NationStates Jolt Archive


BA-104 Arbiter bomber (PMT, with pictures!)

Bretton
03-11-2005, 05:13
While Brettonian Military Industries, producers of The Technology of Peace™, believe that the elimination of warfare will occur on the ground, we realize the need to maintain a suitable degree of air power to facilitate these goals. With that in mind, we present to the International Arms Community our new, multirole bomber, the BA-104 Arbiter. True to its name, it will be able to mediate virtually any conflict with near-impunity.


NOTE: The Arbiter is now out of production and has been replaced in Brettonian service by the upgraded Arbiter II, which is detailed in the following post. The Arbiter is still available for export for parties that are unable to afford the Arbiter II.

Multi-View Lineart (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/MalikCarr/61ff3dbd.jpg)

Model number: BA-104
Code name: Arbiter
Unit type: Multirole super heavy bomber
Manufacturer: Bretton, Axis Nova
Operator: none
Dimensions: wingspan 208.52 meters; length 83.6 meters; height 13.7 meters
Unloaded weight: 385 tons
Maximum weight: 577.4 tons
Maximum payload: 384,000 lbs (174,540 kg)
Construction: composite material (classified)
Powerplant: 4 x RelicAeroSpace Gran Fury Imperial shaftless turbofan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=326155), with afterburner
Thrust: 110,000 lbs (50,000 kg) per engine, 440,000 lbs (200,000 kg) total
Crew: 8; aircraft commander, pilot, navigator, radar navigator/bombardier, electronic warfare operator, defense systems operator, 2 flight engineers
Performance (stealth): cruising speed 650 mph (1,040 km/h), cruising altitude 50,000 feet (15,151 meters)
Performance (strategic): cruising speed 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h), cruising altitude 73,000 feet (22,121 meters)
Equipment and design features: active/electronic countermeasures set, includes radar and infrared decoy systems; false target generator, projects numerous identical radar targets; 360-degree all-spectrum all-weather viewing system
Armament (conventional): 336 x 500-lb (227 kg) bomb; 120 x 1,000-lb (455 kg) bomb; 48 x 2,000-lb (910 kg) bomb; 120 x 1,000-lb (455 kg) combined-effects munition; 48 x 2,000-lb (910 kg) combined-effects munition
Armament (precision): 96 x IGS/GPS 1,000-lb (455 kg) bomb; 35 x IGS/GPS 2,000-lb (910 kg) bomb; 35 x laser-guided 2,000-lb (910 kg) earth-penetrating bomb; 35 x INS/GPS and direct data link 1,500 standoff air-to-ground glide bomb; 35 x variable active radar/infrared and INS/GPS 1,100 pound standoff anti-ship missile; 80 x LINE/GPS 3,250 pound air-launched cruise missile
Armament (nuclear): 80 x LINE/GPS 100 kiloton air-launched nuclear cruise missile; 80 x LINE/GPS 300 kiloton air-launched nuclear cruise missile; 80 x LINE/GPS 500 kiloton air-launched nuclear cruise missile; 96 x INS 50 kiloton short-range attack missile; 96 x INS 150 kiloton short-range attack missile; 16 x free-fall or laydown-delivery 9 megaton nuclear bomb; 32 x 350-kiloton penetrating (“bunker buster”) nuclear bomb; 32 x high-altitude laydown-delivery 1.2 megaton nuclear bomb
Armament (guns): 2 x coaxial 30mm 6-barrel CIWS in dorsal/ventral position behind crew cabin
Drones: 8 AUAV-04 Middleman units in external pylons; strategic-use only

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Lineart (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/MalikCarr/drone.jpg)

Model number: AUAV-04
Code name: Middleman
Unit type: Advanced capability unmanned precision munitions deployment drone
Manufacturer: Bretton, Axis Nova
Operator: Bretton
Dimensions: wingspan 8.4 meters; length 12.5 meters; height 4 meters
Unloaded weight: 14.7 tons
Maximum weight: 17.8 tons
Construction: aluminum alloy
Powerplant: BMI Mk. 11 scramjet; H-70 rocket motor
Thrust: classified
Crew: unmanned
Performance: up to 6,600 mph (10,621 km/h)
Equipment and design features: INS/GPS guidance suites; forward-looking infrared (FLIR) suite; all-weather radar targeting system
Armament: six hardpoints, supports most air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles up to 1,100 pounds, including anti-radiation
Armament (onboard): warhead up to 3,000 pounds

Description:

The aptly-named BA-104 Arbiter serves a variety of roles and objectives in the Brettonian Army Air Force as its next-generation multirole bomber. Combined with the AUAV-04 Middleman combat drone, the Arbiter can accomplish mission profiles that would normally require numerous separate craft.

Armament: The Arbiter is a super heavy bomber, and between its wingspan and bomb payload, the name shows. Each Arbiter is capable of holding as many as 336 munitions, giving it a devastating amount of firepower for a single aircraft. In a strategic role, the Arbiter has the capability to engage in carpet bombing, precision bombing, and delivery of long-range cruise missiles. Its combat prowess is further enhanced by the possession of anywhere from four to eight unmanned AUAV-04 Middleman drones on external pylons, which provides an even broader area of effect and improved versatility. When operating in a stealth role, the Arbiter places a heavier emphasis on precision guided munitions that would pose less of a risk of exposing its position. During stealth operations, the Arbiter does not support the external pylons used to carry the Middleman drones. For air defense, the Arbiter is armed with a pair of coaxial 30mm radar-guided CIWS pods located behind the crew cabin, effectively providing 360 degrees of coverage. When not in use the pods sit in concealed niches in the fuselage, ensuring that the bomber’s low-visibility fuselage remains undisturbed. During strategic operations, the pods are often left deployed to ensure maximum response time to potential threats. Similar in function to the guns aboard the A7V Peacemaker multi-legged tanks, the Arbiter’s CIWS vulcan guns utilize caseless self-propelled ammunition. This provides extra muzzle velocity needed to keep shells reasonably on track at the ridiculously high speeds the Arbiter flies at when operating in a strategic role.

Defensive Systems: Which role the Arbiter flies in drastically changes its defensive orientation. When operating in a high-altitude, high-speed strategic role, the Arbiter’s primary defensive mechanism is directly thwarting enemy attack. The Arbiter can, on-the-fly, identify hostile targets using either externally-received or self-gathered data, and respond accordingly. For instance, when faced with a battery of antiaircraft radar sites, an Arbiter would first deploy its false-target generators, filling enemy radar screens with numerous nonexistent targets. Next, it would deploy a drone (or two) equipped with high-speed antiradition missiles to fly ahead and begin destroying radar infrastructure. By the time the Arbiter has arrived within a radar site’s effective missile launch radius, the site will likely already lie in rubble. In the case of a missile being loosed beforehand, the BA-104 is equipped with an array of antimissile defenses, including chaff dischargers. Infrared-guidance is defeated via venting excess coolant over the Arbiter’s fuselage and discharging a battery of flares, providing dozens of delicious targets while masking its own. In the case of any of the above breaking through the Arbiter’s passive defenses, or by unguided missiles that have simply been launched in its path, the twin coaxial CIWS guns will dispose of them. While operating in a stealth role, the Arbiter’s primary defense is not being noticed in the first place. A low-profile airframe and highly radar-absorbent composite (and highly classified) materials lend an extraordinarily thin radar signature. At lower speeds, the Arbiter can almost completely hide its thermal output, providing infrared-guided munitions very little to lock on to. Even as acoustic-guidance is beginning to become more common on the antiaircraft arms market, the Arbiter’s precision-machined surfaces allow it to cut through the air like a finely-crafted blade, leaving a minimum of disturbance in its wake.

Drones: One of the Arbiter’s more ambitious capabilities is its utilization of the AUAV-04 Middleman drone. The Middleman is little more than an advanced-capability cruise missile with exception of two areas: First, it possesses its own sub-weapons, and second, it possesses a highly-sophisticated multi-variable guidance system. Though it carries an onboard warhead, and in most scenarios ends its existence by slamming into a target, it is closer to a hypersonic interceptor/attack fighter in execution. The Middleman’s eight hard points allow it to carry a variety of precision-guided munitions, including air-to-air, air-to-ground, antiradition and antishipping missiles of various size and weight up to 1,100 pounds. A universal connection plug allows virtually any missile to be mounted provided it meets the proper weight restrictions. The Middleman possesses some maneuvering capability, mostly through miniature apogee rocket motors in the nose, but its primary asset is its ridiculous speed, capable of accelerating above Mach 10 under ideal conditions. This allows a Middleman to close to its target at in an incredibly short period of time, defeating most forms of antiaircraft threat detection and interception. At the last possible moment, the Middleman deploys its own ordnance, allowing it to neutralize as many as nine individual targets after the Middleman itself impacts the final target. The Middleman’s second exceptional characteristic is its top-of-the-line guidance system. While possessing a traditional GPS/INS system, our own A7V Peacemaker’s elaborate countermeasure AI has demonstrated the vulnerability of relying on this form of guidance. As a result, the Middleman features an elaborate laser/radio communication suite. It can continually update itself from various forms of information providers, including Brettonian ground troops, the Arbiter it launched from, forward radar beacons, surveillance/reconnaissance aircraft, and so forth. A sophisticated security barrier prevents malicious information from being transmitted and corrupting the Middleman’s target, and all transmitting units are constantly re-synchronized with the Middleman’s own to ensure no outside tampering makes its way in.

Bombs: The Arbiter possesses two enormous bomb bays, providing a total payload capacity of 384,000 pounds. Each bomb bay is neatly sandwiched in the lower fuselage between two of its RelicAerospace Gran Fury Imperial engines. The bomb bay doors split in the middle and slide to the sides, minimizing atmospheric disruption and still keeping a low radar profile. The bomb bays are not pressurized, ensuring that an infrared sensors looking upwards won’t spot a sudden burst of comparatively hot air escaping from the bays. The bomb bays themselves are a masterpiece of Brettonian engineering; with a minimum of ground crew labor, the bays can be quickly reconfigured to support virtually any old (20th century) or new (21st century) munitions. Even the entire bomb bays themselves may be dropped from the fuselage and replaced with rotary cruise missile launchers in the space of an hour at a properly equipped air base. An Arbiter can return to its base, exchange its cruise missile launchers for cluster munition racks, refuel, replace its telemetry data, and be in the air again in ninety minutes, including time to switch crews. With the relevant equipment, an Arbiter can fly virtually any form of bombing role.

Logistics and Operation: As with all Brettonian Military Industries productions, crew safety is first and foremost on our minds. To this end, numerous safety features have been designed and implemented to ensure crew comfort and survivability. The crew cabin is pressurized, climate controlled, and fully NBC-proofed. In the case of critical damage to the Arbiter’s airframe or fuselage, the crew cabin as a whole can be jettisoned from the rest of the aircraft, utilizing a number of parachutes to cushion landing once it has entered the thicker atmosphere. If the crew cabin itself should be compromised, each crew member will suddenly become encapsulated in a personal recovery pod. The collapsed pods, powered by compressed CO2, completely encompass the crew member, his chair, and the surrounding area. The personal recovery pod is then ejected from the crew cabin and allowed to free-fall to 12,000 feet, where it is then jettisoned and the crew member’s personal parachute deploys. Combined with an optional pressure suit and personal air supply, these systems provide a comprehensive multi-layered security and safety for Arbiter air crew. The Arbiter’s Gran Fury Imperial shaftless turbofans, manufactured by RelicAeroSpace, burn fuel with great efficiency, allowing the Arbiter to easily operate intercontinental flights without the need for in-flight refueling. Of course, a refueling aperture is provided to enable in-flight refueling for prolonged strategic air patrolling if the need should arise. The Arbiter possesses a great degree of both offensive and defensive avionics, and makes extensive use of highly-sophisticated electronic hardware. As a result, it is extraordinarily vulnerable to electromagnetic pulsing, and has been equipped with the proper shielding apparatuses to ensure that the EM-Pulse from a nuclear detonation will not foul its systemry.

Visual Gallery

1. Arbiter bombers operating at low-altitude. Note orange prototype colors on Middleman drones (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Bomber/bomber140994.jpg)

2. Same bombers launching Middleman drones; note the required use of the rocket booster to achieve velocity for the scramjet at low speeds (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Bomber/bomber241183.jpg)

3. A fusillade of drones flying ahead at high speed (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Bomber/bomber341248.jpg)

4. Drones eagerly closing in on their targets (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/MalikCarr/drone142603.png)

The BA-104 Arbiter bomber represents nearly eight years of concerted development within Brettonian Military Industries. It can act in both stealth and strategic roles, has a massive payload capacity and intercontinental range, and is securely protected against most forms of antiaircraft technology. Incredible versatility, durability, and functionality for today’s discerning military leaders!

BA-104 Arbiter II Unit Production Cost: J$2,930,000,000 (two billion nine hundred thirty million jions)
BA-104 Arbiter II Unit Maintenence Cost, Annual: J$240,000,000 (two hundred forty million jions)
BA-104 Arbiter II Unit Export Cost: J$3,200,000,000 (three billion two hundred million jions)

As with all of The Technology of Peace™, we are eager to export to any interested parties. Weapons demonstrations will be provided to interested clientel. Please contact us with any relevant inquiries.
Bretton
16-11-2005, 07:13
Following the Arbiter's less-than-spectacular deployment in the Kraven Conflict, our R&D staff has stripped down and rebuilt the design, and after months of careful review and projection, we are proud to re-release the superior BA-104B Arbiter II.

Model number: BA-104B
Code name: Arbiter II
Manufacturer: Bretton, Axis Nova, Sileetris
Operator: Bretton, Allanea, Greal
Unloaded weight: 391 tons
Maximum weight: 599.4 tons
Maximum payload: 403,000 pounds
Powerplant: 4 x RelicAeroSpace Valiant Phoenix shaftless turbofan, with afterburner
Thrust: 170,000 pounds per engine, 680,000 pounds total
Performance (strategic): cruising speed 2,730 mph (4,368 km/h), cruising altitude 92,000 feet (27,900 meters)
Armament (guns): 4 x coaxial 30mm 6-barrel CIWS in dorsal/ventral positions behind crew cabin and aft fuselage

Comprehensive Upgrade Package: In addition to an even more powerful offensive/defensive avionics package featuring decoy laser emitters, a number of design flaws in the original Arbiter have been corrected in the Arbiter II. Originally thought to be flying above and faster than the ability of close engagement by enemy fighter/interceptor units, we have since learned otherwise. In a joint design between Brettonian Military Industries and RelicAerospace, we have produced the superior Valiant Phoenix turbofan, providing an additional 60,000 pounds of thrust over the Gran Fury Imperial, originally designed for the Valefor superiority fighter. The significantly improved thrust and power-to-weight ratio has enabled the Arbiter II to fly faster and higher than its predecessor, even with the added weight of additional payload and CIWS (more below). At cruising altitude, even top-of-the-line, next-generation fighter/interceptors will be limited to flying in extrordinarily linear fashions, making them easy pickings for the upgraded CIWS unit. A second pair of coaxial 30mm vulcan guns, positioned further aft on the fuselage, doubles the effective coverage against enemy air units and missile threats. Coupled with the addition of RelicAerospace's ridiculously powerful HSCDEADGR (http://www.freewebs.com/bluebomber2/aerospacetech.htm) system (simplified as "HEADGEAR" by Brettonian forces), the Arbiter II posesses superior threat acquisition and neutralization capability.

In summation, the Arbiter II's comprehensive upgrade package has filled the gaps in the original's defense while retaining its massive payload.

BA-104B Arbiter II Unit Production Cost: J$3,228,000,000 (three billion two hundred twenty eight million jions)
BA-104B Arbiter II Unit Maintenence Cost, Annual: J$284,000,000 (two hundred and eighty four million jions)
BA-104B Arbiter II Unit Export Cost: J$3,750,000,000 (three billion seven hundred fifty million jions)

While the Arbiter II is available for export, its "HEADGEAR" system may only be included with permission from the Kingdom of Sileetris. As with all Brettonian Military Industries designs, weapons demonstrations will be offered to interested clientel at request. Feel free to contact us with any relevent questions.
Bretton
07-12-2005, 01:37
bump
Velkya
07-12-2005, 01:42
Am I allowed to buy, being an enemy of Kraven?
Omz222
07-12-2005, 01:46
OOC: How can you have 182.8 tons of payload when the maximum weight is around 599 tons? At this rate only 4% of your aircraft's maximum weight will be taken by fuel, which will mean that this aircraft will literally crash after flying about 500km from its airfield. You need to have at least around 35% of the aircraft's max weight taken by fuel to have at least a satisfactory range, and more if the speed is supersonic.
Bretton
07-12-2005, 02:01
OOC: Was 35% a requirement mentioned on Airplanes 101 somewhere?

Consider for a moment the Hughes HX-17, 1952. It had a maximum takeoff weight of 25 tons, but only 10 of those were actual cargo. Converserly, a more recent helicopter, the Mikoyan Mi-26, 1983, fully half its 40 ton maximum weight can be devoted to cargo. I don't see why another 40 years of development won't make this possible.

IC: We have no current export limitations, so yes, we would be pleased to sell the Arbiter or Arbiter II to any interested parties, including yourself. Please note, we will not be able to include the HEADGEAR package described above without first attaining the Kingdom of Sileetris' express permission, so it would be in your interest to contact their respective departments and an inquiry.
Omz222
07-12-2005, 02:13
OOC: Was 35% a requirement mentioned on Airplanes 101 somewhere?
OOC: No, it is however, an approximate range which you should go by for the weights. Just like how you wouldn't build a '1 kilometer aircraft', a B-1B that has an empty weight of 1kg, or a F-16 that can carry 15,000kg load.

Consider for a moment the Hughes HX-17, 1952. It had a maximum takeoff weight of 25 tons, but only 10 of those were actual cargo. Converserly, a more recent helicopter, the Mikoyan Mi-26, 1983, fully half its 40 ton maximum weight can be devoted to cargo. I don't see why another 40 years of development won't make this possible.
OOC: Irrelevant, considering that the Skycrane wasn't really a fixed-wing, and the Mi-26 is a helicopter. Technology level doesn't have too much to do with this, as no matter how efficient your engines are, a lot of fuel must be allocated to give this an intercontinental range with a good speed. If you look at the figures of different modern bombers and other military combat aircraft of similar size, then the approximate figure I gave you is realistic, no matter whether you are MT or PMT. Just because the F/A-18 is '30 years older' than a MiG-15 doesn't mean that it shouldn't have to conform with the basic principles of military combat aircraft design, including fuel fraction and similar factors that must be taken into consideration. If just because the aircraft is '50 years newer than the B-1B' it can have a fuel fraction of 0.04 is true, then the fuel problems with the earlier F/A-18 models should've never existed.

Whether you go by this suggestion is up to you, though the fact still stands.
Velkya
07-12-2005, 02:14
OOC: Simple thought could detirmine that the 4 engines required to power an aircraft would consume huge amounts of fuel to keep your bomber airborne, and 5% of the weght devoted to fuel would not simply cut it. The examples (i.e. a transport helo, or a large transport aircraft) that you have provided hardly pertain to to keeping a 600 ton bomber in the air, let alone at supersonic speeds. Your fuel percentage would have to be way higher than 5%.
Bretton
07-12-2005, 12:13
OOC: ....oh boy. I'm feeling a bit silly now...

On review of the profile, I've included the proper numbers, but I seem to have botched the designation. 'Empty weight' should be 'unloaded weight,' e.g. a fuelled but unarmed Arbiter. -_-

The missing 5% was meant to be taken up by non-payload ordnance, such as gun ammunition and the pylons for the drones.

I'm brilliant. Really.
Bretton
10-12-2005, 04:36
Bump for new figures that hopefully make more sense.
Bretton
05-09-2006, 10:39
bump
Allanea
07-10-2007, 15:46
Official Message from the Department of Defense

We require 250 of these bombers, for reasons known only to Allaneans.
Bretton
08-10-2007, 12:21
OOC: Bit late on the draw, aren't we? >_>

Brettonian Military Industries
Haven Sales Office

Always glad to meet an order for our good Allanean friends and allies. 250 bombers have been earmarked for delivery to your country - the Heavy Transport Division will facilitate delivery shortly. 130 units will be delivered within 72 hours; the remaining 120 units will be shipped weekly in batches of 40 apiece.

J$937.2 billion has been charged to your account accordingly, reflecting our discount for close associates and longtime business partners.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about current orders or our delivery practices, do not hesitate to inform us posthaste! We look forward to future business deals in a mutually profitable environment. Thank you once again for choosing The Technology of Peace™.
Greal
08-10-2007, 13:27
Greal would liek to buy DPR.
Bretton
08-10-2007, 20:57
Greal would liek to buy DPR.

OOC: DPR = Domestic Production Rights, I presume?

At Brettonian Military Industries, virtually all of our wares of The Technology of Peace™ can be license-produced by satisfied customers with the following reasonable conditions:


Licensee must purchase ten individual units at current sale value
7.9% of sale value will be charged in licensing and production fees per unit at completion

If those conditions are acceptable to you, we shall designate ten BA-104Bs for export to your armed forces at an estimated total cost of J$37.5 billion. Transport will begin once we have received payment. Keep in mind the most current exchange rates. As far as production rights are concerned, our men from the transport division shall bring the appropriate documentation and affidavits, paper and electronic, to official license your heavy industry of choice as an Arbiter production licensee.

Brettonian Military Industries reserves the right to conduct periodic, low-hindrance inspections of your designated production facilities to ensure production rights are being respected by all signatory members. Remember, fees are due upon completion of assembly, not employment in your forces or secondary sale.

Thank you for your interest in The Technology of Peace™; we look forward to future business opportunities.
Greal
09-10-2007, 01:34
OOC: DPR = Domestic Production Rights, I presume?

At Brettonian Military Industries, virtually all of our wares of The Technology of Peace™ can be license-produced by satisfied customers with the following reasonable conditions:


Licensee must purchase ten individual units at current sale value
7.9% of sale value will be charged in licensing and production fees per unit at completion

If those conditions are acceptable to you, we shall designate ten BA-104Bs for export to your armed forces at an estimated total cost of J$37.5 billion. Transport will begin once we have received payment. Keep in mind the most current exchange rates. As far as production rights are concerned, our men from the transport division shall bring the appropriate documentation and affidavits, paper and electronic, to official license your heavy industry of choice as an Arbiter production licensee.

Brettonian Military Industries reserves the right to conduct periodic, low-hindrance inspections of your designated production facilities to ensure production rights are being respected by all signatory members. Remember, fees are due upon completion of assembly, not employment in your forces or secondary sale.

Thank you for your interest in The Technology of Peace™; we look forward to future business opportunities.

These conditinos are acceptable.
Allanea
29-01-2009, 15:19
Official Allanean Message

We require 250 Arbiter stealth bombers, for reasons known only to Allaneans. Again.
Bretton
30-01-2009, 05:46
Brettonian Military Industries
Haven Sales Office

Always glad to meet an order for our good Allanean friends and allies; we wish you well in the ongoing times of political turbulence in your country. 250 bombers have been earmarked for delivery - the Heavy Transport Division will facilitate delivery shortly. 100 units will be delivered promptly, with the remaining 150 delivered in three batches of 50 each. Total fulfillment of your order will be facilitated within four weeks.

J$937.2 billion has been charged to your account accordingly, reflecting our discount for close associates and longtime business partners.

As usual, if you have any questions or concerns about outstanding orders, our delivery practices, or general inquiries about our business, do not hesitate to inform us posthaste! We look forward to future business deals in a mutually profitable environment. Thank you once again for choosing The Technology of Peace™.
Allanea
07-02-2009, 15:09
Official Allanean Response:

Thank you for your kind service. We wish to repeat our previous order, and order 250 more Arbiters.
Bretton
08-02-2009, 00:23
Brettonian Military Industries
Haven Sales Office

Charged and sent to our production assemblies. Due to the increased demand, we will only be able to deliver an initial 50 units, with batches of 100 to follow as production speed picks up. Thank you for your continued patronage!