Federation Arco Class Attack Sled:

This fighter design is from the Star Trek Novel "Dreadnought" written by Diane Carey. The fighters are designed for two roles, one role is as an Interceptor and the other role is anti capital ship photon torpedo attacks. The fighter is a purely in-system craft only because it has no warp engines.

The fighter has a cockpit that seats both a pilot and a weapons officer/navigator that controls the photon torpedoes. Like the crew on the modern F-111 Bomber, the pilot and weapons officer sit side by side.

The Arco attack sled has 2 weapon systems. The ship has 2 forward mounted light phasers both that are used for both dogfighting with other fighters and close attack when the fighters torpedoes have. The fighter also has two photon slings that can carry either one full sized photon torpedo each for anti-capital ship strike roles or can carry a load of mini-torpedoes for use against a variety of targets. The slings are basically small photon torpedo launchers.

The fighter has a powerful impulse engine and the fighter has a high acceleration at impulse speeds but has no form of FTL propulsion so the fighter is a purely short range craft and normally operations from capital ships, from ground stations, or from orbital stations.

The fighters frame is heavily reinforced, allowing the fighter to take a lot of abuse without being crippled. The fighter is also well protected by heavy starfighter shields.

While the Federation Star Fleet does not use starfighters very often, they can be used quite effectively in combat and a smart ship captain will take advantage of the starfighters assigned to the ship.

This design is written to be able to interact with modified phase world rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World. There is a lack of hard detail on this ship. Some materials have suggested accelerations that are simply beyond scope. I have taken a moderate level in writing up this starship for Phase World because otherwise the ship would either be far too powerful or far too weak for Phase World. Warp speeds are far slower than the FTL speeds for Phase World but they are very close to those from the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. Also, a note on the mass of starships. The original sources indicated much smaller masses for starships than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual does and where possible, both masses are listed for the gamers to choose which one seems most appropriate.

Model Type: ARC-97.
Vehicle Type: Heavy Interceptor/Attack Fighter.
Crew: Two (Pilot and Weapons Officer).

M.D.C. By Location:

	Forward Phaser cannons (2):	60 each
	Photon Torpedo Launchers (2):	50 each
	Impulse Engine:	200
	Cockpit:	150
	[1] Main Body:	650
	[2] Variable Force Field:	300 per side (2,400 total)

Notes:
[1] Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the fighter out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (120 MDC) per melee round.

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible (Fighter can land on the ground).
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Fighter can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.4 percent of light per melee.
As an alternative, the starship can reach .99 of the speed of light but is normally restricted to slower speeds so that starship is not effected severely by time attenuation that occurs at the higher sublight speeds.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum cruise speed is Mach 8.5, fighter can enter an atmosphere because fighter has anti-gravity systems.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by drive system but only has supplies for pilot and gunner for two weeks

Statistical Data:
Length: 60.4 feet (18.4 meters).
Height: 13.8 feet (4.2 meters).
Width: 38.1 feet (11.6 meters).
Weight: 28 Tons (25.4 metric tons)
Power System: Advanced Micro Fusion with 5 year life span.
Cargo: Minimal Storage Space, place for a rifle, handgun, small survival kit, signal flares, and food rations.
Market Cost: 55 million to construct.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Twin Barrel Light Phaser Cannons: These cannons are mounted in the front end of the starfighter and fire forward. They are approximately equal to the laser cannons used by the C.A.F. and the Kreeghor militaries. The cannons only fire individually if one of the cannons is destroyed.
   Range: 1,244 miles (2,000 km) in space and 12.4 miles (20 km) in an atmosphere.
   Mega Damage: 4D6x10 for both cannons. If one cannon is destroyed, damage is reduced to 2D6x10.
   Rate of fire: Equal to pilots hand to hand (Usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Photon Torpedo Slings (2): The Arco class fighter can carry either two standard photon torpedoes or six mini-photon torpedoes
   Standard Torpedoes Effectively very similar to Phase World cruise missile launchers and Min-Photon Torpedoes are about half way between the size of long range missiles and medium range missile. Once spread of torpedoes has been launched, the launchers must be reloaded. In the early service of this shuttle, it carried photon torpedoes which are anti-matter/matter warheads but they can carry quantum torpedoes when they are available.
   Standard Torpedoes has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Mini-Torpedoes have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. When drive goes dead, the torpedo will still cruise unless preset to self destruct or receives a destruct code but has very low odds of hitting star ships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and torpedoes when dead at -25% to detect.) See Modified starship rules for more details. Full size torpedoes have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Launchers can launch on multiple targets each.
   Range: Standard Torpedoes: Powered torpedo range is 8000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space Mini-Photon Torpedoes: Powered torpedo range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space
   Mega-Damage & Properties: Standard Photon Torpedoes (Matter/Anti-Matter Warheads): Old Series inflict 2D6x100 each, Star Trek Movies One through Six inflict 3D6x100, and Next Generation inflicts 4D6x100 each. Standard Quantum Torpedoes: 8D6x100 each. Mini-Photon Torpedoes (Matter/Anti-Matter Warheads): Old Series inflict 3D6x10 each, Star Trek Movies One through Six inflict 4D6x10, and Next Generation inflicts 5D6x10 each. Mini-Quantum Torpedoes: 1D6x100 each.
   Rate of fire: One at a time or in volleys of 2 per melee
   Payload: Standard Torpedoes: 2 torpedoes. Mini-Photon Torpedoes: 6 torpedoes

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Technical information from Star Trek: Dreadnought

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

I would like to recognize Henning Rogge as giving assistance with the revision of the Star Trek starships.

Rifts Conversion Copyright © 1998, 1999, and 2000, Kitsune. All rights reserved.