Juumanistra
18-07-2007, 08:36
A press kit arrives in your national air force’s procurement department without much fanfare. It’s from a Juuman export operation called “Wellington International Defense Solutions”, extolling the virtues of a new aircraft that calls itself the Maelstrom. The press kit is, as all advertising, big on promises and claims: Especially about the combat efficacy of an aircraft that looks like nothing so much as an oversized C-17 with gun ports. But, convinced by the copious pictures of hilltops evaporating under purported fire from the gunship, a staff officer plows through the kit and is able to come up with the following:
Yo-119 Maelstrom
Manufacturer: Hinamoto Aviation, Tachibana Aerospace, and Minatsuki Naval Ordinance
Designation: Four-engine heavy gunship
Crew: 11
Construction Notes: Single high-set T-tail, top-mounted, forward-situated jet engines mounted on high-set wings, structurally optimized for take-offs on unprepared, unpaved, or otherwise improvised runways, infrared, sonic, and thermal insulation applied to interior of engine housings, enlarged flaps and air brakes for maximum agility in CAS roles
Dimensions(L*W*H): 68.2*65.7*18.4m
Weight: 60,000kg(empty), 132,914kg(clean take-off), 198,634kg(mission take-off)
Maximum Speed: 850 km/h
Cruising Speed: 400 km/h
Engines: Four HM1-M6 low bypass turbofan engines
Service Ceiling: 15,000m
Rate of Climb: 26 m/s
Range: 6,000km combat radius; aerial-refueling capable
Avionics:
-Computers, hardware: Eight reinforced, EM hardened combat servers; each powered by four quad-core 3.3 GHz processors with 32,768MB of RAM and four terabytes of storage capacity per server.
-Computers, OS: Juumanistran Air Warfare Operations Architecture
-Computers, software: “Burgundy” environmental awareness module, “Sentinel” flight status and information module, “Danube” flight control module, “Bulldog” threat assessment and management module, “Skynet” integrated aerial combat module, “Aries” land warfare information, awareness, and integration module , “Sauron” sensor data management and processing module, “Whisper” combat communications relay and management module, Shadow” EW/ECM module, “Warrenkeeper” advanced ground mapping and targeting module, “Whack-A-Mole” advanced munitions targeting and guidance module
-Sensors: P661 passive phased radar array(forward-looking), Falchion terrain mapping and ground attack radar, six four-node non-visible light camera sets integrated in each large weapons bay, four three-node non-visible light camera sets integrated in each intermediate weapons bay
-Navigation: PBX.14 radio altimeter, GPS.211 system-integrated GPS suite, CHN.5 transponder
-Communications: ACX.941 radio communications array, TLN.171 microwave communications, CZT.2 satellite communications array, AKL.7 encrypted datalink, IFF.3 JIAWOA uplink
-Countermeasures: DEF.120 chaff dispenser(60 chaffs), DEF.121 flare dispenser(96 flares), DEF.149 dazzler dispenser(41 dazzlers)
Weapons/Hardpoints:
-Six G815M 162mm rapid fire general purpose howitzers
-Four G394 six-barreled 34mm gatling guns
-Four external weapons pylons beneath each wing
Armaments:
-2,400 162mm artillery shells
-16,000 34mm cannon rounds
-8 1,280-rocket 85mm rocket pods
Cost:
-Production Cost: ~$560,000,000
-Per New Domestic Unit: ~$675,000,000
-Per New Export Unit: ~$750,000,000
History
Born out of the notion of the “flying artillery battery”, the Juuman Department of Defense sought to recycle some of its aging Ke-119 Samson heavy transport aircraft into gunships through the utilization of a new generation of automatic, rapid firing heavy artillery pieces principally of naval origin. The program, originally intended as a conversion project for a dozen aging Samsons, spawned such positive reviews from the Army that the Hinamoto Aviation and Tachibana Aerospace, the principal contractors responsible for the Ke-119, began to build new airframes from the bottom up, to cater to the Army Air Corps’s recommendations and in the hopes of eventually cashing in on what was hoped to be a massive export demand: Said airframes entered Juuman service as the Yo-119 Maelstrom.
Weaponry
The heart and soul of the Maelstrom lies in its massive hold, which is segmented off into ten separate weapons bays of varying sizes: The default loadout is six large bays, capable of accommodating large field artillery pieces, such as the Juuman 162mm field gun, or similarly sized pieces, such as 155mm NATO and 152mm Warsaw Bloc guns, while the smaller four bays are configured to accept intermediately sized artillery or larger gatling guns. However, the entire system is intended to be modular, and can be tailored to any customer’s requests during fabrication or, alternately, bay size may be changed on-demand, as the bulkheads segregating the bays are collapsible and movable, with the muzzle ports for the weapons being constructed on a similar line, giving the owner maximum flexibility in configuring their Maelstrom for maximum combat efficacy with their armed forces. As well, weapons systems are locked into position using a floor-based pin system, allowing for quick and easy swapping out of systems as is required by different missions.
G815M 162mm Rapid Firing General Purpose Gun
The G815M is a 162mm/L44 fully automatic heavy artillery piece, fed by a propriety MACS-derivative ammunition system, with a liquid-cooled breach and thermal-shrouded barrel capable of achieving 15-20 rounds per minute of sustained fire, dependent upon the type of round being fired. The gun’s mounting is sealed against the outside, while being capable of elevating 45º and depressing to -35º. A conventional high explosive round from the G815M at 45º is capable of achieving a range of 45km at sea level, meaning that airborne rounds will be able to achieve substantively greater ranges, as will rocket-assisted and ERGMs.
G394 34mm Gatling Gun
The G394 is a six-barreled 34mm gatling gun chambered to the 34x326.4mm Hawkins round, capable of achieving 6,000 rounds per minute of fire. The gun boasts a mounting similar to that of the G815M, in which its mounting face is flush with the body of the aircraft and is sealed against the outside, though with the ability to pivot across a 140º plane of fire, as a maximum elevation of 20º and depression of -75º.
Attached is a set of phone numbers on whom to call to get information on export contracts and clearances, public relations, technical specifications, and even a number for “special business interests”, whoever or whatever they may be. The question of the hour remains, of course, whether they are worth calling at all or if there might be a better use of them: As kindling, perhaps, or maybe for the bottom of a squadron mascot’s cage.
*=*=*=*
[OOC: I don't expect for this to generate much interest, beyond those who've already shown an interest. It is, however, very much intended to be something a bit different from standard procurement threads, and those that treat this as a storefront will be told where they can go.]
Yo-119 Maelstrom
Manufacturer: Hinamoto Aviation, Tachibana Aerospace, and Minatsuki Naval Ordinance
Designation: Four-engine heavy gunship
Crew: 11
Construction Notes: Single high-set T-tail, top-mounted, forward-situated jet engines mounted on high-set wings, structurally optimized for take-offs on unprepared, unpaved, or otherwise improvised runways, infrared, sonic, and thermal insulation applied to interior of engine housings, enlarged flaps and air brakes for maximum agility in CAS roles
Dimensions(L*W*H): 68.2*65.7*18.4m
Weight: 60,000kg(empty), 132,914kg(clean take-off), 198,634kg(mission take-off)
Maximum Speed: 850 km/h
Cruising Speed: 400 km/h
Engines: Four HM1-M6 low bypass turbofan engines
Service Ceiling: 15,000m
Rate of Climb: 26 m/s
Range: 6,000km combat radius; aerial-refueling capable
Avionics:
-Computers, hardware: Eight reinforced, EM hardened combat servers; each powered by four quad-core 3.3 GHz processors with 32,768MB of RAM and four terabytes of storage capacity per server.
-Computers, OS: Juumanistran Air Warfare Operations Architecture
-Computers, software: “Burgundy” environmental awareness module, “Sentinel” flight status and information module, “Danube” flight control module, “Bulldog” threat assessment and management module, “Skynet” integrated aerial combat module, “Aries” land warfare information, awareness, and integration module , “Sauron” sensor data management and processing module, “Whisper” combat communications relay and management module, Shadow” EW/ECM module, “Warrenkeeper” advanced ground mapping and targeting module, “Whack-A-Mole” advanced munitions targeting and guidance module
-Sensors: P661 passive phased radar array(forward-looking), Falchion terrain mapping and ground attack radar, six four-node non-visible light camera sets integrated in each large weapons bay, four three-node non-visible light camera sets integrated in each intermediate weapons bay
-Navigation: PBX.14 radio altimeter, GPS.211 system-integrated GPS suite, CHN.5 transponder
-Communications: ACX.941 radio communications array, TLN.171 microwave communications, CZT.2 satellite communications array, AKL.7 encrypted datalink, IFF.3 JIAWOA uplink
-Countermeasures: DEF.120 chaff dispenser(60 chaffs), DEF.121 flare dispenser(96 flares), DEF.149 dazzler dispenser(41 dazzlers)
Weapons/Hardpoints:
-Six G815M 162mm rapid fire general purpose howitzers
-Four G394 six-barreled 34mm gatling guns
-Four external weapons pylons beneath each wing
Armaments:
-2,400 162mm artillery shells
-16,000 34mm cannon rounds
-8 1,280-rocket 85mm rocket pods
Cost:
-Production Cost: ~$560,000,000
-Per New Domestic Unit: ~$675,000,000
-Per New Export Unit: ~$750,000,000
History
Born out of the notion of the “flying artillery battery”, the Juuman Department of Defense sought to recycle some of its aging Ke-119 Samson heavy transport aircraft into gunships through the utilization of a new generation of automatic, rapid firing heavy artillery pieces principally of naval origin. The program, originally intended as a conversion project for a dozen aging Samsons, spawned such positive reviews from the Army that the Hinamoto Aviation and Tachibana Aerospace, the principal contractors responsible for the Ke-119, began to build new airframes from the bottom up, to cater to the Army Air Corps’s recommendations and in the hopes of eventually cashing in on what was hoped to be a massive export demand: Said airframes entered Juuman service as the Yo-119 Maelstrom.
Weaponry
The heart and soul of the Maelstrom lies in its massive hold, which is segmented off into ten separate weapons bays of varying sizes: The default loadout is six large bays, capable of accommodating large field artillery pieces, such as the Juuman 162mm field gun, or similarly sized pieces, such as 155mm NATO and 152mm Warsaw Bloc guns, while the smaller four bays are configured to accept intermediately sized artillery or larger gatling guns. However, the entire system is intended to be modular, and can be tailored to any customer’s requests during fabrication or, alternately, bay size may be changed on-demand, as the bulkheads segregating the bays are collapsible and movable, with the muzzle ports for the weapons being constructed on a similar line, giving the owner maximum flexibility in configuring their Maelstrom for maximum combat efficacy with their armed forces. As well, weapons systems are locked into position using a floor-based pin system, allowing for quick and easy swapping out of systems as is required by different missions.
G815M 162mm Rapid Firing General Purpose Gun
The G815M is a 162mm/L44 fully automatic heavy artillery piece, fed by a propriety MACS-derivative ammunition system, with a liquid-cooled breach and thermal-shrouded barrel capable of achieving 15-20 rounds per minute of sustained fire, dependent upon the type of round being fired. The gun’s mounting is sealed against the outside, while being capable of elevating 45º and depressing to -35º. A conventional high explosive round from the G815M at 45º is capable of achieving a range of 45km at sea level, meaning that airborne rounds will be able to achieve substantively greater ranges, as will rocket-assisted and ERGMs.
G394 34mm Gatling Gun
The G394 is a six-barreled 34mm gatling gun chambered to the 34x326.4mm Hawkins round, capable of achieving 6,000 rounds per minute of fire. The gun boasts a mounting similar to that of the G815M, in which its mounting face is flush with the body of the aircraft and is sealed against the outside, though with the ability to pivot across a 140º plane of fire, as a maximum elevation of 20º and depression of -75º.
Attached is a set of phone numbers on whom to call to get information on export contracts and clearances, public relations, technical specifications, and even a number for “special business interests”, whoever or whatever they may be. The question of the hour remains, of course, whether they are worth calling at all or if there might be a better use of them: As kindling, perhaps, or maybe for the bottom of a squadron mascot’s cage.
*=*=*=*
[OOC: I don't expect for this to generate much interest, beyond those who've already shown an interest. It is, however, very much intended to be something a bit different from standard procurement threads, and those that treat this as a storefront will be told where they can go.]