Captain Larraq
Capitalist
Intent: To create a realistic 'low tech' stealth technology option that does not require individuals to hunt and compete over restricted materials, but still requires a few dedicated posts in a ship's development thread. (ideal around 5 posts dedicated specifically to this component, with more posts if the ship is particularly large or if the ship will be produced in large numbers)
Development Thread: NA
Manufacturer: Mandal Hypernautics
Model: MH-EW17 Active Camouflage
Affiliation: Mandal Hypernautics, Mandalorian,
Modularity: Different sizes and strengths
Production: Mass Production
Material: Alusteel, Electronics, Stuff,
Description:
The Mandal Hypernautics Active Camouflage system (based on the Hyperion Active Camouflage System) consists of a network of active and passive camouflage technology. Covering the armor plating of the ship is a coating of Reflec polymer, which insulates the vessel and protects it from sensors, as well as warping the light that hits the armor plating and adding to the general camouflage of the ship by passively reflecting the lights and colors which surround the craft. In addition to this passive stealth an outer layer of electronics is worked into key areas of the craft to support a number of additional devices.
These devices include the two part Photo-Optic Replicators pioneered in the Hyperion Active Camouflage system. The system is comprised of sensors that take readings of the visual spectrum of light surrounding the ship and holoprojectors that display those readings over the surface of the craft's far side. By doing so, the holoprojectors make the host ship appear as their surroundings on all sides, essentially rendering them invisible. The device does, however, have some drawbacks. It does not make the host ship completely invisible. When at close ranges and looking directly at it, one might see an almost phantasmal silhouette of the ship. The visibility of this silhouette is dependant on the speed at which the ship is moving. If stationary, the silhouette is nearly impossible to see. If moving at high speeds, the twinkle of stars as the ship passes is fairly obvious to the astute observer. The active camouflage is also less useful in atmosphere where environmental effects such as rain, snow, or ashfall can stick to the hull of the craft and distort both the sensors and the projection. Also, if the host ship was moving quickly near a planet or other, larger ships, the sensor units would misread the environment and cause the image being projected to blur, and become distorted, often giving away the ship's position.
While the host ship is capable of firing while cloaked, the energy, chemical, or magnetic emissions of firing weapons will often give away their position as readily as an open communicator or an active sensor. Likewise, the visual flash from the weaponry will often give away the position of the host ship to nearby enemies. While some ships with other active camouflage technologies might find this to be manageable, ships with the Mandal Hypernautics Active Camouflage system must avoid close range detection at all costs. Due to the nature of the holographic projections, the ship cannot be cloaked without first disabling ray and deflector shielding. This, combined with the fragile external components required to create the visual cloak means that the system is highly vulnerable to flak fire and using it makes the host ship vulnerable to direct hits. Often, a single strafing shot from a similarly sized ship is enough to render the host ship's active visual camouflage inoperable for the remainder of the conflict or longer. Similarly, a near miss from an appropriately sized flak weapon will often render the host ship's active visual camouflage inoperable for the remainder of the conflict or longer.
Additionally, while actively using its visual cloak or not, the ship will often still be hidden from sensors by the secondary stealth systems built into the ship. Reflec paints, gravitic modulators, magnetic resonators, and other such systems are unaffected by the operation or inoperation of the visual cloak. Even while firing weaponry, the host ship itself is often still hidden from sensors by its secondary stealth systems. Though the weapon discharge itself is unaffected by the cloak or the supporting technology.
Another device included in the rare and expensive ACS was a Sound Dampening technology that muffled most common ship noises to levels that would blend in with the general background noise of space. The technology allowed a ship to operate normally but benefit from the effects of 'running silently' to avoid giving away their position. This can be further enhanced by the application of Efflux Diffusion Baffles, that would enable a ship to operate at full speeds and maneuverability and still effectively be 'running silent.' The system has limitations though, and opening comms or initiating active scans with sensors would give away the ship's position regardless of the Sound Dampening and Reflec technology
Further supporting this system of stealth technology were several thermal regulators, electronic signal inhibitors, and radiation dampeners that collectively reduce and muffle secondary emission sources to match background levels in that particular area of space. These emission levels can be raised or lowered automatically or manually as appropriate for the environment the ship finds itself in.
TLDR:
Classification: Starship Component
Size: Ship-Mounted
Status: Military
Development Thread: NA
Manufacturer: Mandal Hypernautics
Model: MH-EW17 Active Camouflage
Affiliation: Mandal Hypernautics, Mandalorian,
Modularity: Different sizes and strengths
Production: Mass Production
Material: Alusteel, Electronics, Stuff,
Description:
The Mandal Hypernautics Active Camouflage system (based on the Hyperion Active Camouflage System) consists of a network of active and passive camouflage technology. Covering the armor plating of the ship is a coating of Reflec polymer, which insulates the vessel and protects it from sensors, as well as warping the light that hits the armor plating and adding to the general camouflage of the ship by passively reflecting the lights and colors which surround the craft. In addition to this passive stealth an outer layer of electronics is worked into key areas of the craft to support a number of additional devices.
These devices include the two part Photo-Optic Replicators pioneered in the Hyperion Active Camouflage system. The system is comprised of sensors that take readings of the visual spectrum of light surrounding the ship and holoprojectors that display those readings over the surface of the craft's far side. By doing so, the holoprojectors make the host ship appear as their surroundings on all sides, essentially rendering them invisible. The device does, however, have some drawbacks. It does not make the host ship completely invisible. When at close ranges and looking directly at it, one might see an almost phantasmal silhouette of the ship. The visibility of this silhouette is dependant on the speed at which the ship is moving. If stationary, the silhouette is nearly impossible to see. If moving at high speeds, the twinkle of stars as the ship passes is fairly obvious to the astute observer. The active camouflage is also less useful in atmosphere where environmental effects such as rain, snow, or ashfall can stick to the hull of the craft and distort both the sensors and the projection. Also, if the host ship was moving quickly near a planet or other, larger ships, the sensor units would misread the environment and cause the image being projected to blur, and become distorted, often giving away the ship's position.
While the host ship is capable of firing while cloaked, the energy, chemical, or magnetic emissions of firing weapons will often give away their position as readily as an open communicator or an active sensor. Likewise, the visual flash from the weaponry will often give away the position of the host ship to nearby enemies. While some ships with other active camouflage technologies might find this to be manageable, ships with the Mandal Hypernautics Active Camouflage system must avoid close range detection at all costs. Due to the nature of the holographic projections, the ship cannot be cloaked without first disabling ray and deflector shielding. This, combined with the fragile external components required to create the visual cloak means that the system is highly vulnerable to flak fire and using it makes the host ship vulnerable to direct hits. Often, a single strafing shot from a similarly sized ship is enough to render the host ship's active visual camouflage inoperable for the remainder of the conflict or longer. Similarly, a near miss from an appropriately sized flak weapon will often render the host ship's active visual camouflage inoperable for the remainder of the conflict or longer.
Additionally, while actively using its visual cloak or not, the ship will often still be hidden from sensors by the secondary stealth systems built into the ship. Reflec paints, gravitic modulators, magnetic resonators, and other such systems are unaffected by the operation or inoperation of the visual cloak. Even while firing weaponry, the host ship itself is often still hidden from sensors by its secondary stealth systems. Though the weapon discharge itself is unaffected by the cloak or the supporting technology.
Another device included in the rare and expensive ACS was a Sound Dampening technology that muffled most common ship noises to levels that would blend in with the general background noise of space. The technology allowed a ship to operate normally but benefit from the effects of 'running silently' to avoid giving away their position. This can be further enhanced by the application of Efflux Diffusion Baffles, that would enable a ship to operate at full speeds and maneuverability and still effectively be 'running silent.' The system has limitations though, and opening comms or initiating active scans with sensors would give away the ship's position regardless of the Sound Dampening and Reflec technology
Further supporting this system of stealth technology were several thermal regulators, electronic signal inhibitors, and radiation dampeners that collectively reduce and muffle secondary emission sources to match background levels in that particular area of space. These emission levels can be raised or lowered automatically or manually as appropriate for the environment the ship finds itself in.
TLDR:
Pretty basic active camouflage system. Visually, it's similar to what you'd see in Halo or Predator. If you're particularly close to the cloaked ship, or the ship has moved between yourself and another nearby ship or celestial object, a person actively looking for the ship could see an outline of the ship... Kinda like peeling a sticker off a window and still seeing an outline of where the sticker was. It's not noticeable enough to be a 'dead giveaway' that there is a ship nearby, but if you're already looking for a ship you know/suspect is nearby (and the ship had gotten close to you or between you and ship/spacestation/moon/planet/sun) you'll be able to spot it with a little bit of effort.
The intent here is to include enough of a weakness that the owner of a cloaked ship would want to keep their distance and be careful about what's on the far side of their ship. And yet still be a strong enough cloak as to prevent "lol, I see you because I want to" situations.
The intent here is to include enough of a weakness that the owner of a cloaked ship would want to keep their distance and be careful about what's on the far side of their ship. And yet still be a strong enough cloak as to prevent "lol, I see you because I want to" situations.
Classification: Starship Component
Size: Ship-Mounted
Status: Military
