Captain Hesperus
Harbinger of the End Times and Apostle of Ghan
Propulsion Two Cyclodyne Multi-vector Thrust Atmospheric Drives, Two Cyclodyne Hydrogen Plasma Extraplanetary Drives, Medium-range Gravitic Core.
Length Fuselage: 66.3 ft. (20.20824 m)
Width Rotors turning: 46.5 ft. (14.1732 m)
Height Nacelles vertical: 22.1 ft. (6.73 m)
Vertical Takeoff Max Gross Weight 52,600 lbs. (23,859 kg)
Max Cruise Speed 270 kts (500 km/h) SL
Cockpit - crew seats 2
Front view of the F-35-A Condor
Lateral view of the F-35-A Condor showing the chaff/flare dispensers
Port-aft view of F-35-A Condor showing port engine nacelle and port hydrogen plasma drive
The F-35 Condor has become a staple for the UEF Space Marine Corps for decades. Borrowing from the principles of the V-22 Osprey, it's distant ancestor, this shuttle was designed for V/STOL troop transport and materiel delivery operations. It was envisaged as a most necessary means of transporting troops ship-to-ship or ship-to-surface in safety. It has a capacious cargo bay, able to transport 24 troops plus their equipment in relative comfort and even comes equipped with rudimentary ablution and food preparation facilities for long-distance transport missions.
In standard Earth atmosphere, it's primary drives give it an operational range of well over 1000nm, but most often the pilots will employ the secondary hydrogen plasma drives when not over inhabited areas to raise the range to infinite nautical miles. The reason that the hydrogen plasma drives are not employed over inhabited areas is due to the risk of super-heated plasma being discharged over civilian settlements, which is considered a bad thing in most circles. Of course, the primary drives are required to safely land the dropship either in conventional or vertical landing modes, so pilots will make sure that the drives have sufficient fuel for this final stage of the journey. There are stories about the pilot who attempted a conventional landing using just the hydrogen plasma drives. These stories end with the listeners sighing and pouring themselves another drink in silence.
In the later stages of it's deployment, the F-35 was upgraded to the F-35-A, as a resulting of adding a medium-range gravitic torus core. This device has it's own stand-alone power source, a small fusion reactor, that is only good for a single journey before needing replacing. The power cell required burns out after use and must be carefully discarded and replaced by qualified engineers. Fortunately, such power sources are common on most civilized planets and satellites, as are the personnel needed to replace them. With a gravitic torus core, the Condor can make the journey from Earth to Mars in less than a week, rather than the months or possibly years it might otherwise take. The addition of the gravitic torus core meant that the Condor was not necessarily restricted to carrier-based operations. The dropship, equipped with a spare power cell and with the crew appropriately trained, could carry a platoon of Space Marines to an operation location, even if it were far removed from the home fleet, set them down then reliably return them home once the mission was complete without the problem of alerting a defending force of the Space Marines' presence as would be heralded by the arrival of a UEF Space Navy capital ship.
For attack and defense, the Condor sports two 24mm rotary cannons in ball turrets either side of its fusilage as well as two multi-purpose pylons on each wing. Additionally it can mount light machine guns or miniguns on retractable rigs by the side door and the rear ramp. It has multi-spectral chaff/flare dispensers on the dorsal and ventral surfaces as well as an active ECM system that emits from the tail fin. In the nose, there is a high-tech array of sensing and navigation systems to allow the dropship to operate in most environments from zero-visibility to night conditions to the depths of space.
Thus far the Condor has seen so much success that there is a civilian version available. The FC-35 and FC-35-A are externally identical to the military model, but do not have the wing pylons or the ball turret-mounted weapons on either side of the belly. The state-of-the-art sensor suite housed in the nose is not as advanced as that in the military model, but it is still very good for a vessel of it's type.
It's not unknown for PMCs to purchase the FC-35-A and refit it to be a close contender to the F-35-A, but these vessels are often prized assets only used in the most high-value operations.
Length Fuselage: 66.3 ft. (20.20824 m)
Width Rotors turning: 46.5 ft. (14.1732 m)
Height Nacelles vertical: 22.1 ft. (6.73 m)
Vertical Takeoff Max Gross Weight 52,600 lbs. (23,859 kg)
Max Cruise Speed 270 kts (500 km/h) SL
Cockpit - crew seats 2
Front view of the F-35-A Condor
Lateral view of the F-35-A Condor showing the chaff/flare dispensers
Port-aft view of F-35-A Condor showing port engine nacelle and port hydrogen plasma drive
The F-35 Condor has become a staple for the UEF Space Marine Corps for decades. Borrowing from the principles of the V-22 Osprey, it's distant ancestor, this shuttle was designed for V/STOL troop transport and materiel delivery operations. It was envisaged as a most necessary means of transporting troops ship-to-ship or ship-to-surface in safety. It has a capacious cargo bay, able to transport 24 troops plus their equipment in relative comfort and even comes equipped with rudimentary ablution and food preparation facilities for long-distance transport missions.
In standard Earth atmosphere, it's primary drives give it an operational range of well over 1000nm, but most often the pilots will employ the secondary hydrogen plasma drives when not over inhabited areas to raise the range to infinite nautical miles. The reason that the hydrogen plasma drives are not employed over inhabited areas is due to the risk of super-heated plasma being discharged over civilian settlements, which is considered a bad thing in most circles. Of course, the primary drives are required to safely land the dropship either in conventional or vertical landing modes, so pilots will make sure that the drives have sufficient fuel for this final stage of the journey. There are stories about the pilot who attempted a conventional landing using just the hydrogen plasma drives. These stories end with the listeners sighing and pouring themselves another drink in silence.
In the later stages of it's deployment, the F-35 was upgraded to the F-35-A, as a resulting of adding a medium-range gravitic torus core. This device has it's own stand-alone power source, a small fusion reactor, that is only good for a single journey before needing replacing. The power cell required burns out after use and must be carefully discarded and replaced by qualified engineers. Fortunately, such power sources are common on most civilized planets and satellites, as are the personnel needed to replace them. With a gravitic torus core, the Condor can make the journey from Earth to Mars in less than a week, rather than the months or possibly years it might otherwise take. The addition of the gravitic torus core meant that the Condor was not necessarily restricted to carrier-based operations. The dropship, equipped with a spare power cell and with the crew appropriately trained, could carry a platoon of Space Marines to an operation location, even if it were far removed from the home fleet, set them down then reliably return them home once the mission was complete without the problem of alerting a defending force of the Space Marines' presence as would be heralded by the arrival of a UEF Space Navy capital ship.
For attack and defense, the Condor sports two 24mm rotary cannons in ball turrets either side of its fusilage as well as two multi-purpose pylons on each wing. Additionally it can mount light machine guns or miniguns on retractable rigs by the side door and the rear ramp. It has multi-spectral chaff/flare dispensers on the dorsal and ventral surfaces as well as an active ECM system that emits from the tail fin. In the nose, there is a high-tech array of sensing and navigation systems to allow the dropship to operate in most environments from zero-visibility to night conditions to the depths of space.
Thus far the Condor has seen so much success that there is a civilian version available. The FC-35 and FC-35-A are externally identical to the military model, but do not have the wing pylons or the ball turret-mounted weapons on either side of the belly. The state-of-the-art sensor suite housed in the nose is not as advanced as that in the military model, but it is still very good for a vessel of it's type.
It's not unknown for PMCs to purchase the FC-35-A and refit it to be a close contender to the F-35-A, but these vessels are often prized assets only used in the most high-value operations.
