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YA-788 Striker/Thresher; Gunship of the Thyserians and Krogan
Topic Started: Feb 4 2017, 04:33 PM (4 Views)
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Yakaiev YA-788 Gunship

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Raptor from Battlestar Galactica


Name: Yakaiev YA-788

Designation: Striker, Thresher (Krogan Variants)

Manufacturer/Designer: Yakaiev Design Bureau

Operator:

  • Queendom of Erineos
  • Krogan Empire
  • Citadel Security (Transport and Gunship Striker models)


Availability: Available for approved Export Contracts

Year Built:
2184-Present

Classification: Gunship

Features:

  • Standard Thyserian Military Avionics
  • Versatile Setup
  • Standard variant can carry 8-10 troops into combat
  • Small FTL Drive [Scout Model]


Production Cost:
65 Million (Gunship)
105 Million (EW/JSTARS)
50 Million (Armed Transport)

Retail Price (MSRP): 85 Million (for contract sales, Gunship Model)

Materials: (Striker) Thyserian Heavy Hull Plating, 2 Sublight Engines with 3D Thrust Vectoring (Short or Vertical Take Off, Vertical Landing) [EGA Antimatter Engines after 2206], Small FTL Drive [Scout only], Maneuvering Thrusters
Materials: (Thresher) EGA Heavy Hull Plating, 2 Sublight Antimatter Engines with 3D Thrust Vectoring, Maneuvering Thrusters, VTOL capable

Armament: [Except cannons, all armaments removable depending on mission, all Strikers and Threshers use EGA weaponry]

  • 2x Imperial-Kolvant Rotary Cannons
  • 8x Air-Air Missiles, Air-Ground Missiles, or 250lb-500lb Bombs on
  • 2x Pods for 5" rockets
  • 2x MLRS Pods
  • 2x Missile CIWS Pods [EW/JSTARS]
  • Communication Drones [EW/JSTARS]
  • Electronic Countermeasures
  • Decoy Drones


Role:

  • Scout
  • Search and Rescue
  • Electronic Warfare (Jam transmissions, scramble guided missile signals, IFF operations when configured for EW)
  • Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System
  • Squad Assault Transport/Medevac Transport
  • Air Command Control
  • Ground Attack
  • Vessel Attack


Crew:
Gunship/Transport: 1 Pilot, 1 Copilot/Gunner, 1 Radar Operator
Electronic Warfare: 1 Pilot/Gunner, 3 Radar/EW Officers
Scout: 1 Pilot, 1 Copilot/Gunner, 3 Sensor Operators
Krogan: 1 Pilot, 1 Radar Operator/Countermeasures Officer

Advantages:
Underlying chassis proves to be very adaptable
Engines are better protected than the Mantis
Cost Effective for an Armed Transport or Gunship
Smaller Electronic Warfare platform for allied use, can also be configured for forward radar

Disadvantages:
Like all gunships, it's possible it can be taken down with enough small arms fire. [RPGs, wire guided SAMs, improvised ATGMs, etc]
Meant to fly in space rather than in atmosphere, reduced to fighter-style maneuvering. This reduces atmospheric operation effectiveness compared to space operations.
Pilot and Copilot are rather vulnerable [Solved in 2455 with new armored glass]
Suffers the pitfalls of trying to make a jack of all airframe [Many different parts for different models for instance]
Large radar cross section

Variants:

  • YA-788G (Gunship): The standard variant: This variant used heavy military armor plating due to local resources. An adaptable gunship, it excels in the attack role thanks to it's variable armament. The craft can stand the cold weather of Thysera due to winterizing. A non-winterized model of this craft has been sold to Citadel Security.

  • YA-788EW (Electronic Warfare): The Electronic Warfare variant of the Striker does away with much of the armament in exchange for computing power. With a more powerful computer system on board, the Striker can be used strategically to hinder enemy forces by jamming transmissions, scrambling the control frequencies of guided missiles, and other means to hinder enemy computing power. The EW suite is also suited that, if converted, the EW variant is capable of JSTARS [Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System] for fleet operations and some have been made for this role. The JSTARs has proved effective in assisting Fighter and Gunship pilots in combat, as well as capital ships.

  • YA-788T (Transport): The 788T replaces the Kodiak shuttle as a cost effective armored transport that's also armed. The 788T's copilot becomes a gunner, able to rotate the cannons 360 degrees to provide a field of fire. With less armor than the 788G, the transport is meant to deliver a squad of troops (up to 10) and then withdraw. The T model also removes much of the computing power, leaving just a radar system that the pilot operates. This allows the model to carry as many troops as possible. A non-winterized model has been sold to Citadel Security.

  • YA788S (Scout): The Scout model strips all the weapons except the two cannons, removes the vast majority of the armor, and turns the chassis into a flying long range sensor. Equipped with a small FTL drive, the Scout can jump a system ahead and scan for any possible enemy forces before returning to the fleet. Combat for this model is likely fatal, with the guns available only as a measure of last resort.


Export Variants:

  • YA-788KIN: A specialized variant designed for the Krogan Imperial Navy. While much of the versatility of the craft has been removed, it now becomes a specialized attack gunship, perfect for the Krogan's needs in space operations. The Krogan, being larger than Asari, have done away with the co-pilot The 788KIN is not winterized, relying on Asari in Strikers for colder environments. It has been dubbed the Thresher-N by the Krogan.

  • YA-788KAC: The main production model for the Krogan Empire. Outright replacing all their Mantis Gunships, the Armored Corps variant removes many of the systems meant for space, leaving it with atmospheric based radar systems but gives it greater ammunition capacity. Like the KIN the KAC is not winterized. The Krogan have dubbed this variant the Thresher-L.


Description:
The prolific Mantis Gunship wasn't popular on Thysera. Even with winterized components on what gunships were ordered, they proved too fragile to handle Thysera's winters. The engines froze in place in flight during the extremely cold winters or, if wind speed was high enough, were sheared off. This led to the entire Mantis fleet being grounded except during the summer months, with air patrols being handled by fighters like the YA-400. The Erineos Republic desired something more robust that could stand up to Thysera's climates as well as potentially be operational in their planned future classes of space vessels.

The result provided by Yakaiev Design Bureau was a design first conceived in the early 2100s. Project 788 was originally pitched to the Council of Matriarchs but was shot down; however, with some modernization to the design, Project 788 was accepted to be put into the prototype stage. By 2183 the first prototypes were in the air and then ordered to field trials. While not heavily armed at their inception, they proved to do their job well enough and survive, though it took the Mantis pilots time to adjust to the 788's systems, it wasn't your usual gunship meant for atmosphere, being geared for space combat.

When weapon tests were completed in the summer of 2184, and dubbed by viewers as "Striker", Project 788 officially gained the designation YA-788. Production of Scout models and Gunship models began in 2185. Requests for Transport models came in 2190, Electronic Warfare the year after, and a JSTARS model based on the EW base by 2198. The robust chassis proved to be adaptable and the Republic's Navy took full advantage of that.

In space with its maneuvering thrusters, the 788 proved an excellent model that could stand up to the rigors of combat. However in atmosphere the design suffered a flaw. Even with 3D Thrust Vectoring nozzles on the engines, the Striker went from Gunship to Close Air Support Fighter. While still capable of vertical takeoff and landing in atmosphere, the craft would be able to strafe after coming to a stop, albeit slowly compared to the Mantis, due to its thrust vectoring engines and use of maneuvering thrusters; however the tactic is more effective in space due to the lack of atmosphere. Adapting the frame to different roles resulted in a slew of parts that were specific to some models while most still remained universal between them.

Even with its problems, the Striker's design was unique and a heavily armed gunship compared to the Mantis, catching the eye of those outside Thysera. The Krogan Empire selected a Krogan-centered Striker to be developed for their use. Citadel Security also approached the Krogan Empire and purchased Striker models from Yakaiev after seeing the Threshers perform with combat footage. With a potential of more customers in the future, the YA-788 may be a potential money maker that, while not pushing the Mantis out of business, may replace it in quite a few roles. Yakaiev continues to produce both the Striker and Thresher to this day.

Posted Image
Striker Gunship model, armed with a load of bombs in addition to rockets

Credits:
Battlestar Galactica for the Raptor
Bell/Boeing Osprey for approximate costs
Additional views of the Raptor here
Offline Profile Quote ^^^r
 
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