| YA-788 Striker/Thresher; Gunship of the Thyserians and Krogan | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 4 2017, 04:33 PM (4 Views) | |
| Wheeljack | Feb 4 2017, 04:33 PM Post #1 |
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Yakaiev YA-788 Gunship![]() Raptor from Battlestar Galactica Name: Yakaiev YA-788 Designation: Striker, Thresher (Krogan Variants) Manufacturer/Designer: Yakaiev Design Bureau Operator:
Availability: Available for approved Export Contracts Year Built: 2184-Present Classification: Gunship Features:
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]
Role:
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:
Export Variants:
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. ![]() 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 |
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8:49 PM Jul 10