HotelKilo
Inactive Member
The theme of this thread is proposing upgrades to the Ke-V7 "Ginga" bomber. Seven years old and without any major redesigns or upgrades listed on the sparse wiki page means it's starting to show its age.
But like any old warhorse, there's a second chance! What I am (grandiosely) titling the Improved Lethality and Survivability Pilot Program. What are the goals? First let us look at the known information on the existing production Ke-V7s:
Taking this into account, I've come up with the following potential modifications:
In the end, however, I'm not really sure what the Star Army needs or wants from the Ginga bomber. Is there even a need to update them since I'm not sure they've ever really seen much in-plot use? I don't know, that's why I'm posting this here. I hope more experienced players/GMs/FMs will be willing to weigh in on what is essentially a daydream.
But like any old warhorse, there's a second chance! What I am (grandiosely) titling the Improved Lethality and Survivability Pilot Program. What are the goals? First let us look at the known information on the existing production Ke-V7s:
The Wiki said:The Ginga's key features and abilities are:
- 17 gun turrets, equivalent to those on the Hayabusa V6D Starfighter
- A hyperspace fold drive with enough power to ferry six starfighters
- Hardpoints for 6 Ke-Z1 Series Anti-Starship Torpedoes. Ke-Z2 Bomb, or clusters of missiles and/or bombs
- Crew of 2 pilots, 5 gunners, and one technician (total of 8)
- 25 Structural points, 25 Shield Points
Taking this into account, I've come up with the following potential modifications:
- Decrease crew count; not necessarily a problem finding crew but definitely an endurance issue. Cut crew positions would provide greater space for electronics and storage updates. Improvements in fire control can reduce the number of gunners down to, potentially, one. Adding an ECM officer (see below) would still result in halving the crew complement.
- Updated gun turrets; Turrets from the more modern V9 "Nodachi" project would be a fairly low cost method of improving defensive fire capability with minimum cost. Mounting of the new quad turrets would reduce gun position count and help improve fire control by reduced gunner compliment as well.
- Internal bomb bay; Surprisingly, to my reading, the Ginga lacks an internal bomb bay and instead carries all stores externally. While giving it a slim profile, a lot of potential stores carrying capacity is eliminated. Perhaps the most expensive feature would be retrofitting test units with an underslung bomb/torpedo bay/cell. Without dimensions of the existing bomber it is hard to predict the capacity possible, but with proper method for ordnance loading, at bare minimum, a modest increase in payload would be expected.
- Electronics refit; Greater then a standard refit, this would call for extensive replacement of existing countermeasures and fire control systems to not only update software but bring hardware systems up to date. Increased systems would ideally call for an additional ECM operator, freeing the co-pilot to focus on assisting the pilot and handling weapons systems.
- Improved propulsion; As part of the upgrade process, replace older and potentially worn first generation Turbo Aether Plasma Drives with current generation units.
- Revised External Hardpoints; In addition to the high priority addition of internal stores carriage, the external hardpoints and potential for increased mounting of mini-missile pods should be examined.
- Increased Endurance; With the potential need for long-range bomber attacks and patrols once again looming it would seem ideal to improve across the aboard mission endurance. One primary method (as outlined in #1) is reducing the carried crew by half. Simply, fewer crew, reduced need for supplies. Eliminating the crew position also allows for potential expansion of storage space/addition of comfort facilities. The study presumes limited crew berthing and feeding facilities already exist.
In the end, however, I'm not really sure what the Star Army needs or wants from the Ginga bomber. Is there even a need to update them since I'm not sure they've ever really seen much in-plot use? I don't know, that's why I'm posting this here. I hope more experienced players/GMs/FMs will be willing to weigh in on what is essentially a daydream.