CT Only: 16 ton Light Fighter (TL=9)

[Spinward Flow]

Laser Fighter
Ship Type: FL (Fighter, Light)
TL=9 (hybrid LBB5.80 design fitted with LBB2.81 commercial off the shelf standard drives and weaponry) (LBB5.80, p18)

Tonnage (custom hull): 16 tons (MCr1.6)
Configuration: 1 (Needle/Wedge, streamlined, integral fuel scoops, MCr0.32 (LBB5.80, p21-23, p34)
Armor: 0

Maneuver-A (code: 6, 1 ton, MCr4, TL=9)
Power Plant-B (code: R, 7 tons, MCr16, TL=9, EP: 4, Surplus EP: +0.04 @ Agility 6, Emergency Agility: 6)
Total Drives: 1+7 = 8 tons

Fuel: 1 ton

• 1 ton (minimum 1 ton, minimum 24 hours endurance) (LBB5.80, p34) (CT Errata, p15)
• Basic Power Fuel Consumption Rate = supported tonnage/2000 tons of fuel per 7 days (CT Beltstrike, p5, p11)
• EP Production Fuel Consumption Rate = 0.35EP tons of fuel per 7 days (CT Beltstrike, p5, p11)

Drive Performance​	Supported Tonnage​	Basic Power + 1 EP fuel tons consumption per 7 days 1 ton fuel endurance​	Basic Power + 1.96 EP fuel tons consumption per 7 days 1 ton fuel endurance​	Basic Power + 3.96 EP fuel tons consumption per 7 days 1 ton fuel endurance​
6G​	16​	16/2000+(1*0.35) = 0.358 19d . 13h . 16m​	16/2000+(1.96*0.35) = 0.694 10d . 02h . 04m​	16/2000+(3.96*0.35) = 1.394 05d . 00h . 30m​

Bridge (4 tons, MCr0.1, includes 2 acceleration couches) (LBB5.80, p34)
Computer model/3 (Code: 3, 3 tons, MCr18, TL=9, EP: 1)

Hardpoints: 1 (MCr0.1) (LBB2.81, p23)
Dual Turrets: 1 (1 ton, MCr0.5) (LBB2.81, p23)
Weapons: Beam Laser, Beam Laser (MCr2, EP: 2) (LBB2.81, p23) (LBB5.80, p25, p29)
Weapon Batteries:

• 1x Beam Laser (code: 2) (LBB5.80, p25, p29)

Crew positions: 2 required (LBB2.81, p16) (LBB5.80, p34)

1. Pilot-2 or Ship’s Boat-1
2. Gunnery-1

Cargo Hold: 0 tons
Waste Space: 0 tons

Total Cost (laser fighter only, not including sub-craft)
MCr42.62 (100% cost single production)
MCr34.096 (80% cost volume production) (LBB5.80, p20)

Light Fighter           FL-0106R31-000000-20000-0    MCr34.096        16 tons
       batteries bearing                  1                             TL=9.
               batteries                  1                           Crew=2.
Passengers=0. Low=0. Cargo=0. Fuel=1. EP=4. Agility=6. Bridge.

Light Fighter (Type FL): Designed for short range intercepts, patrol and convoy escort duties from carriers, the Light Fighter is a remarkably capable craft for its otherwise unremarkable technology level. The primary limitation on the fighter's operational radius is its life support reserves (12 hours in combat, 24 hours without combat) before the crew must return to base to replenish and recover before launching again. A 12 hour return to base round trip mission can range out to ~7 million km away from a static base, while a 12 hour one way ferry self-deployment can range out to ~28 million km away from a static base. These range limits will often be sufficient for lunar transfers around planetary orbits, but insufficient for interplanetary transfers between solar orbits without a parent carrier to retire to for replenishment and recovery while en route.

A variant of the basic design stock trim can add up to 184 tons of external towing capacity (add up to MCr0.368 to single construction cost), but such features must be specified and incorporated during initial construction, since they cannot be retrofitted onto an already existing craft as an aftermarket add-on feature due to the necessary hull bracing and load strengthening required. This external towing capacity option has been gaining favor among merchant princes who are seeking fighter escort security for their trader starships, but also among tramps who may need to avail themselves of "sky crane" services in austere locations lacking in ground support for the marshaling of containerized modules and cargoes, both on world surfaces under gravity as well as assisting with docking/undocking maneuvers in orbit for rendezvous.

Small, agile, well armed and equipped with the best computer technology available at TL=9, the Light Fighter makes for a compelling package of combat capabilities.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Clever. Not sure I buy off on the specific rules-lawyering/house rules, but they're not totally unreasonable.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Clever.

We make every pretense of competency around here.

Not sure I buy off on the specific rules-lawyering/house rules, but they're not totally unreasonable.

Realistically speaking, that's the needle you have to thread, isn't it.
If you're going to extrapolate/interpolate your way into house rules, you need to aim for alignment/consistency/plausibility that is congruent with the already established rules ... rather than stretch/bend/fold/spindle/mutilate the agreed upon rules (in this case, RAW) beyond all recognition into something that was never intended and ought to be disapproved of.

At worst, I'm guilty of "reverse engineering LBB2.81" to find the formulas and then make use of them in a LBB5.80 small craft design context.
At best ... I've been "clever" in finding a remarkably optimized "balance point" @ TL=9 (nine!) that engineers a solution which is adequate to the task for a significant span of subsequent tech levels.

Want a bigger computer (which will increase construction costs dramatically)? An entire cascade of factors will be involved due to the need to increase the hull size to fit a larger computer, forcing an increase in the size of the power plant in order to maintain Agility=6, forcing ... forcing ... forcing ... which all adds up.

The moral of the story is that a twin beam laser plus model/3 computer @ TL=9 fits into a 16 ton hull ... but a twin beam laser plus model/4 computer @ TL=10 needs a 22 ton hull if you're going to keep the small craft bridge, a +37.5% increase in hull displacement and a +48.64% increase in total construction cost ... just to add +1 to the computer model ... a rather pricey upgrade for such a marginal improvement (+1 attack and defense because of computer model in LBB5.80 ship to ship combat).

I'm honestly thinking that the "next step change" upgrade after this 16 ton 6G Light Fighter @ TL=9 with model/3 computer and twin beam lasers would be @ TL=11 ... to a 6G Medium Fighter with a model/5 (five!) computer and a mixed triple turret of sandcaster, pulse laser, sandcaster displacing up to 33 tons maximum. The EP budget for that would then be:
Power Plant-C: +6 EP
Agility=6 @ 33 tons: -1.98 EP
Model/5 computer: -3 EP
Pulse Laser: -1 EP
Surplus: +0.02 EP

The only way to get "better than that" would be Heavy Fighters with massive computers (such as the Imperial Heavy Fighter with its model/7 but no bridge) which require more than 6 EP to achieve Agility=6 while powering computer and weapons and are thus forced to use custom LBB5.80 drives instead of being able to use LBB2.81 standard drives for the purpose.



And yes, I only just realized and thought of that just now while composing this reply, so I think I know what my next fighter small craft design sequence is going to be of.