United Galaxies Council.	WHALE-Class Assault Hovercraft.		United Galaxies Council.
The WHALE-Class Assault Hovercraft was developed for the US Coast Guard, in conjunction with the US Army, for use by Port Security Units and Maritime Special Security Teams and for Army Special Forces. After field testing, the US Marine Corps A United States Navy WHALE- Class Assault Hovercraft in action. also expressed interest, but the cost of expanding the program caused the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee (New Systems Development Sub-Committee) to balk (over their House counterpart's approval). Originally dubbed the KILLER WHALE by the program's creator, Lt (jg) Steven A. "Skip" STONE, the name was changed to the simpler WHALE; "WHALE" is actually an acronym for Warrior: Hovering Assault Launch Envoy. How this name came to be is not known, but it is suspected that the State Department may have meddled in the development process. The WHALE-Class was armed with SD-30 Depth Charges, twin 105MM Howitzers, twin Dual 1.75" M-421 "Thrasher" Anti-Aircraft/Small Boat Cannons in M-999 "Crow's Nest" turrets, Soldiers, occasional Marines or Navy SEALs, and crew's weapons; Unofficially, other weaps 'could' be carried, but such incidents were routinely denied. Specifically, it was alleged that a WHALE-Class was used to mine North Korean harbors.) They were occasionally used in ATON work as well, though their ability to load a buoy on-board was always highly questionable; The crew space didn't leave much room to work, the doors couldn't be removed and replaced with the booms powerful enough to lift the big buoys. The WHALE-Class was highly successful, though, in the areas where they were intended; CWO4 Regina AUSTIN-SKIDMORE (later Admiral and Lady) reported that her boat, VADER, during a chase, SAR, or attack, all she had to do was get in, start the engines, and look at the spot where she wanted to be; Her WHALE would then just go there. Weather, sea state, nature of evolution, it didn't matter. When it was just training, though, VADER would always throw a temper tantrum, sluggishly being dragged through the water. As Bosun AUSTIN-SKIDMORE put it, "The dog can hunt; That's all she wants to do." The designation as a "Class" was a bit controversial; The length of the WHALE-Class, 68", put them in the size of a Cutter, but they had no berthing nor messdeck (some had hammocks and mini-fridges installed by the crew), limited head, and the Navy considered them boats, not ships. The compromise solution was not to name them officially; The commissioning crew (plankowners) would name them unofficially. This lead to many creative names, others so much so that the unofficial name had to be changed (after the member who named her was masted; the worst single example, an MKC named hers after a particular part of the female anatomy). These vsls did not appear to suffer the malediction that befalls re-named vsls (possibly due to the "dog can hunt" effect Bosun AUSTIN-SKIDMORE noted). The WHALE-Class is available to RDF's, but more commonly found in CDFs and only found in numbers amongst Militas/City Guards. They are NOT used by the REF at any level; They are rarely barrowed by REF'ers in the field. Type: L/E and Light Attack Boats. Class: WHALE-Class. Crew: 2; Pilot and gunner. MDC By Location:
Hull- Cockpit- Turret-	100 50 50	Thrusters (8)- Engine Compartment- Truster (Fan)-	75 75 50
Speed and Statistical Data:
Top Speed: 30 knots. Clearance: 30 feet. Beam: 15 feet. Length: 68 feet. Weight: 8 tons. Cargo: Crew supplies only. Cruise Range: Can operate up to 20 hours without support, but VERY rarely goes more than a few hours.		Power Plant: 2003 inch hydro-cell engines. Powerplant: Twin SC5-HO Diesel Enigines; Output: Classified.Propulsion: A massive fan, 10 feet across with six blades. Cost and Availability: 6,000credit; Takes about 6 months to build. Black Market Cost and Availability: Could be as little as 10% to 10 times as much, and fairly popular.
Weapons Systems:
1. Forward Twin 105MM Howitzers: Twin 105MM Howitzers were selected for range and hitting power, despite it's limited magazine. Purpose: Anti-Personnel Damage: 4D4 Blast Radius : 15 feet Rate Of Fire: Per pilot's attacks per melee. Effective Range: 8 miles. Payload: 20 rounds.		2. Dual 1.75" M-421 "Thrasher" Anti-Aircraft/Small Boat Auto-Cannons: Two M-999 "Crow's Nest" turrets mounting dual 1.75" M-421 "Thrasher" Anti-Aircraft/Small Boat Cannons have a cone of fire of 45° in all directions, and can be set to single or combined operations. Purpose: Anti-Armor MD: 2D6 per blast Rate Of Fire: Per pilot's attacks per melee. Range: 300 feet Payload: Unlimited. SD-30 Depth Charges Soldiers, occasional Marines or Navy SEALs, and crew's weapons; Unofficially, other weaps 'could' be carried, but such incidents were routinely denied. Specifically, it was alleged that a WHALE-Class was used to mine North Korean harbors.)
Features:
AMC/FD (2): Anti-Missile Chaff/Flare Dispensers. Actually launches a glob of burning magnesium/aluminum alloy to confuse both radar AND heat sensory systems. Fires off 04 chaff/flares each time it is activated. The system is KNOWN to work on all KNOWN radar and infrared systems, but concerns continue that somewhere out there their MIGHT be a system that will be totally unaffected by the system. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (add +20% to rolls for smart missiles.) Effect: 01-50 Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud- Missiles are all destroyed. 51-75 Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (may lock onto another target). 76-00 No effect, missile is still on target. Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind nearby heat sensors (and optically based sensors at night) for 1 melee. They will suffer the following penalties: Reduce melee attacks/actions, and combat bonuses by half. Duration: 1D4 melee rounds. Payload: 120 chaff/flares. Each time the system is engaged, the system fires off 04 chaff/flares. ESM: Radar Detector. Passively detects other radars being operated.		Radar: Civilian grade radar. Range 1000 miles, can track up to 50 individual targets. 80% reliability (00% against unfriendly stealthed vehicles). HUD: Displays maps, radar, targeting information, and any OTHER information the crew member wants directly in front of them. Virtual Map: Displays a continuously-updating map of all bodies ahead for the pilot. Takes data from and gives data to other ships in the area. Effective navigation of 85% as updates come. Good to 500 miles. Specific range can be adjusted in 1 mile increments. Video Camera: Records from the HUD. 50 hours of recording available. Full range optic sensory suite: Infrared, ultra violet, Magnification, night sight, color filters, thermal imager. Range is about 200 miles for MOST sensors. EPIRB: Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon; An automated distress buoy that can be jettisoned in the event of massive catastrophe. Mining ships are unique for having these, as they tend to settle into a given asteroid for years at a time, and are therefore relatively stagnant and can be found, if the circumstances require. To date, EPIRBS have been used only in 10% of all emergencies, and all of these have been CRITICAL; Fire on board ship.
Combat Profile for WHALE-Class attack boat: None beyond the pilot and gunners abilities.