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Intelligence Dossier

Commissioned by Admiral Fitzgerald, EP Sector Fleet Headquarters, 2377

Andromeda Class Bomber

Length: 43m
Width: 21m
Height: 19m

Hull: Reinforced Titanium Steel Composite. 550 ASE
Shields: Type 2a Advanced Fighter Grade. 800ASE

Armament

2 Type IV Variable Energy Weapon Mounts
2 Type III Variable Energy/Mass Weapon Mounts

1 Mackson-Davies Rack Mounted Ordinance Delivery system with 140 CEU Storage Space
1 Mackson-Davies Rack Mounted Ordinance Delivery system with 80 CEU Storage Space

Like the Tyr, the Andromeda class bomber is a refit of a more docile, civilian ship - in this case the Io class shuttle. However, unlike the Tyr, the Andromeda is relatively rare, owing to the high cost of the refit, and the difficulty. Such modifications are not only highly illegal, but also require specialist knowledge and equipment. If not done properly, then the craft will not perform as well as it should, and when a pilot is carrying several tonnes of high explosives, inadequate performance is not an option. A detailed description of this process has been included as Appendix Two of this document.

While no two Andromedae are alike (the above figures are estimations only) there are certain fundamental truths about the craft that can be traced back to roots of the design in the Io shuttle.

The Io itself was first produced in 2363, prototyped for the GTVA by Han Ronald engineers in Sirius, the Io was to designed as a personal transport for important personnel through potentially dangerous environments, or for ferrying small numbers of people between larger vessels. The Io was trialled in the GTVA military the next year, but a backflip by military planners saw the Alliance�s plans to decommission its many Elysium class transports shelved, and military demand for the Io ceased, despite promising results from its early tests.

Rather than waste the time and money that had gone into the research and development of the Io, Han Ronald sought other buyers in the private sector. Sales of the relatively expensive vessel were slow, but steady enough to justify a continued, if limited, production. This ceased abruptly in 2367, when large Han Ronald production houses in Capella were destroyed. While these locations were not producing Ios, the company�s decreased output capacity, as well as the GTVAs sudden demand for high priced military vessels led to a reshuffling of Han Ronald�s production priorities, and the Io project was shelved.

The Andromeda bomber is not a common vessel. The expense and difficulty of the refit, combined with the relative scarcity of Io class shuttles to build from (compared to Avalon Pleasure Skimmers, for example), as well as the fact that very few groups in the galaxy require the degree of firepower that a vessel like the Andromeda can provide have led to a very limited dissemination of these vessels. Given the potential power of the vessel, this is an exceptionally good thing. The Andromeda is comparable in performance to some of the GTVAs own heavy bombers, and, were it ever to be deployed in large numbers, would be a major threat to the security of large GTVA vessels. In their present numbers however, Andromedae can rarely be deployed by anyone in groups greater than one or two. As such, they are often used to threaten larger vessels that pirates have chosen to loot.

If encountered, Andromeda bombers should not be underestimated. Their potential to wreak havoc is as great as any GTVA heavy bomber, and while the sort of heavy munitions the GTVA uses are rarely available to non government forces, they can still be deadly to small ships. Moreover, the large amount of internal storage space has allowed the inclusion of a highly space efficient rack based missile mounting system, which gives the Andromeda quantity, if not quality in its ordinance choices. However, like all heavy bombers, they are neither fast nor particularly agile, making them vulnerable to long range missile attack. The absence of a rear turret makes short range assaults from behind also a viable option, though it is rare to see any heavy bomber flying without an escort.