Brought over from PF Variants once it got different enough to be its own class. The original idea was to make a new side-pod for the MRN that would hold Disruptor mounts. Bearing in mind comments that it would rip itself apart trying to fire, I'm going to propose something slightly different, but based on the same hull as the Needle and MRN.

Everything on the main hull from the C-Hull back to the engines is identical, except for one thing. One of the Impulse boxes is omitted from this build (this is to balance power output later)

On the nose section, the Bridge stays where it is, while the APR and Battery boxes become the Disruptor mounts. Firing arcs are LF+L and RF+R. Where the Disruptor USED to be is now a battery space.

The wing mounts now consist of a Ph-3 (LS/RS) and an APR.

Power output is now balanced, the only difference being that one Impulse is now an APR, which has no real difference (if speed 31 is needed, there is still an Impulse space to do it with). It becomes marginally more difficult to get at the Bridge, but much easier to take out that one Impulse once C-Warp is gone.

New armament is 1x Ph-1, 2x Ph-3, and 2x Disruptor. Compared to a Needle, it loses two Drone-A mounts for that second Disruptor. Result is more power-hungry overall, but not unreasonably so. It thus becomes more focused on direct fire instead of the drone dance, which would have also made it more effective against other PFs.

This ship would not have had a Leader or Scout variant, had it been built. Instead, one to two would have been sent instead of one of the Needle or MRN PFs. It would have seen action particularly against Klingons (who had been ramping up anti-drone defenses) and Andromedans (whose PAs are weak to this kind of assault).

I'll try to get an SSD of it up once I get the programs running straight.

By John Trauger (Vorlonagent) on Monday, January 11, 2010 - 03:13 pm: Edit

Consider replacing the P-1 with a drone rack. These are kzinti after all.

By Jacob Karpel (Psybomb) on Monday, January 11, 2010 - 03:39 pm: Edit

It actually is based on the Needle, not the MRN. Originally it was an MRN module thought, until SP pointed out that the ship would rip itself apart if it tried to use them.

The drone-equipped version: http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii97/PsyBomb/PFSSD-c.jpg

You can really picture any size-appropriate rack there, though if it was designed to go after RTN nodes then a G or E is unlikely. Most likely A.

By Jacob Karpel (Psybomb) on Friday, January 15, 2010 - 10:37 am: Edit

Mission accomplished, then. It was intended to be 1-2 per flotilla, so if that's how you'd use it then I got the design right

Also, thanks for spotting the firing note, I'll correct that when I can.