Approved Starship BV-47A Shadow-class Drop Shuttle

[Zeradias Mant]

Blackstone Variant - 47 Armed Shadow-class Drop Shuttle

Spoiler

Image Source: Link
Affiliation: The Blackstone Group
Manufacturer: The Blackstone Group
Model: BV-47A
Modularity: No
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel hull
Classification: Armed multipurpose drop shuttle
Length: 12m
Height: 2m
Width: 4m

Armament: 4
(2) foward-mounted light laser cannons
(1) rear-mounted laser cannon
(1) mounted crew-served repeating blaster

Defenses: 12
-Deflector shields
-Chaff
-Flares

Squadron Count: N/A

Non-Combat Attachments:
-Short range HoloNet tranceiver
-Standard sensor suite; including aural sensor
-VI/AI capability
-Two pairs of dual headlights
-Equipment lockers in cargo area

Maneuverability Rating: 3
Speed Rating: 2
Hyperdrive Class: 2
Minimum Crew: 1
Optimal Crew: 2
Passenger Capacity: 10
Cargo Capacity: 1.5 tons

Strengths:
[ + ] The BV-47A's size permits easy and convenient storage when not in use
[ + ] The BV-47A's seats can be folded into the floor to allow for more cargo space
[ + ] Due to the it's sleek and low profile design combined with it's high maneuverability, the BV-47 is favored for rapid deployment of troops.
[ + ] Boasting similar firepower to a small starfighter, the BV-47A is capable of utilizing offensive measures to supplement attacks or cover evasion

Weaknesses:
[ - ] The BV-47A is significantly smaller than other ships and has limited passenger and cargo space comparatively
[ - ] The BV-47A has minimal targeting assistance and pales in comparison to combat-oriented starfighters
[ - ] The BV-47A's additional firepower adds weight, which detracts from the maneuverability of the design of the original BV-47

Description: The Blackstone Variant 47 Armed Drop Shuttle, nicknamed the "Shadow", is a multipurpose personnel shuttle designed for rapid deployment of troops and general transport, operated by a pilot and co-pilot. It can carry up to 14 people, including the pilots. At a higher cost, it's robust deflector shields and an ergonomic design are augmented with a small complement of weaponry to allow for offensive attacks and self-defense. Along the port side entry hatch is a mounted repeating blaster which can be used to fire out through the side of the shuttle when within a system's stratosphere. The front light laser cannons are controlled by the pilot, the rear laser cannon by the co-pilot, and the repeating blaster by a passenger (when used).

Development Thread: If necessary
Intent: To create an armed variant of a multipurpose shuttle available for use by the Blackstone Group and select customers
Who Can Use This: Those who purchase item from the Blackstone Group.
Primary Source: BV-47 Shadow-class drop shuttle

 

[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]

Manufacturer: The Blackstone Group

I see that the Blackstone Group's primary operation appears to be "intergalactic security consulting. While we typically allow some leeway with the occasional product being made that doesn't fit into their operations, this appears to be at least the second starship that this company makes. Combined with the "Intent" and "Who can use this" headings, I'm going to recommend that you make a company modification to "The Blackstone Group" to include starship production.

Alternatively, you can use another manufacturer to make (or upgrade) this vessel. If you are not sure of any companies that can do this, I can help you find one.

Armament: 2

Weapons list looks good, but I'd bump up the armament rating to 5.

Squadron Count: N/A

This doesn't necessarily need any tweaking, but I'm curious about it. Is the intent to keep these pretty much ground based? Or can they be deployed from a starship?

Maneuverability Rating: 2 Speed Rating: 2

The original BV-47 was able to get this flight performance because it was unarmed. I'm currently looking at something that has almost the armament of a Interceptor with most of its flight fight performance as well, along with slightly increased defenses and some passengers/cargo.

I think that the simplest solution would be to change the speed and maneuverability ratings to "3", but I'm open to other ideas that you may have for this.

[ - ] The BV-47A has no offensive capabilities controllable by the pilot or co-pilot

If the pilot and co-pilot don't control the weapons, does that mean that the passengers do?

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

The BV-47 and BV-47A are the same starship, the chief difference being that the BV-47A is armed with fixed weapons.

The intent is exactly as stated. The BV-47 and BV-47A are both shuttles before anything else. The BV-47A possesses self-defense and minor offensive capabilities, though. Though it may put up a fight in terms of evasion and counterattacks, a fighter would easily have the edge over the shuttle, namely because that's their function. The BV-47A is meant to be a support vessel with light offensive capabilities whereas a fighter's purpose is to take down other ships.

Originally I thought that I would keep them the same as it was the same ship with a couple minor modifications. I bumped the maneuverability up to 3 and cited the modifications as the reason.

I did however, only bump the armament rating to 4. I think you overestimate the power of the weapons on board the shuttle.

I missed over that detail when modifying the original submission. I dropped that weakness and added another in lieu of that.

Let me know if there's anything else.

 

[Gir Quee]

I see that you have put in the modification request for Blackstone to include starship production; we'll continue hashing this out in the meantime, but I may have to wait to formally approve it until the company modification is approved.

Originally I thought that I would keep them the same as it was the same ship with a couple minor modifications. I bumped the maneuverability up to 3 and cited the modifications as the reason.

While I do think it is possible to get back to speed 2, this would either need significant drawback (like having no weaponry) or have a very small production run (like semi-unique). If there are ideas that you would like to explore to get back to a speed and maneuverability of 2, I'm open to hearing them. For example, I could go with trading some of the cargo and/or passenger space for that speed.

Otherwise, please bump the speed up to 3 as per my original comment.

I did however, only bump the armament rating to 4.

There's not a whole lot of difference between 4 and 5, so I can go with that.

I missed over that detail when modifying the original submission. I dropped that weakness and added another in lieu of that.

You didn't have to change it, I was just going to ask you to clarify how t hat worked in the description, but I'm fine with what you've got there now too.

 

[Zeradias Mant]

[member="Gir Quee"]

I reduced the passenger capacity by 2 and the cargo capacity by half a ton.

 

[Gir Quee]

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

 

[Raziel]

<p>Approved.</p>