UD-22C Navaho Orbital Gunship

The UD-22C is the primary ground support dropship employed by the UCAS Colonial Marine Corps. A close cousin to the UD-4 Cheyenne dropship, the UD-22C forms an effective escort to the Cheyenne transport dropship.

Airframe The lifting-body airframe is built around a central backbone spar that runs the length fo the fusilage. The cockpit is positioned between a fork in the forward end of the spar and is flanked by the mounts for the twin turbine engines and control surfaces. The principle frame is constructed from superplastic-formed diffusion-bonded metal matrix composits (MMC). The UD-4L is crewed by a pilot and Weapons Officer seated in a step configuration cockpit with the Weapons Officer seated in front and below the pilot station.

The ramrocket engines are mounted above the main fuselage module, their intakes accepting the airflow across the upper fuselage. The aft fuselage assembly occupies the space between the engines and extends rearward to the butterfly contol surfaces. Just aft of the main engine nozzles are a pair of flush fitted extending airbrake panels which can also be deployed during re-entry for transonic and hypersonic stability.

Powerplant
In order to be able to operate in all speed and altitude regimes from vertical take-off (VTOL) hover to the hypersonic trans-atmopheric, the UD-22 requires two types of powerplant. The main engines are a pair of Replublic Dynamics TF-700 variable-cycle turbines, each producing 270 kN static thrust. Each engine has a three-stage fan and seven-stage compressor each driven by single-stage turbines to produce exceptionally high thrust for low specific fuel consumption.

High-altitude high-speed flight is permitted by two TF-220/A-14 ramrockets mounted just aft of the turbofans on either side of the central spar. The TR-220 is a combined-cycle engine capable of ramrocket and scramrocket operation from the supersonic to hypersonic regimes, and rocket power for transatmospheric operation. In an assult or re-entry operation, a Navaho usually has sufficient fuel to drop from orbit and achieve a low-orbital injection on its return. Descents can be made both powered or unpowered, dependent on the mission profile, though an injection burn from the rocket engines is usually required to reach a descent window from orbit.

Stealth Characteristics
As far as is possible, the fuselage has integrated low observable characteristics including rounded leading surfaces, shielded compressor intakes, and a butterfly tail. Radar Absorbant Material has been extensively incorporated, and moderate level Thermal Baffles have been added to mix cold air with the hot exhaust in order to reduce the thermal signature, but in the infrared, the Navaho is far easier to detect. Ablative armor dissappates some of the heat, burning up upon steep re-entries and cooling the UD-22 as they burn off. Airframe heating is almost impossible to disguise at ranges under 5km, and if the dropship has just completed a transatmospheric ascent or descent the detection radius can be 20 km or more in clear skies, even with the ablative coating.

Defensive Systems
The Navaho relies more heavily on its own manuverability, speed and low signature to evade detection, but does incorporate some limited Electronic Deception. Greater focus has been laid upon ECCM and ECD (Electronic Counter Deception) to allow the UD-22 to fulfill its role as a scout and ground assault craft.

The 'C' variant mounts a variety of weaponry aimed at supporting the UD-40L dropships and disembarking ground troops. Eight Block II Outlaw Air to Ground Missiles enable the Navaho to deal decisively with ground based threats, from tanks to SAM and Anti- Air combatants. Capable of both direct and indirect fire, the Block II Outlaw is an anti-vehicular missile designed to attack its targets by flying overhead and firing its armor-piercing warhead into the vehicle from above, where the armor is generally weakest.

Two Silencer Missles are carried in a third internal missile bay to neutralize enemy tracking radars and ECM. The Loral-Vaught Silencer series of munitions are an advanced version of the high-speed anti-radiation missles (HARMs) of the previous century. Officially designated as advanced anti-radiation munitions (AARMs), Silencers lock onto the emissions of sensor systems as well as anti-sensor ECM.

An Ares GAU-216/C Victory Rotary Assault Cannon rounds out the weapons fit giving the UD-22C a potent bite long after it has fired off it's missiles. The GAU-216/C is a five barrel weapon driven by a pneumatic motor turned by the engines in excess of 7,000 rpm and geared down to the rear of the gun. Rounds are caseless, and do not carry their own propellant. Ammunition comprises a mix of Armor Piercing Incendiary, Depleted Uranium Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot and High Explosive Incendiary, and is fed from a 900 round drum beneath the cockpit.

Handling	Speed	Accel	Body	Armour	Sig
4/5	2900	172	7	12	9
Autonav	Pilot	Sensor	Cargo	Load
4	--	7	0	2767
Seating	2e		Setup/Breakdown		N/A
Entry	1h		Landing/Takeoff		VTOL
Fuel	Turbine ( 2500 liters )		Economy		0.3 km/liter
DP Cost	38413		Cost		68,788,637 ¥
Chassis	VTOL		Reference		The Shop
Engine	Jump Jet / Ramrocket
Features	Engine Customization: Speed (Level 3) Drive-by-Wire: Accel (Level 3) Contingency Manuver Controls Structural Agility (Level 3) Smart Materials ( 0) Acceleration Increase (Level 111) Speed Increase (Level 2110) Improved Economy (Level 40) Standard Armor (Armor 12) Ablative Armor (Level 3) Advanced Passenger Protection Systems (Seats 2) Crash Cage ( 0) EnviroSeal (gas, engine, overpressurization) Life Support Systems (15 Man-hours)			Rigger Adaptation ( 0) Datajack port ( 0) Secondary Controls ( 0) Autonav (Level 4) Thermal Baffles (Level 2) Radar-Absorbent Materials (RAM) (Level 2) Signature Improvement (Level 1) ECCM (Level 8) ECM (Level 8) ED (Level 4) Turrets, Remote (small) Smartlink Integration Kits Gunnery Recoil Adjusters - small turret (Level 4) Internal Rocket Mounts (Quantity 3)
				Type	Load	Damage	Cost
Weapons	Victory Rotary Assault Cannon 1,000 round APDS 8 Block II Outlaw AGMs 2 Silencer AARMs			HMG(M) APDS Int: 6 Int: 5	45 25 1600 500	10S 1/2 Ballistic 20D 16D	75,000 ¥ 6,000 ¥ 280,000 ¥ 50,000 ¥

Return to Morpheus International This form created by The Shop, written by James Ojaste. The latest version can be downloaded from his Shadowrun page. Vehicle design & form modifications by Macavity