Approved Vehicle BV-33 "Slingshot" Hover MLRS

[Zeradias Mant]

Blackstone Variant 33 - "Slingshot" Hover MLRS

Spoiler

Image Source: Link

Manufacturer: The Blackstone Group
Model: BV-33 "Slingshot"
Affiliation: The Blackstone Group
Modularity: No
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel
Role: Multiple Launch Rocket System
Height: 3.14 m
Length: 8.11 m
Width: 3.50m
Weight: 56,000 kg

Minimum Crew: 1
Optimal Crew: 2
Propulsion: Repulsorlift
Top Speed: 120 km/h

Armaments:
Offensive
(2) rocket pods (8 missiles per pod)
(2) guided missile launchers (8 missiles per pod)
(1) lateral antipersonnel laser cannon

Missile Payload Options
cluster homing torpedo (anti-air only, mid range)
cruise missile (anti-vehicle + anti-air, long range)
carbonite missile (anti-infantry, mid range)
concussion missile (anti-everything, long range)
cluster missile (ground only, short range)

Defensive
(1) ray shield generator



Squadron Count: 6
Passenger Capacity: 0
Cargo Capacity: 0.2 sq m (personal gear only)
Misc. Equipment:
-Short range HoloNet tranceiver
-Standard sensor suite; including aural sensor
-VI/AI capability
-Two pairs of dual headlights

Description: The BV-33 "Slingshot" is a long range missile launch system armed with dual rocket pods. Missiles fired from the Slingshot have three firing modes: remote guidance, homing, and coordinate input. This makes the Slingshot a well-rounded assault platform capable of ground based and anti-aircraft attacks, accurately hitting their targets up to distances as far as 60 km away. Applicable to the Slingshot is a common shortcoming among around artillery and anti-air batteries: guided missile's lifespan is significantly shorter than their coordinate input or unguided counterpats. Thanks to it's hover technology, it is also very versatile in traversing rough terrain or bodies of water or other liquid substances. Because of this, the Slingshot is also quite fast and an able scout vehicle if necessary. However, because of it's reliance on electronic stability and targeting support, an EMP blast would render the Slingshot useless until such a time when it could be rebooted. It's ray shield generator, if at or near a full charge, is capable of defending against an EMP attack at the cost of itself.

Intent: To create an long-range attack vehicle for the Blackstone Group
Development Thread: If necessary
Who Can Use This: Those who purchase item from the Blackstone Group
Primary Source: N/A

 

[Gir Quee]

RESEARCH REVIEW
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Star Wars Canon:
Pending initial review
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Starwars Chaos:
Pending initial review
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WITHOUT DEV THREADS
Pending initial review
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WITH DEV THREADS
Pending Initial review
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SUGGESTIONS
Pending Inital review

 

[Gir Quee]

[member="Daeron Kryze"], looks pretty good. Can you give me ammunition capacity of the rocket pods and guided missile launchers?

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

Edited. It is as pictured, 8 missiles per rocket pod before a reload is necessary. Both guided missiles and others fire out of the same rocket pods.

 

[Gir Quee]

I was just about to stamp it, but going over it one more time I realized something else:

Intent: To create an long-range attack vehicle for the Blackstone Group

What's the general range of the rockets and guided missiles?

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

Added max effective range to the description. It can be inferred that both guided and rockets have the same approximate range.

 

[Gir Quee]

up to distances as far as 800 km away

This is probably a bit high. If we're looking at real life artillery rockets, the M270 MLRS has a maximum range of 120 km. The Star Wars equivalent of this, the leveler 1, has a maximum range of 16 km.

Star Wars fighter-scale air-to-air warheads also tend to be pretty shorter-ranged (but are also much more highly maneuverable) than real life warheads. For example, the classic proton torpedoes used by X-wings, the MG7-A, have a maximum range of 600 meters.

I should probably mention here that you don't have to use strict numbers for ranges; you can also use general terms. For example, you could say something like "standard anti-aircraft range" for the guided missiles. We just need something that gives the readers a clear idea of the capabilities of this weapon system.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

I was using the HIMARS as a point of reference. The max operational range on that was 480 km, so my logic was 'this is sci-fi, so there's inherently going to be better technology to make long range possible.'

I'd be comfortable rounding it down to 500-600 km, but I don't think that general range is that extreme.

Let me know what you think before I make any edits.

 

[Gir Quee]

I was using the HIMARS as a point of reference. The max operational range on that was 480 km, so my logic was 'this is sci-fi, so there's inherently going to be better technology to make long range possible.' I'd be comfortable rounding it down to 500-600 km, but I don't think that general range is that extreme. Let me know what you think before I make any edits.

I'm most interested in general balance, which I think can be informed by real-life and canon Star Wars examples.

I can see that sort of range with a fewer amount of warheads being carried; the M270 can only carry 2 of the missiles, and the HIMARS you linked me to can only carry one. (This link has a pretty good picture to show the size of the missile). It is, after all, a form of a ballistic missile.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

The HIMARS is capable of using both the single rocket or utilizing the MLRS system. Poking around a bit more, I realize there's some ambiguity between operational range and maximum range. I'm going to assume that operational range is the distance the vehicle can actually drive while the maximum range is the max distance the projectiles travel.

I'll edit the distance to 60 km, as the HIMARS max range using the MLRS appears to be 48.

 

[Gir Quee]

That works for me with the ground attack rockets.

This makes the Slingshot a well-rounded assault platform capable of anti-vehicle and anti-aircraft attacks, accurately hitting their targets up to distances as far as 60 km away.

I'd recommend making the anti-aircraft (guided missiles) as being something like "standard concussion missile range" or something like that. The Wookieepedia entry for them states that they have a "short lifetime", which suggests to me that they are not particularly long-ranged. In terms of balance, I'd prefer to have both parties (the average fighting aircraft and this vehicle) have equal weapons ranges unless there is going to be some other tradeoff.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

I added the missile payload options and their respective ranges as well as edited the description to mention that guided missiles are shorter range than unguided ones.

 

[Gir Quee]

Awesome. Pending Admin Approval. Thanks! [member="Spencer Varanin"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Approved.