The Pantera class Dropship is the next step up from a parachute drop pod for mechs. Designed for dropping mechs into an active combat zone it sacrifices quite a lot of its functions for speed. Being unable to achieve FTL speeds it requires a foldship or some external assistance with inter system travel.

Designed by Fiat originally as a drop pod the design was enlarged to a full drop ship after finding the expense of one use drop pods being too high for commercial viability. This is the main reason behind the lacking internal facilities and generally cramped living spaces, though it is closely followed up by the need for the ship to be as light as possible.

Designed to function as a combat dropship primarily it lacks most of the repair and support facilities in exchange for more armor as well as better engines than most other drop ship designs. Able to hold up to twelve mechs along with a wing of support Aerofighters the Pantera is rarely seen in small vendettas though can be crucial in major battles. This drop ship is also modular to assist in quick repairs of damaged sections, built as a frame with a core properly stocked shipyards can swap out sections of the ship on a quick time table.

This ship is specialized for high danger combat drops allowing for both dropping new mechs and resupplying large groups before returning to orbit.

The Pantera class Dropship is more shereoid than other drop ships, with four main doors split by the four retractable landing legs that deploy out of the main fins. Armed rather lightly for a dropship the turrets are spaced evenly just below the center ring of the ship. The ship is expected to be fired upon and hit so it is very heavily armored especially the mech storage bays and around the main engine.

Taking to heart the lessons learned from decades of using the Charger and Baron class dropships, Fiat Meccanica came up with a smaller, modular dropship design that would come to be known as the Pantera. The Pantera filled the need for a smaller, cheaper, faster, and easier to operate dropship that could be quickly fitted, thanks to the modular nature of the hull, to suit the needs of Fiat’s customers. This also had the added benefit of easier maintenance and faster repairs at any shipyards Fiat operated out of, and an overall hardier ship that could take a lot more internal punishment, usually from accidents in the vehicle bays, and remain more or less operational. These features led to the new dropship becoming immensely popular with smaller private concerns and larger entities that had need of a more flexible fleet.

With its high mobility and heavy armor the Pantera is able to get in and out of heavily contested areas while deploying mechs or supplies to the area.

Class: FT-1-Pantera
Type: Combat Dropship
Designers: Fiat Meccanica
Manufacturer: Currently produced by Fiat Meccanica in the Reservoir system.
Fielded by: Civilians / Militaries

Crew: 26 crew members are recommended, 15 are required.

Maximum Capacity: There are accommodations for 92 people. About 200 people can fit aboard in an emergency, but the ship would be extremely cramped.

Length: 84 meters
Hull Width: 84 meters;
Height: 80 meters
Decks: 26 (3 Meters per deck)
Mass: 4000 tons
Max Liftoff Mass: 6,400 tons

Sublight Engines: 7G Max Accel
Range: 100 days at full complement

Hull: Heavy Starship rated hull.

Like most drop ships the majority of the space is taken up by the mech bays near the bottom of the ship, making the rest of the ship rather cramped.

The Pantera has 26 decks
^ Deck ^ Compartments ^
^ 01 | Armor Plating/Main Communications Array |
^ 02 | Main Bridge |
^ 03 | Command Deck |
^ 04 | Security Deck |
^ 05 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 06 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 07 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 08 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 09 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 10 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 11 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 12 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x upper hull module spaces |
^ 13 | Beltline Deck; Main Central Lift |
^ 14 | Beltline Deck; Main Central Lift |
^ 15 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 16 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 17 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 18 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 19 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 20 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 21 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 22 | Ship Core/Central Lift; 4x lower hull module spaces; |
^ 23 | Engineering/Fuel Storage Tanks |
^ 24 | Engineering/Landing Gear |
^ 25 | Engineering/Landing Gear |
^ 26 | Main Drive |

A list of the Compartments and their descriptions.

Filling up the majority of the area under the nose armored dome this is where the ship is controlled from, it is equipped with all the needed features to pilot a dropship including advanced neural interface pods for the pilots.

The command deck is home to the CIC of the ship. Mainly used in ground combat to direct mech pilots and ground troops this section is filled with terminals and displays along with a main combat table which is used as the main battle map.

Directly under the command deck is the security deck. Mainly there to act as a bastion between the command decks and any incoming boarders. Housing a platoon of marines along with the armory this deck has the strongest doors on the ship, save the bay doors as well as requiring security clearance to access.

The Beltline decks house the majority of habitation spaces onboard the drop ship. Being the place the crew spend the majority of their time it is outfitted with recreational facilities, sleeping quarters, medical facilities and a mess hall. Some space is allotted for personal storage and can be altered for other duties.

Home to the reactor, secondary control station and the guts of the ship engineering is probably the most important deck on the ship. The main engineering hub located just below the fuel tank deck is where the majority of the ships systems are routed through, and can act as a secondary bridge if required. The deck above is mainly storage for the collection of spare parts needed to keep a drop ship functioning and the deck below is well shielded from all the above ones to keep the reactor from irradiating the crew, with a secondary use of allowing access to the guts of the engine without having to exit the dropship.

Designed to be modular the Pantera can swap out hull modules to suit what mission it is taking part in. There are 8 module sections of the ship, four upper and four lower. These modules are designed to socket into each quadrant of the upper or lower hemisphere, and only a little tweaking of the connections between the modules and the ship are needed to make the whole thing work seamlessly together. This reduces the time needed to configure a new Pantera for the customer’s needs from months to just a few days.

Modules that fit in the upper section of the Pantera class dropship. These tend to focus on cargo, carrying personnel, and playing host to aerospace vehicles.

Basic cargo bays, some big empty rooms, others sectioned for more efficient storage of smaller goods. These are normally intended to be accessed by either VTOL craft, or freight elevator down into lower sections of the ship. The maximum capacity of each cargo bay module is 400 tons.

This module is able to hold, repair and deploy up to 6 Aerospace Fighters and/or VFs, each, depending on the size and mass of the vehicles in question. The maximum capacity of a VTOL bay is 300 tons.

This module is able to hold, repair and deploy up to 3 Aeroframes, jump capable Battleframes, and/or VFs, each. This bay has no ground level access options, and deployment of Battleframes from this bay is done as the customer’s own risk. The maximum capacity of an Aeroframe bay is 300 tons.

The upper section passenger/infantry bay is dedicated to housing an expansive complement of living beings. It comes with an expanded life support and filtration system that can be modified for any species preference.

Modules that fit in the lower section of the Pantera class dropship. These tend to focus on cargo, carrying personnel, and playing host to ground vehicles.

Basic cargo bays, some big empty rooms, others sectioned for more efficient storage of smaller goods. These are normally intended to be accessed by ground vehicles. The maximum capacity of each cargo bay module is 400 tons.

The lower section passenger/infantry bay is dedicated to housing an expansive complement of living beings. It comes with an expanded life support and filtration system that can be modified for any species preference.

This module is able to hold, repair and deploy up to 3 Battleframes, Aeroframes, and/or VFs, each. The maximum capacity of a Battleframe bay is 300 tons.

This module is able to hold, repair and deploy up to 9 Technicals and/or AFVs, each, thanks to a smart vertical lift assembly. The maximum capacity of a ground vehicle bay is 300 tons.

Descriptions of the ship systems.

The hull is a double hull with a space between. What armor the hull mounts will vary.

The AI system suite provides the ship with the necessary automated functions as well as with advanced computing, sensors, communications, and targeting control systems.

The following is a list of emergency systems used by the Pantera.

Located on all decks of a ship, and traditionally every twenty feet, are small damage control clusters that house repair parts and fire-fighting gear. Blast Fire Doors can only be disengaged by authorized crewmen, including officers and engineering staff.

Blast Fire Doors are doors designed not only to provide containment in the event of a hull breach but also resistant to fire, allowing them to also isolate fires from spreading. Blast Fire doors are not just located in the ship hallways but also within maintenance conduits to provide complete isolation and compartmentalization.

The FSS is the primary means for starship crews to fight fires. It is purely a gel based system to help smother fires. In conjunction with a ships life support systems, the ACS can also isolate fires from rooms by shutting off all oxygen producing plants or even closing off vents.

Required on all ships, in the event of ship loss or extreme failure of ship systems and the risk of destruction, are escape pods. The number and locations of mounted escape pods will vary with ship configuration.

The ship has a very thorough recycling system which breaks down anything classified into "waste" into its atomic components. The air recycling system (which is segmented and highly monitored for security reasons) can support up to 500 personnel up to twenty years. Water can be recycled for twenty years as well.

The Pantera uses a high speed plasma drive as it's main propulsion system.

The weapon systems on the Pantera place emphasize defense, lacking a dedicated anti-starship weapon system.

At the top of each of the 4 fin structures is a turret fitted with a pair of Battleframe class railguns. They are primarily to deter ground actions against these dropships, but they are capable of supplying long ranged fire support and are fairly competent in long ranged naval engagements against light combatants should pirates decide to try their luck.

The Pantera mounts a pair of these turrets along the outer edge of each fin section. They are each armed with two Battlefame class heavy pulse lasers, and are mainly meant to deter ground combatants from approaching or attacking the ship. They also serve the same function as point defense lasers would on Battleframes.

Made by Piston1937 on 11/15/2020

Editted by Paladin on 11/19/2020