[Thaeris]

Please feel free to join in... 

...Someone should "ink" this one, by the way:

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[Thaeris]

Don't you people care about art? 

Here's a concept that I've had for a while: an ECM Hercules.

Prose:

After the NTF Rebellion and Second Shivan Incursion, the Terran Navy still had in its arsenal a great deal of antiquated hardware. Despite heavy attrition due to NTF operations and Shivan attacks on stockpiles in Epsilon Pegasi, the GTF Hercules was still a plentiful asset amongst the GTVA's old equpiment. In a strange twist of events, the generally high need for military hardware would see the old Herc come into a new purpose...

The NTF Rebellion and Second Shivan Incursion demonstrated that simulators alone would not suffice for advanced training procedures. The NTF, despite having generally inferior equipment, was often able to hold out against better equipped GTVA crews at the start of the conflict due to more experienced flight crews. New Shivan bomber types encountered during the Second Incursion demonstrated a new-found weakness within the interceptor corps of the period: a lack of preparedness in engaging fast-moving bomber threats. Despite learning of the shortcomings of the training regimine to-date, there was no real solution to solving these problems with the current set of eqipment in terms of field training. And, with a Post-Capellan economy staring down upon the Terran Navy, a new type for training purposes alone was completely out of the question.

Furthermore, the engagements with the Shivans during the Second Incursion demonstrated the need for a more mobile electronic warfare platform. Again, introducing a new hull type into the fleet after the Capellan Incident would have been extraordinarily foolish. However, refitting an older hull would not only be possible operationally, but it wouldn't starve the fleet of funding needed so desperately elsewhere...

There were two possible candidates for the conversion process: The GTF Hercules and the GTB Medusa. Other types were available, but were completely unsuitable to the task or did not exist in quantities great enough to make an upgrade economical. Unsuitable types included the Valkyrie, which was expensive to maintain and did not posess the qualities needed for a long-term field tactical ship. The Apollo (both fighter and bomber variants) and Athena were becoming rather scarce in quantity, primarily due to GTVA operations during the NTF Rebellion in Epsilon Pegasi. Rather than simply retreat, Allied powers ensured as much of the "mothball fleets" as possible were detroyed rather than fall into rebel hands - Athenas and Apollos constitued a high number of the preserved ships destroyed. The GTB Medusa and the GTF Hercules, however, were still both in limited service with normal units. Both types also possesed a desirable amount of internal volume, had high marks for armor, modularity, and with a new generation of fighter/bomber engines in the works, were not terrible in terms of speed...

The GTB Medusa was big, slow, and tough - so was the Hercules. Both types were on their way out of service. And each had a distinct value it could bring to the new requirement for an agressor trainer/EW platform. In the end, it would come down to dollar signs. The Medusa, though on its way out, would remain in service longer than the original Hercules in front-line duty. The nature of the bomber meant that it was built tough - tough enough that some examples from the Great War remained in service! A two-member crew would ensure that operation of tactical systems would not encumber the pilot. Massive weapons magazines would ensure that the required equipment would still enable a healthy dosage of weaponry to be carried, perfect for second-line combat duties. The Herc was smaller, less spacious, and more maneuverable. And it was smaller. And more maneuverable. In fact, by removing a great portion of the primary weapons system as well as half of the secondary weapons system, internal volume wasn't much of a concern. And it was smaller...

The Herc was smaller. It was much less expensive to convert to the hull of the Hercules into a tactical platform than the Medusa. And, since it would leave service before the venerable old bomber, there would be no fighting over components for operational repairs. Not haing a dedicated WSO/EW officer was a drawback, but a simplified weapons system as well as staying away from the front of the firefights whenever possible meant that this wouldn't be a problem, either. Hands down, ther Herc won the bill.

The retrofitted Hercules was an interesting beast. The lateral primary gun banks were removed and replaced with a sensor/EW suite provided by Dynamic Metamer (as well as the port secondary weapons bay), the engines and reactor were replaced by a new integrated set fresh off the drawing boards of Nankam Aeronautical, and Han-Ronald Engineering Corp. provided a heavily reinforced hull upgrade. The overall costs of the project were greater than anticipated (which is not atypical) but resulted in a surprisingly versatile craft. Handling was sluggish in comparison to a standard Herc, but was generally equivalent to something like the Ares. Speed, however, was greatly enhanced. The new power grid allowed the modified Herc to simulate high-speed Shivan bomber strikes (with bomber-like maneuverability, as well) while a reinforced and significantly more armored hull allowed for plenty of punishment from frangible training rounds. With an incredible array of radars and sensors, the retrofitted Hercules would be able to simulate threats on the training field while deterring them on the battlefield. Lastly, maintaining a single, adaptable gun bank and misslie bank would allow the ship to defend itself or engage training targets. The good 'ole Herc was flying again...

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[Retsof]

I aplaud your idea and wish for someone to model it.

[Thaeris]

I'm glad this is a liked concept. Since the base HTL model already is freely available, this could be a fairly easy conversion. 

[Doping]

Wohow!
I want to steal some termins! 
"EW suite provided by Dynamic Metamer"
hell yea

[Thaeris]

As this has the potential to end up in DEFCON FreeSpace, I'll post this here as well:



The MBB Lampyridae, the German stealth fighter project. Unlike the F-117, this was an interceptor, not a tactical bomber.

[Bob-san]

text

I decided to use this sketch for my computer background. Put it into Photoshop and inverted colors, desaturated, and then made the main background black. Thanks for the image! I'm thinking of doing the same for the other drawing as well (to use with the 2nd LCD).

[Thaeris]

text

I decided to use this sketch for my computer background. Put it into Photoshop and inverted colors, desaturated, and then made the main background black. Thanks for the image! I'm thinking of doing the same for the other drawing as well (to use with the 2nd LCD).

 

[ShadowGorrath]

Nice stuff you got here