At this time of typing, there are a number of countersheets for various Federation and Empire modules that are being revised for a new print run. Some of these countersheet revisions have enabled dedicated counters to be added for various "mission variants" of the GryphonHawk heavy war cruiser (R4.135) from SFB Module R12.

However, while many of the proposed variants retain the base hull's latent modularity - as in, once the modules are sapped in, they can be swapped out again - certain variants require the modules to be "hard-welded" to the hull. This is seen in Captain's Log #52 - and in F&E Tactical Operations - with the GryphonHawk-J (R4.A40).

The campaign conjectural variant to be discussed in this thread falls into the latter category. Thus, while it wasn't possible for it to be featured in this current round of countersheet revisions, I wanted to delve into this concept here in more detail - in case it were to one day be worth considering in SFB and F&E terms.

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F&E outlines specific rules outlined for different types of transport ship; be it a "full-sized" tug (509.0); an LTT (516.0); a theatre transport (539.7), or a more unorthodox unit like the Romulan SparrowHawk-H cargo transport (516.33). Some of these abilities (or limitations) are dependent on the base hull in question; others are derived from the pods - or lack thereof - attached to the transport itself, under (517.0).

In the case of the Romulans, some of their transport limitations are due to their not historically fielding Klingon-type pod variants (battle, carrier, PFT, etc.) - so even those ships which could use such pods, such as the KRT, or a would-be Kestrel conversion of the Klingon D5H, cannot perform those "tug missions" that require the use of such pods.

But in the case of the SparrowHawk-H - and, by extension, the equivalent "GryphonHawk-H" cargo variant - further limitations apply. Since the modules being used are not hard-welded to the base hull, and since the hull itself does not have any added bracing installed, there is only so much an SPH or GPH can do in F&E terms.

Now, in SFB Module R9, there are campaign conjectural SSDs for the Sparrowhawk-T light tactical transport (R4.124), the FireHawk-T fleet tug (R4.125), plus a range of Klingon-type pods for use by these transport variants under (R4.126). The difference here being that the "-T" modules are hard-welded to their respective hulls, which in turn have added bracing so as to be able to connect K-type pods as "true" LTTs and Tugs respectively.

At which point, the difference between the SPT and the FHT is not about the modules - but rather, about the base hull these modules are being welded to.

Which raises the question: what might a potential "GryphonHawk-T", as a "medium tactical transport", be capable of doing?

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In SFB terms, given that the GryphonHawk base hull has a standard Move Cost of 3/4, it might be worth clarifying how many pods (or pod-weights) it can carry, as well as how its Move Cost and Turn Mode is affected depending on the number of pod(weights) being transported.

In F&E terms, the simplest option might be to say that this "MTT" variant would have the same capabilities and limitations as an LTT. As in, to say that despite the base hull being somewhat larger than that of the SparrowHawk-T, it's not larger enough to warrant any difference in its logistical capabilities.

However, it could be that there are (or, at least, could be) one or more areas in which this medium cruiser variant would be more capable than its light cruiser counterpart - even if it would still fall short of what a full-sized heavy cruiser tug can accomplish. But then, the question would be: more capable how, exactly?

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In any case, a would-be GryphonHawk-T SSD would be campaign conjectural in the "standard" timeline.

Although, as noted elsewhere, I might argue it to be a... "logical" variant for the Reflection Universe Romulans presented in SFB Module R4J to deploy against the might of the Federal Imperium. Say, if there were to one day be an F&E scenario (or few) set in that alternate timeline.

In any case, I leave it to the experts to decide whether or not such an SSD would be worth drawing up at some point - and, if so, what (if any) means by which one could take such a ship and translate it into F&E terms.