| Pioneer-Class JumpShip Patrol-Scout Cutter | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Ix Shipyards, Niops Association |
| Use | Exploration Vessel Patrol Vessel |
| Tech Base | Inner Sphere Experimental |
| Cost | 5,299,397,000 C-bills |
| Introduced | 3160 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 60,000 |
| Length | 124 Meters |
| Width | |
| Sail Diameter | 1,000 Meters |
| Fuel | 1,000 Tons |
| Burn Rate | 39.52 |
| Safe Thrust | 3 |
| Top Thrust | 5 |
| Sail Integrity | 3 |
| KF Drive Integrity | 4 |
| LF Battery | None |
| Armament | Main Weaponry
|
| Armor | Primitive Aerospace Armor Nose: 7 Fore Sides: 7/7 Aft Sides: 7/7 Aft: 5 |
| DropShip Capacity | 2 |
| Crew | 16 officers, 57 enlisted/non-rated 24 gunners 22 bay personnel 40 passengers 28 marines 10 BA marines |
| Grav Decks | 2 (50 meter diameter) |
| Escape Pods/Life Boats | 16 / 16 |
| Heat Sinks | 395 |
| Structural Integrity | 40 |
| BV (1.0) | |
| BV (2.0) | 11,949[1] |
Description[]
The Pioneer is a Primitive JumpShip intended for mix use as military and civilian roles.
Based on Star League prototype drone jumpship, the new ship was designed/re-engineered by the The Administrator AU's Niops Association faction, created by Giovanni Blasini for his fan story, The Adventures of the Beer Keg of Science!. The ship was created like other ships devised by the Niops Militia uses a mix of Primitive Technology with High Technologies.
Overview[]
The Pioneer class JumpShip another example of the "cutter" trend sweeping the Inner Sphere, a primitive JumpShip designed to function in the modern world. Designed and built by the Niops Association and operated in conjunction with Interstellar Expeditions, the Pioneer class serves as both a patrol ship, and a science vessel capable of both following up on the discoveries of the NMS Beer Keg of Science!, and of making discoveries of their own.
Deployment[]
Ix Ship Yards is currently expecting to complete construction of the NMV Pioneer in early 3160, but has already received orders for several new vessels, including the NMV Voyager, NMV New Horizons, NMV Cassini, NMV Mariner, NMV Galileo, and NMV Magellan.
Armament and Equipment[]
Using the basic hull of the Bright Star auto scout as a guide, and partially automated to reduce the necessary workload on the crew, or operate with minimal personnel.
The Niops Association and Ix Shipyards, lacking the ability to build standard or compact core KF drives, put to practice the lessons they learned rebuilding the former THS Vesuvius, a Cruiser class cruiser refit as the NMS Beer Keg of Science!, whose KF drive systems were simplified into a more primitive form with only a 15 light-year range.
Like the "Keg", the Pioneer class mission profile includes planetary exploration. Fitting true DropShips using KF Booms was too complicated to rework the KF drive, so like the Cruiser class, the Pioneer class departs from the practice of carrying DropShuttles, instead utilizing two standard docking collars capable of accepting KF-boom-equipped DropShips, with docking collars located on the port and starboard sides of the ship, roughly amidships. This proved a necessity as the hull planform of the Pioneer proved too small to accomodate the cavernous internal DropShuttle bays of the Cruiser class or its Conestoga class transport cousin.
To facilitate extended operations, the Pioneer carries a thousand tons of fuel, and a cargo hold of over 4700 tons. In addition to its own crew, each Pioneer class can carry 40 passengers, as well as a platoon of 28 marines. Pioneers have an oversized number of escape pods and lifeboats, providing added security in the event of emergencies, as well as a pair of small craft. To support crew health, the Pioneer class carries two 50-meter counter-rotating grav decks.
Because it is a hostile universe, the Pioneer class must be capable of defending itself. For protection against capital craft, a forward facing turret of three light subcapital cannons is mounted on the ventral side of the Pioneer class, along with six forward-facing White Shark missile launchers, split between the left and right side of the hull. For additional long-range protection, twin SCL/1 subcapital laser turrets are mounted in the ship's foresides, midships and aft-sides, providing further stand-off anti-fighter and anti-ship defenses, while eight twin blazer cannon turrets and an equal number of dual laser AMS system turrets provide full spherical protection against both small craft and incoming missiles. Observers note that this layout is not optimized for precision orbital bombardment, though stand-off bearings launches by the White Shark tubes can certainly be used for anti-planetary strikes. Additional protection is provided by a squadron of six aerospace fighters, crewed or robotic, though the Pioneer class lacks the sophisticated ARTS systems the much-larger Beer Keg of Science can field, or the cruiser's integrated SDS-grade artificial intelligence.
Because the Pioneer is meant to also fulfill a science and exploration role, the ship has been fitted with a domestically-produced mobile hyper-pulse generator, in order to maintain contact with the Niops system. Unfortunately, this system has proven to be of dodgy reliability. By contrast, the sophisticated sensors of the Pioneer's large naval comm-scanner suite is every bit as sophisticated as those carried aboard the original Bright Star Auto-Scout, or the NMS Beer Keg of Science, giving the Pioneer class astounding data gathering capabilities.
Cargo[]
- Bay 1: Fighter (6) 3 Doors
- Bay 2: Small Craft (2) 1 Door
- Bay 3: Cargo (64,912.0 tons) 1 Door
Notes - Equipment[]
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-X-X
This ship is a Primitive JumpShip, with some weapons of a modern WarShip.
Due to it's mixed nature, the ship can use Solar Sail to recharge, but limited to 15 light years in range due to primitive nature of it's KF-Drive.
Additional Equipment Includes;
- 1 Communication Equipment (15 tons)
- 3 Space Mine Dispenser
- 48 tons of primitive aerospace armor.