted.
STARs are capable of Linear Star Drive jumps and have extended fuel reserves, fast engines, and medical facilities with extensive supplies of Molemachs.
Resting mass: 30,238 kg
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, 1 crew chief/medic) + up to 18 passengers
Dimensions: L-20.49m, W-23.66m, H-4.61m
Standard weapon configuration:
– None
Remote Sensing Platform (RSP-3)
Remote sensor spacecraft entered service early in the Solthari War (2070-2091) but were mostly “dumb” sensors intended to provide early warning. Cheap to manufacturer and easy to use, millions were deployed throughout the war and during the subsequent Alien Actions (2091-2098) to help locate and exterminate the remaining Solthari.
The SIL introduced the RSP-3 Remote Sensing Platform in 2142 to improve their battlespace awareness in the First SIL War (2141-2162) and the design proved so successful that a captured RSP-3 led the Coalition to produce a non-intelligent version that remains in service to this day. The RSP-3’s success owes to several factors: a sophisticated suite of sensors covering most of the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to link with other RSP-3s and ships to form interferometers and gravitational wave sensors, high maneuverability, and stealth and active camouflage systems which make them nearly impossible to detect. RSP-3s do not have jump engines.
When RSP-3s link together as interferometers, they essentially act as a single detector with the diameter of the distance between them, greatly improving resolving power, which is needed to detect the very small observable effects produced by objects with stealth and active camouflage. This linking can also be used to detect gravity waves produced by masses, such as warships or fleets, in the local area.
RSP-3s are produced throughout the Five Galaxies.
Resting mass: 11,332 kg
Crew: None
Dimensions: L-9.48m, W-10.95m, H-3.12m
Standard weapon configuration:
– None
Hyperspace Jammer (RJ-15)
Humanity reverse-engineered the Linear Star Drive (LSD), the first faster-than-light engine, in 2053, and used it exclusively for exploration and colonization. The LSD worked by wrapping a vessel in a bubble of spacetime that itself could travel faster than the speed of light without violating the laws of physics (see Miguel Alcubierre’s warp drive). Vessels during the time period 2053-2075 used the LSD for jumps at what scientists soon called the second harmonic of the speed of light, or H2. At H2, a ship could cover 500 lightyears in approximately 55 days, allowing for colonization of “nearby” star systems to Earth. These included Garden (now Tocci III), Iselin, Knido, and about two dozen other habitable star systems. In 2075, the first H3, or third harmonic, jump concluded successfully. At H3, the same 500 lightyear jump required slightly less than 40 minutes.
When the Solthari attacked Garden in 2070, Humanity received a shocking surprise: Ships could be pulled out of hyperspace by causing their spacetime bubbles to collapse, “Popping the bubble” as it became known. Ships could also be prevented from forming warp bubbles through “jamming” of H2 and H3, effectively preventing ships from jumping away, a critical tactical advantage for the Solthari through the first half of the war. At the Second Battle of Garden in 2078, Humanity captured a Solthari jammer, reverse-engineered it, and iterated several jammer variants throughout the remainder of the war.
Hyperspace jammers were largely forgotten until The First SIL War (2141-2162) but were in wide use by 2142. The RJ-15 entered service in 2144 and remains in service to this day. A single jammer can prevent the formation of warp bubbles within a radius of roughly 16,000 km, and can destabilize an existing warp bubble (“popping the bubble”) at a radius of approximately 20,000 km. The RJ-15 has stealth and active camouflage, however, once it begins jamming it is detectable.
RJ-15s are produced at Sol IV, Tocci III Shipyards, Olympus, and on the 11 surviving fabricators.
Resting mass: 10,992 kg
Crew: None
Dimensions: L-9.48m, W-10.95m, H-3.26m
Standard weapon configuration:
– None
Transatmospheric Craft
Genkii (TAC-7)
Military transatmospheric (“transam”) craft have a very disjointed history, though commercial transams have seen massive and steady success since their introduction in 2039. Following the end of “The Last War” in 2049, military transams were sold for commercial use or decommissioned. When the Solthari attacked in 2070, Luna and Mars saw a need for military transams, but like spacecraft they weren’t exactly sure what they would need. Therefore, they based design concepts on terrestrial warfare models.
The TAC-1 Scorpion entered service in 2074 and served the role of an attack helicopter or close-air-support aircraft. It saw limited use as the Solthari preferred to bombard targets from space and use bioweapons and disassemblers to sterilize planets of life and advanced technology. It wasn’t until the unofficial Alien Actions (2091-2098) that the TAC-1 came into its own, proving very successful in hunting down and killing the remaining Solthari. Following the Alien Actions, though, transams were again sold for commercial use or decommissioned.
The SIL Wars (2141-2203) saw a return of military transams and the TAC-2 Wolf entered service in 2142. Like the Solthari, though, the SIL quickly abandoned traditional surface warfare and instead relied on Madu for surface attack. This limited the need for assault transams beyond escort missions and population center defense, mostly against opportunistic raiders, not SIL.
In one of the few cases of weapon system development after the SIL Wars, assault transams gained popularity in solar system policing and in countering insurgencies, and the TAC-7 entered service in 2258. TAC-7s do employ stealth and active camouflage systems but the need to operate in atmosphere does make them more vulnerable to detection from engine heat exhaust and wake turbulence. Despite this, its armament of gun, plasma cannon, and internal weapons bays that can support air-to-air, air-to-ground, and even anti-ship missiles make it a favorite among crews. The TAC-7 is produced by Martian Aerodyne at Sol IV, Tocci III Shipyards, Olympus, and at several subsidiaries throughout the Five Galaxies.
Resting mass: 14,935 kg
Crew: 2 (pilot, gunner)
Dimensions: L-15.42m, W-5.92m, H-3.44m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 1 KIL-202 with 5,000 rounds
– 1 P-702 (standard) or P-760S (if produced by SIL)
– 4 Internal KIL Launchers for 8 Corefire, or 4 Lightning, or 2 Stellar Fire
Muon (TAC-3)
The TAC-3 Muon has changed little since its introduction on 2075. Developed as a transatmospheric (“transam”) armed assault transport capable of carrying a squad of fully armed warriors, it proved hugely successful in the Solthari War (2070-2091), the unofficial Alien Actions (2091-2098), the SIL Wars (2141-2203), the Antipiracy Campaign (3476-3491), and in solar system policing and counter-insurgency operations. Its stealth and active camouflage systems are effective in space, but operations in atmosphere make them more vulnerable to detection from engine heat exhaust and wake turbulence.
One unique use case sets the TAC-3 apart: it can assault space ships in space, delivering a squad of warriors or police directly into the vessel. Once inside, it can form a mobile protective cocoon, bringing its weapons with it. This tactic proved extremely successful during the Antipiracy Campaign in capturing pirate vessels.
Though produced by Martian Aerodyne at Sol IV, Tocci III Shipyards, and Olympus, the design is so popular that over a thousand star systems produce it under license.
Resting mass: 16,322 kg
Crew: 1-2 (pilot, optional copilot) + 8 fully equipped warriors
Dimensions: L-16.46m, W-6.56m, H-3.84m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 2 P-702 (standard) or P-760S (if produced by SIL)
– 2 Internal KIL Launchers with 6 Corefire missiles
Fatboy (TU-20)
The TU-20 entered service in 2074 as a lightly-armed transatmospheric (“transam”) transport and has changed little since. If fact, the design proved so popular, an unarmed civilian variant is still produced under license throughout the Five Galaxies today. The TU-20’s success owes largely to its utility in ferrying personnel to and from orbit or to nearby moons, and the design is rarely seen operating in interplanetary space, though a not-insignificant market arose converting the design to luxury interplanetary yachts. The military variant has stealth and active camouflage systems. The civilian variant adapted the active camouflage system to display police and government markings, corporate logos, advertising, and designs whose only limitation is imagination.
Luna Aerospace owns the license to the design but no longer produces the TU-20 itself.
Resting mass: 25,960 kg
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, 1 crew chief) + 17 fully equipped warriors
Dimensions: L-26.46m, W-6.56m, H-4.84m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 2 KIL-202 with 5,000 rounds
– 2 P-702 (standard) or P-760S (if produced by SIL)
Darkstar (TU-20S)
The TU-20S, a special operations variant of the TU-20 Fatboy, entered service in 2077 and proved instrumental in the Second Battle of Garden in 2078, inserting special operations forces onto Garden without the Solthari being aware and laying weapons and missile emplacements that took the Solthari fleet by surprise. The TU-20S saw extensive service in the SIL Wars (2141-2203), where the Coalition used it primarily as a scout to locate SIL bases and manufacturing infrastructure, and it was key to locating the SIL fabricators for follow-on assaults by human fleets in The Third SIL War (2191-2203), leading to the eventual defeat of the SIL.
Resting mass: 27,960 kg
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, 1 crew chief) + 9 fully equipped warriors
Dimensions: L-26.46m, W-7.56m, H-4.44m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 2 KIL-202 with 10,000 rounds
– 2 P-702 (standard) or P-760S (if produced by SIL)
– 4 Internal KIL Launchers for 8 Corefire, or 4 Lightning, or 2 Stellar Fire
– Can trade for single KIL Launcher for 1 Nova
Delphi (OT-16)
Terrestrial warfare on Earth had made extensive use of observation platforms for locating targets and directing fires, but the tactics of both the Solthari and SIL in launching planetary assaults from space negated the need for crewed surface observation platforms. This changed after 2203 with the defeat of the SIL and the growing need for counter-insurgency operations and heavy armed assaults on criminal facilities. The OT-16 transatmospheric (“transam”) scout attack craft was adapted for military and counter-insurgency use from civilian scout platforms used by large police forces. Its only fully military use came during the the Antipiracy Campaign (3476-3491) where its stealth and active camouflage systems made it ideal for precision targeting of pirate defensive weapons emplacements, armed forces concentrations, and critical facilities. ArmsTech Industries produces the OT-16 at the Tocci III Shipyards.
Resting mass: 5,668 kg
Crew: 2 (pilot, spotter/gunner)
Dimensions: L-12.03m, W-4.96m, H-3.99m
Standard weapon configuration:
– 1 KIL-202 with 2,500 rounds
– 1 Internal KIL Launcher for 2 Corefire or 2 Lightning
HETS
The SIL developed the Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HETS) in 2178 exclusively for the delivery of large numbers of Madu from orbit to a planet surface. After seeing the HETS in operation, the Coalition designed its own version to deliver armored combat vehicles and bulk supplies to and from orbit. The HETS has changed little since and remains in operation today. It can ferry 2 Tanks or 3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles or the equivalent to and from orbit. While it has stealth and active camouflage systems, its large engines make it extremely vulnerable to detection.
Resting mass: 167,433 kg
Crew: 3 (2 pilots, loadmaster)
Dimensions: L-53.58m, W-39.39m, H-15.91m
Standard weapon configuration:
– None