D-21 Descender

Finally! At last! Thar she blows! It took some time, but there you have 'r...

Another AutoCAD drawing I made (with some paintshop blingbling). At the moment it's not a part of the Nullworld universe, but who knows we'll have a need for it some day.

Actually, it got started with a friendly design contest that and I held to see who could come up with the best dropship.

The Descender is a rugged, heavy-metal design according to the 'A fat girl can kick the shit out of a skinny girl anytime' philosophy. Currently in the use of the UNAFOR's Rapid Deployment Force, she can simply drop down to almost any planet's surface and take off again, atmosphere or not, thanks to the massive heatshield covering her underside. Heavy armament (both artillery and guided missiles) is used to provide troop cover after deployment. Two large drop ramp-doors provide quick roll-on/roll-off access. The powerplant is a fairly simple Tokamak type fusion reactor (easy maintenance) located above the cargo bay, along with the cockpit. Attitude control is done by computer-controlled, independant thrust settings. Typical cargo would be one heavy tank or two armored surface transports. Alternately, she can be fitted with an extra deck to accomodate two fully equipped platoons of the RDF.



PS The landing gear is NOT positioned directly beneath the engine exhaust, although it does seem that way. It's a perspective thing.