Post by Ravished Improbability on May 19, 2017 6:27:49 GMT
The ASF-232 is the Star Marines answer to the issue of providing close air support without relying on orbiting warships or expensive assault shuttles. The attack shuttle built around the huge Ka'Rlfn designed 7 barrel 15.2cm automatic railgun in the nose. The second major concern was getting it down from orbit safely. To that end a powerful electromagnetic heatsheild is installed to protect the shuttle and its under slung ordnance from the worst effects of reentry. The variable swing wing design allows it to safely transverse the supersonic range in a delta configuration while still maintaining the lift needed at slower speeds to carry a heavy load of weapons by spreading the wings out. The standard load out is 6 missile pods with 4 seekers each and 3 racks of 3 guided bombs each.
Major test flights where done using Star Marine and Ka'Rlfn pilots. Given sufficient remaining fuel and low enough mass the ASF-232 can return to space without the need for boosters or transport. While not design for the task, large load of missiles of up to 32 seeker missiles and five guns of the ASF-232 Rukk make it a risky target to engage with other fighters. Ka'Rlfn variant of the ASF-232 installs controls for one Ka'Rlfn pilot and removes the wing mounted lasers to make room for four additional missile launchers in the wings.
ASF-232 C Rukk
Close air support and ground attack shuttle
Length: 24m
Wingspan:
- Spread: 28.75m
- Swept: 15.75m
Height: 7m
Armor: 1cm to 5cm around critical systems. 1 to 5mm as general cladding.
Crew: 2 (1 pilot, 1 gunner)
Drives: 2 nuclear turbine type combine cycle engines
Armament:
1 GEA-18 7-barrel 15.2cm automatic rail cannon with 1000 rounds (1500 max)
2 GEA-11B gunpods with 6-barrel 8cm automatic rail cannons. 750 rounds each. Mounted near the wing tips.
2 gimballed lasers with air-to-air and air-to-ground modes.
1 turreted laser in the tail for air-to-air and anti-missile defense
8 seeker missile launchers (4 each in the leading edge of the swing wings)
15 hard points:
- 7 on the under-fuselage: 3 in the center two to each side
- 4 under each wings. 3 in a triangle on the wing root, 1 just outside the gear pod.
Major Variants
- ASF-232 A/B - Prototype production models for the Star Marines and Ka'Rlfn.
- ASF-232 C - Production model for the Star Marines with improved engines and forward lasers, added tail laser to improve survivability.
- ASF-232 D - Production model for the Ka'Rlfn with improved engines. Stripped out lasers for additional missiles. Upgraded gyros and RCS for increase extra atmospheric maneuverability.