Properly used, capital ships can be used to suppress practically any ground force but in order for a military to truly hold ground, proper assault forces must be used. As well, unless the military is willing to completely devastate the ground forces which they are trying to suppress, sometimes assaults have to be made to heavily defended locations. This is where the assault shuttle comes in. The Wolfen Cohort class assault shuttle is a classic example of this kind of ship. It is designed around being able to attack heavily defended locations, both well armored and heavily armed.
The Cohort class is an older design, dating from before the Wolfen joined the Consortium of Civilized Worlds. It has served in wars as well as in police actions. The shuttle was used by the Consortium as well along side the Human Alliance AS-4 and AS-6 Assault Shuttle but never in the same numbers as the Human Alliance design. The Consortium has since retired all of their Human Alliance and Wolfen assault shuttles, replacing them with the SAS-12 Assault Shuttle design. Some were sold back to the Wolfen military while others were sold to independent militaries, mercenary companies, and even civilian purchases. Most shuttles sold to civilian interests were disarmed and ply their trade as cargo shuttles.
The Human Alliance is slowly replace their AS-4 and AS-6 Assault Shuttles with the Consortium SAS-12 and SAS-12-D models although a large percentage of the older shuttles are still in service. The Wolfen military is taking a different approach, deciding to retain the older design instead of replacing it with more advanced shuttles. To squeeze as much life out of these shuttles as possible, the Wolfen military has come up with a series of upgrades for their shuttles. The military plans to upgrade approximately one quarter of their shuttles, leaving the others in their original configuration. None of these upgraded shuttles are new construction but are instead rebuilt older shuttles. The shuttle is no longer manufactured with many thousands in mothball yards.
The idea for the upgrade is that the upgraded version of the shuttle will leave the first wave of the assaults and the shuttles which have not be upgraded being used in later runs. Several independent militaries and mercenary companies have come up with similar upgrades to their assault shuttles as the Wolfen upgraded version. This can be explained easily as the upgrades are designed to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. The Wolfen military have to prioritize production and there is no budget for either a new shuttle design or a more comprehensive upgrade.
The design of the Cohort follows basic Wolfen design principles. It is faster than the Human Alliance AS-4 assault shuttle and while well armored, carries less armor than the Human Alliance assault shuttle design. It is a blocky design and still has a fairly limited atmospheric speed. The Wolfen assault shuttle has less cargo hold space compared to the AS-4 assault shuttle. It can carry approximately a half a dozen tanks or up to around four hundred metric tons of cargo. It is designed around being to carry up to two-hundred and fifty troops instead of cargo. The shuttle is designed to operate with a crew of eight like the human alliance shuttle.
Weapon systems are also heavier than the AS-4 assault shuttle and include both forward firing weapon mounts and defensive turrets. The shuttle has two particle beams and two rail guns which fire forward. These weapons are normally controlled by either the pilot or co-pilot. The shuttle also is protected by four particle beam turrets with each carrying twin mounts. Both the particle beams and rail guns are older model mounts. While the Human Alliance shuttle mounts mini-missile launchers, the Cohort carries standard missiles hard points. These hard points can carry a wide variety of ordnance loads although medium range missiles are the most commonly carried weapon systems. The shuttle has a total of six missile hard points and twenty-four medium range missiles can be carried.
On upgraded versions of the shuttle, the engines and hull are not modified. Most of the weapon systems carried are not upgraded although an additional pair of hard points are added. New particle beam mounts and rail guns are available but would increase the cost of the vessel greatly. The main upgrade is the addition of a shield generator. The generator is similar to what is carried on large fighters. This greatly increases the ability of the shuttle to survive under heavy fire.
Ship design uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.
Model: ASA-01
Vehicle Type: Heavy Assault Shuttle
Crew: Eight (Pilot, Copilot, Communication/Sensor Operator,
and five Gunners).
Troops / Vehicles: Up to 440 tons (400 metric tons). This only
lists two common troop loads, there are many other possible combinations.
Vehicle & Troops:
| 6 | Tanks or APCs (up to 50 ft long) | |
| 80 | Troops in Body Armor (60 if in Power Armor) |
| 250 | Troops in Body Armor (188 if in Power Armor) |
M.D.C. By Location:
| Nose Particle Beam Cannons (2): | 20 each | |
| Nose Rail Guns (2): | 25 each | |
| Twin Particle Beam Turrets (4): | 50 each | |
| Missile Pylons (6 original / 8 upgrade, Underside): | 8 each | |
| Reinforced Pilot's Compartment: | 120 | |
| Rear Door Ramp: | 250 | |
| Landing Gear (3): | 50 each | |
| [1] Main Body: | 1,200 | |
| [2] Variable Force Field (Upgrade Model): | 400 per side (2,400 total) |
Notes:
[1] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the shuttle out of
commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support
and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating
wreck if in space and will crash to the planet if within the atmosphere.
[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one
shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (120 M.D.C.) per melee. Carried
only on upgrade versions of the shuttle.
Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship
to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Star Ship can accelerate/decelerate
at the rate of 0.65 percent of light per melee.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is 450 mph (724.2
kph), can enter and leave an atmosphere because flight system is by contra
grav.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by Drive system but only
has supplies for crew members and troops for about two months (Emergency
rations).
Statistical Data:
Length: 245 feet (74.68 meters).
Height: 48.5 feet (14.78 meters).
Width: 76.5 feet (23.32 meters)
Weight: 1400 tons (1,270 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Fusion with 20 year life span.
Cargo: Large cargo hold that can carry up to 440 ton (400 metric
tons) of cargo in place of troops or vehicles but not including standard
compliment of supplies and ammunition. The cargo hold is 30 x 40 x 100
feet in dimensions (9.1 x 12.2 x 30.4 meters). The shuttle also has storage
for equipment and weapons for troops.
Market Cost: 80 million credits for a fully armed standard model
Cohort Assault Shuttle and 120 million credits for an upgraded version
of the Cohort Assault Shuttle (Disarmed / Civilian versions of the shuttle
cost around 40 to 50 million credits) Shuttle is no longer being produced.
WEAPON SYSTEMS:
[ Phase World TM and Wolfen are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium
Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and
Palladium Books Inc.]
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2007, Kitsune. All rights reserved.