Directorate Officer
- Intent: To update the original Cyclone to current IC and OOC standards
- Image Source: Star Citizen's Cutlass Black
- Canon Link: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source: Here
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi,Closed-Market
- Model: Cyclone II-class Bomber
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Durasteel frame, Argentum Matrix Armor plating, Transparisteel canopy, Biolux Organoform Circuitry, standard starship components
- Classification: Bomber
- Length: 12 meters
- Width: 6 meters
- Height: 3.5 meters
- Armament: Very High
- 4 Swivel-mounted Light Laser Cannons
- 1 Turreted Dual Ion Cannon
- 2 LLT-7 General Purpose Warhead Launchers
- 1 Bomb Bay: (8 concussion missiles, 6 proton torpedoes, 8 light proton bombs, 6 orbital mines, 64 thermal detonators, 4 drones, or other equivalent)
- Defenses: High
- Squadron Count: Average: 12
- Maneuverability Rating: Low
- Speed Rating: Low
- Hyperdrive Class: Very Slow: x5
- Standard Communications Array
- HU-OC Deflector Shield Generator
- Unbreakable Ion Engines
- Standard Life Support Systems
- Standard Navigational Systems
- Standard Repulsorlift Engines
- Standard Sensor Array
- Standard Targeting Systems
- Can Enter Atmosphere and Land
Strengths:
- Heavy Hitter: Cyclone II bombers are known sporting a variety of weapons that collectively provide with a high amount of firepower capable of devastating a variety of targets or deploying other payloads
- Well-Defended: Cyclone II bombers are equipped with solid HU-OC shielding systems and relatively heavy Argentum Matrix Armor, making them fairly durable on the battlefield.
- Lackluster Speed: Cyclone IIs are not particularly fast craft, and the average starfighter can usually outrun it to either escape its presence or catch up to it.
- Lackluster Maneuverability: Cyclones have a fair amount of inertia for their size because of their heavy armor plating, which makes them noticeably less maneuverable than many starfighters.
Technical Descriptions
Flight Control Systems: The Cyclone II's flight controls have been extensively revamped from its original iteration, taking many cues from the recent Mistral Fighter. To that end, most of the pilot's controls are modelled on legacy Incom airspeeder designs and the X-wing. This allows the fighters to easily be piloted by people used to flying those craft. However, the Cyclone II also sports several refinements from other Lucerne Labs craft, including an inertial compensator has been integrated into the ship's sensor suite. This allows the field to expand or contract automatically based on stimuli, whether it's a tumultous asteroid or a dovin basal. The Cyclone II's controls are also highly adjustable to different pilot's perceptions of speed and balance, allowing each craft to be precisely tuned in order to maximize a pilot's ability to quickly act on the battlefield. The Cyclone II's bombardier controls are largely unchanged from the original version, though the back-up flight controls have been changed to closely mirror those of the pilot. Perhaps most importantly, the double ion cannon turret now has its own dedicated gunner to better make full use of that weapon while allowing the pilot and bombardier to better focus on their own tasks.
Sublight Engines: The Cyclone II replaced its previous ion engines with modernized copies of the Unbreakable Engine System, providing it efficient by low levels of speed. Based on feedback from Directorate pilots on the edges of known space, each engine is mounted on a gimball mount, allowing the engines to also face nozzle downwards, providing the ship with a means to levitate in areas where repulsorlifts are unreliable. Perhaps more importantly, the Unbreakable's can siphon off excess harvested energy to its HU-OC shield system, where it is typically used to boost its overshield ability
Hyperdrive: The Cyclone II uses a smaller and slower hyperdrive than the original, largely in order to provide enough space for the ion cannon's new gunner position. While this makes the craft more effective in combat, some have grumbled that this tradeoff is not worth it from a strategic standpoint. However, as many Cyclones are starship-based, it has not made a significant impact on squadron operations yet.
Hull: The Cyclone underwent some minor hull redesign in its latest iterations, but it largely retains most if its original atmospheric-based design. Focusing on ease of production, the frame itself is somewhat simpler in terms of its curves and is now made out of more common durasteel. However, the ship is now plated in light Argentum-series Matrix Armor, which allows the second iteration to continue the legacy of durability that characterized t he original Cyclone.
Shields: The Cyclone II is equipped with the HU-OC shield system, which provides the starbomber with excellent shield strength at the cost of a slower regeneration rate. Perhaps more importantly, HU-OC's implementation was planned with the introduction of the ship's Unbreakable engine system, allowing the shield system to take full advantage of the shield's ability to form an overshield. This ability is frequently used as the bombers make their final approach of heavily defended targets, improving the odds of the bomber's ability to survive their attack runs and successively deliver their ordinance.
Weapons: The Cyclone combines a variety of common starfighter weapons to form a unique blend of abilities that provides it with the versatility characteristic of Lucerne Lab's designs. Defensively, the old Cyclone's double laser cannon was replaced with a quartet of light laser cannons situated around the pilot's station. While providing the same rough offensive power as the original guns, their smaller size allows them to be mounted on swivels, which provides them with better tracking abilities. This makes them more useful as defensive weapons against enemy warheads and small interceptors, though less effective against typical starfighters and other larger targets. The ship retains its double ion cannon turret, though it is manned by its own dedicated gunner, allowing it to be better utilized in a dogfight. The ordinance carried by the bomber remains almost identical to the original, with a forward pair of general purpose launchers providing most air-to-air munition capability and a ventral bomb bay providing it with a wide variety of capabilities. The bomb bay has been slightly refined to make it backwards compatible with a variety of older bomber-carried drones, such as the SRG-87 Railgun Drone or the R-UR4 Repair Drone, which further widens the capabilities of the Cyclone.
Countermeasures: Cyclones are equipped with a single Modular Auxiliary Systems Turret located ventrally just behind the warhead launchers. By default, most MASTs are equipped with auxiliary targeting packages to improve munition accuracy and better penetrate through ECM warfare. But it's not uncommon to see bombers equipped with sensor jammers for surprise attacks or to equip tractor beam projectors to better enable attacks on enemy shipping.
Updates: 4/4/2020
-Production changed from "Minor" to "Mass" in order to fit new production parameters
-Ratings & template altered to meet current factory standards
-Broken links fixed from board change
-Ratings & template altered to meet current factory standards
-Broken links fixed from board change
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