The Icarus Class Heavy Assault Fighter

Icarus Class- History   "Oh!  I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds..." --John Magee, Jr. "High Flight"   In the conflicts with the Dominion and the Crag, it was determined that a small, fast spacecraft capable of matching the performance of the Dominion and Crag fighters was necessary. The Starfleet fighters at the time, though, were woefully inadequate for this task. Thus, in planning for future conflicts, the Starfleet Enineering department commissioned a new fighter design, one capable of withstanding the attacks of these enemy fighters yet also matching them in performance and firepower. The winner of the bid was the ever-growing Abraxas Spaceworks. Building off of a high-impulse testbed shuttle, they had begun testing various combinations of experimental and stock weaponry on the spaceframe, as well as adding on and removing structural and mechanical components. Their design that won the bid was actually a technical readout of their latest itteration of the testbed, and would change scores of times afterwards until they had a functional fighter.
Modeling the final design on the final itteration of the test bed, ASW produced a prototype fighter.
In demonstrations, it performed far better than expected, it's maneuverability and durability making up for the slight speed advantage of the computer modeled Crag and Jem'Hadar fighters.  

Icarus Class- Overview "And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God." --John Magee, Jr.  "High Flight"

The Icarus Class fighter was designed to strike a balance between speed, firepower, and endurance, though the final product leans to the latter. Its missions include deep space patrol, ship/fleet escort, interception, and a variety of assaults on everything from planetary installations to heavy cruiser fleets.
To survive this heavy combat, the Icarus Class designers added extra maneuvering jets to dodge what it can, and extra shield generators to survive what it can't dodge.
It's size, somewhat larger than a Type 9A shuttle, but smaller than a runabout, allows it to be carried onboard starships, in place of their regular shuttle compliment, for delivery to a target area or to serve as a defense unit for the mothership.

Icarus Class- Technical Specifications "I will not disgrace my sacred arms Nor desert my comrade, wherever I am stationed." --Athenian Oath

Dimensions: Length: 15.09m Wingspan: 9.45m Height: 4.75m
Weapons: 2 Linear Emitting Phaser Cannons 2 Pulse Phasers 2 Mini-Torp Launchers, 10 minitorps in bay 4 Inertial Anti-Matter Torpedo Launchers, 20 torpedoes per launcher 1 Tractor Beam Mini-emitter
Engines: Maximum Impulse(only with Warp Sustainer Field): .63c Cruising Speed (without Warp Sustainer Field): .34c  

Icarus Class- Drive Systems

 "I will fight for things sacred And things profane." --Athenian Oath

The Icarus Class uses a cluster of microfusion power cores to provide power for weapons, shields, engines, thrusters, etc, etc.
A Warp Sustainer Field, modeled after the system found in photon torpedoes, and powered by a matter/anti-matter fuel cell, buffers the Icarus from relativistic concerns by bending space-time around the ship much like a standard warp field protects a ship in FTL flight.  Acceleration to high speed is attained by activating the WSF while already at full impulse, giving the 75% increase in speed. The WSF creates only a small depression in space-time, compared to the full bubble created by a true warp field, just enough to attain high sublight velocities without significantly disrupting the time continuum for observers or travelers.  The use of the WSF system to attain speeds of .63c is recommended only for emergency situations, due to the high energy drain which empties the m/am fuel cell in less than an hour at maximum impulse.  While it does maintain the same speed-to-turning-radius ratio, the great increase in speed means a proportional increase in the turning radius.

Icarus Class- Offensive and Defensive Features "My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori." --Wilfred Owen  

All weapons on the Icarus are from the great gristmill at Abraxas Spaceworks.

The linear emitting phaser cannons emit their energy out of a barrel (as opposed to the bands used in phaser arrays) using a single Type V emitter ringed by 5 Type III emitters. Output from these emitters is combined and directed in the phaser cannon's barrel.  This sacrifices the multi-directional capability of the standard phaser 'array' by channeling the energies down the barrel, but it provides more precision and a more significant punch from the phaser.

The pulse phasers are Type IV-pulse emitters upgraded for faster recharge rates and better accuracy at long range, coupled with a cryogenic cooling system to prolong duration and lessen system wear.

The miniature torpedo launchers use the micro-torpedo design employed by the Danube Class runabouts, but with the length increased from 13.3cm to .9m, with proportional increases in overall size and yield.  The mini-torps are capable of fire-and-forget tracking and fully-spherical targetting.  Mini-torps are accelerated out of the launcher by the same magnetic acclerators found in standard torpedo launchers, and are also acclerated by their Warp Sustainer Fields.  If the fighter's WSF is engaged, then the mini-torp does accelerate ahead of the fighter, but not as quickly, as its acceleration is only due to the magnetic acclerators and the related increase in speed from the WSF.

The Inertial Anti-Matter Torpedoes consist of an anti-matter warhead and its containment unit. They are accelerated out of the launch tube by magnetic fields and follow this course, propelled by their momentum, until the power source for the containment unit is depleted or until they strike their target, either of which causes an annihilation explosion.  The warhead for this system is based on the anti-matter torpedoes of the  Yub Nub Class, though the entire unit is only .5m in length   Twenty containment units are held in the Icarus's underslung launcher

The small tractor beam emitter can both attract and repel.  It is useful in landing operations and in combat situations, when it can be used to hold opponents in weapons range longer or for maneuvers near large objects.

Multiple targets can be tracked and prioritized by the Abraxas Ship Works/TI-1701 main ship-board computer.

Shields are approximately half again as powerful as the Danube Class shields, with a refresh rate of 5 * 10 ^-8 seconds and a frequency modulation double that of the Danube Class.

Ablative armor provides extra protection over sensitive systems and volatile components (including protection for the mini-torp and AMT systems and the m/am fuel cell as well as other engine components, and also protection for the cockpit).

Also included is a sensor shadow generator, employing false sensor signals and holographic projections.  Much like the system of the F-111 of the late twentieth century, it creates multiple sensor images and ghosts, disrupting targetting sensors and confusing opponent computers, making targetting of the craft more difficult (though, not impossible).  

Icarus Class- Hardpoints "The few who dare, must speak and speak again, To right the wrongs of many." --Ella Wilcox  

The Icarus Class has a hardpoint on each wing tip and the upper surface of each wing and two on the under surface of each wing.

The hardpoints are rigged for attachment of a Type IV phaser emitter, a microfusion generator, a shield generator, two minitorps on a twin rack, or a launcher of ten inertial AMTs.
Power-consuming systems, such as the backup shield generator or phaser emitter, require a microfusion generator also be attached to a hardpoint to provide power.

All hardpoints consist of a forward and aft magnetic locking mechanism.  Power and computer signal flow is provided by an attachment between the two locks, including a computer control line and an EPS tap.

The phaser emitter is housed in a losenge-shaped casing 2.3m in length and .3m wide, with the forward-pointing emitter crystal the only break in the casing.  Behind it are the pre-firing chamber and the beam generation chamber.

The microfusion generator houses the reaction chamber for a standard fusion generation system, as well as shielding, with in a casing measuring 2m long and .5m in diameter.

The shield generator contains a standard polarized graviton generator with emitters along all six axis.  The shield generator casing is 2.3m in length and .5m wide.

The minitorp twin rack holds the two torpedoes with magnetic locks.  When power to these locks is cut, the torpedoes detach (either singly or in tandem) and fly forward on the craft's inertia and their own Warp Sustainer Fields (note: if the fighter's WSF is engaged the torpedo's WSF will only maintain its velocity).  The magnetic locks, upon detachment, also give the torpedo a slight nudge away from the fighter to move it out of close proximity to the fighter.

The AMT launcher houses the ten torpedoes in a casing 1.9m long and .5m in diameter.  The ten torpedoes each have separate launch tubes, which use magnetic fields to accelerate them out of the openings in the conical front end of the casing.

The wingtip hardpoints, due to their frailty, can only have an AMR launcher or phaser emitter attached, due to the stress a more massive system would place on the wing's structural components.  Also, it is advised that the more massive attachments be attached in such a manner that their masses balance out, to avoid engine efficiency loss to thrust compensation for the imbalance.

While an unbalanced hardpoint load would mean a slight shift in the mass center of the fighter, the overall mass is large enough to make the effect on linear acceleration effectively non-existant. Though an unbalance does effect turning somewhat, it can be easily compensated for by the pilot and the computer's input into the thrusters.

Icarus Class- Flight Operations Systems "Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave.  Therefore, do not take lightly the perils of war." --Thucydides  

The pilot of the Icarus sits in a slightly cramped, high-tech bathtub.  A ring of auxillary inertial dampeners augments the dampeners placed throughout the ship, providing an even greater cushion between the pilot and high-G maneuvers.  The cockpit is encased in a thin layer of quantoberilium armor and the strength of the viewpane is reinforced by a forcefield projected between two layers of the transparent aluminum.

The cockpit also serves as an ejection chamber, detaching from the hull of the fighter and accelerating outward.  Ejection can be initiated manually, either through voice command or an "eject" button on the left armrest, or by the computer, if it detects a necessity (such as eminent destruction, an unconscious or disabled pilot unable to initiate a necessary eject command, etc.).
The ejection chamber provides protection against space debris, and also some weak shielding against weapons fire.  An emergency beacon contained in the pilot's flight suit activates after the ejection sequence is completed.  (Creator's Note: While this does endanger the pilot, it is hoped that the opposition will adhere to certain conventions of warfare.  Also, it is preferrable to the pilot being incinerated in the fighter's explosion)

Space for life support is eliminated to free up space for other systems, and such functions are taken over by a pressure suit and rebreather, capable of EVA if necessary.

Flight control systems, including display locations (Viewscreen, panel display, or helmet projection), control type (control pad steering and throttle or control stick), and control locations, can be configured specific to the pilot with modular cockpit units easily replicated by any starship or starbase. 

Creator's note: The Icarus Class is intended for use on ships with shuttle or fighter support capabilities, and as NPC vessels in RPGs when needed. 

GET ME OUT OF HERE! 

  Design Approved on Stardate:
Signature on Approval: Engineering Director Colin Wyers