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Sierra-class Space Dropship Carrier (SDV)

Class History:

• 3,688 Total built by Kawasaki Naval Yard (2050-2070)
• 6 Destroyed Transient War 2057
• 3,466 Destroyed 4^th Robotech War 2063-2068
• 1 Missing
• 22 Scrapped
• 193 In Service 2070

Ship's complement:

• Ships' crew (1,100 men)
• Space Naval air group (1,000 men)
• Space Marine unit (3,500 men)
• Life support limits are for a full combat complement and about 9,800 supernumeraries (10,000 men total).

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Dimensions:

• Length: 2000 meters overall
• Height: 759 meters in cruiser mode
• Width: 1088 meters overall
• Fuel Mass: 4,800,000 metric tons
• Operational mass (typical): 36,000,000 metric tons

Propulsion systems:

• Main power system(1): RRD Mk8 anti-matter reflex furnace. The powerplant of the Sierra-class vessel can deliver up to 180 Petawatts of power, and can operate for two hours at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering thrusters (12): Overtechnology MRT-6 fusion-plasma reaction thrusters with steerable nozzles on the bow(2), stern (2), sides (2 per), and ventral and dorsal hull (2 per).
• Reaction-mass thrusters (6): Shizuma MRE-10 fusion-plasma reaction thrusters with anti-matter energizer in the rear of the engineering section of the ship in a 2x3 cluster.
• Anti-gravity System (1): 48 Shizuma Drive Samson anti-gravity pods.
• Sublight drive (2): Shizuma Drive GDD-11 local monopolar-induced gravitic space-time distortion drive.
• Space fold (1): RRD Mk19 spacefold. This system is conformal to the vessels surface. The problem with the vast majority of the previous generation of fold systems was that the fold bubble weakened the state of the structure to the extent that they needed a refit after only five years of service. As such the RDF mandated the use of conformal systems similar to the old Zentraedi systems which also allows for much higher speeds. 
• Planetary capabilities: The Sierra-class has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. The ships' lower body has several retractable landing struts that have sufficient strength to let the ship land on them, although the landing ground should be as firm as possible (granite is recommended). The ship would float in an ocean, and this is the preferred method of landing.

Endurance and mobility limits:

• The dry stores endurance is three months maximum; after that, the Sierra needs to restock. Water stores are recycled almost totally. 
• The mecha consumables supplies (mainly missiles) are limited; the Sierra is unable to sustain continuous combat operations for much more than three days. 
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 1.2 Teranewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 23 Meganewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Sierra-class can achieve a maximum delta-v of 411 kps at the cruising acceleration of 0.1 gees, a maximum delta-v of 82.2 kps at the battle acceleration of 1.1G, and a delta-v of at most 22.1 kps at the flank acceleration of 2.8G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• Sublight drive acceleration is 1000 g, but the vessel's maneuverability is reduced to such a degree that only minor course corrections are possible. Typical cruising speed is .20c.
• The Mk19 fold systems are not designed to be used for folds of distances greater than approximately 5 kiloparsecs, for safety reasons. If longer voyages are required, the ships must conduct multiple fold jumps.
• The maximum atmospheric speed is Mach 1. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems is limited only by maintenance requirements.

Weapon systems:

• Bofors PL-7 point defense turrets (28): Mounted on the main hull behind movable panels. These standard RDF weapons can fire 53 MJ of particle energy four times per second at a range of up to 20 km. These turrets are placed on the bow(4), dropship bays(10 each), and around the engines (4).

Electronics Systems:

• Hughes DSP-6 pinpoint barrier defense system(2): Uses four movable disks of force field, conformal to the ship's surface, to repel light torpedo attacks, or particle beam fire.

Air group and mecha complement:

(Circa 2055)

(Space Naval air wing)

• 30 VF-11 Thunderbolt Veritech fighter
• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 40 Horizont-class Transatmospheric dropship
• 2 SC-45 Hawk Personnel and cargo shuttle
• 5 VC-25 Samson Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 12 VC-27 Hercules Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine unit)

• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 45 MBR-25 Atma Heavy battle destroid
• 120 SDR-14 Tiger Missile destroid
• 120 ADR-14 Razor AAA destroid
• 2 HWR-04 Godzilla Heavy artillery destroid
• 800 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 800 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone
• 800 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone

(Circa 2063)

(Space Naval air wing)

• 30 VF-19 Excalibur Veritech fighter
• 15 VA-14 Falcon Veritech bomber
• 36 Concorde-class Transatmospheric dropship
• 2 SC-52 Vulture Personnel and cargo shuttle
• 5 VC-37 Perseus Heavy VSTOL cargo transport
• 12 VC-39 Ajax Light VSTOL cargo transport

(Space Marine Unit)

• 15 VF-17 Nightmare Veritech fighter
• 45 MBR-25 Atma Heavy battle destroid
• 120 SDR-14 Tiger Missile destroid
• 120 ADR-14 Razor AAA destroid
• 2 HWR-04 Godzilla Heavy artillery destroid
• 800 VR-071 Protector Veritech cyclone
• 800 VR-077 Firefly Veritech cyclone
• 800 VR-074 Gorilla Veritech cyclone

Note: The given numbers are approximations; the exact number and type of mecha varied somewhat due to operational realities and different ships.

Design notes:

History:

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner
Copyright © 1998-2002 Jeffrey R. Spillner

Page Last Updated on January 21, 2002 @ 14:00 GMT