Archer Aerial Gunship

Archer Union Of Worlds Aerial Gunship:



Overview:


The Archer Aerial Gunship is the smallest of the Union of Worlds Aerial gunship or 'fortress' classes which operate under both the control of either the Union Aerospace Core or the PDF core. Flying high in the atmosphere the Archer is designed for a number of roles, both from engaging enemy aerial forces in open or long range combat, bombarding ground targets with precision fire support, acting as a command platform for air war engagements over a theatre or deterring an orbital assault. Armed to the teeth with weapon systems each in retractable mounts (the Mass drivers able to slide their rails in to withdraw) to not reduce drag at speeds the Archer is highly manuverable and stable in fight, able to act as a weapons platform fully able to engage enemy craft at all ranges as well as perform ABM functions if needed. The Archer normally either is found alone as a command unit for a large squadron of Union craft or in a pack of 3 protecting one of the large Aerial fortress classes.


Capabilities:



Armaments: Armed with a wide variety of weapon systems the Archer mounts 18 Meson laser projectors with 9 on top and 9 underneath capable of engaging all manner of threats from enemy missiles to fighter craft in their rapid rotatable and retractable ball mounts. These have very long range and along with the missile launchers are the first line of defence. Along with these the Archer mounts two large VLS arrays which can fire LRAAMS at both enemy fighters and missiles and also function as an ABM system if needed, these can be swapped out for medium phase missiles if planetary assaults are suspected to target smaller warships in orbit. In total the Archer carries 64 missiles. Lastly the Archer mounts 12 medium sized dual mass drivers, these can also retract and are used as a last line of defence, rapid targeting and flak shells allows them to easily shoot down even hardened fighter craft or bombers as well as missiles however they can easily switch to AP rounds to take out other aerial large targets if needed. These are equipped with nano assemblers and Void cooling as standard.


Defensive measures and armour wise the Archer has 25mm of Quantum lattice plate reinforced with polythene linings and void cooling to aid in attacks by energy weapons. However its main defence comes with its medium sized MK.5 Crenelated phase shield, capable of taking heavy fire before collapsing. The Archer also carriers chaff and flare launchers as well as decoys for long range engagement defence, The Archer also has 12 in hull laser units, while unable to do much damage against other craft these lasers can be used to destroy incoming ordnance at close range if it’s ECM and decoys fail.

Electronic abilities wise the Archer carries an extensive ECM package designed to try and disrupt enemy lock ons and if necessary break in and destroy enemy smart ordnance if fired. As the gunships shape is naturally stealthy, it also has a layer of sensor resistant material on it, while not enough to fully mask its presence it causes the enemy to have a harder time locking on, giving it a potential few seconds more advantage in combat. It can however be fitted with a full displacement total stealth generator at the cost of one of its internal missile bays for total stealth. The Archer however typically relies for ECM on the Vanguard ECM gunship its sister class.

Speed wise the Archer is quite Fast able to go up to Mach 5 though it usually operates at Mach 3 for combat, unlike other large craft the Archer is surprisingly agile and able to turn fast as well as handle well. However it is not space capable and can only operate on the very edge of the atmosphere for short periods of time.

Archer belongs to me