GTB Rhea

All information related to the GTB Rhea is non-canon.
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GTB Rhea

Earth Defence reskin

Inferno reskin

Description:

Tech Room Description

The Rhea is Han-Ronald's next generation strike bomber. Basically it is a fighter airframe with a large enough bomb bay to carry 4 Cyclops torpedoes. Additional armament consists of a triple-barreled primary bank under the port wing and a small missile bank on top of the fuselage. Its primary role as a strike bomber is to conduct precisions strikes against targets without the need for a dedicated escort wing. A typical tactic used by its pilots is to punch a hole in the defending fighter screen of their target before the bombs are delivered. Additionally, the Rhea can be deployed in larger fleet engagements to disable and disarm enemy capital ships with Stiletto II missiles and then support the space superiority wings. The Rhea has powerful engines and a large afterburner capacity, making it the fastest ship in the GTVA fleet to carry the Cyclops torpedo. Together with the strong armor and shields for a ship its size, this gives it the ability to survive bombing runs on heavily defended targets. However, that ability comes with the price of reduced maneuverability due to its relatively high mass and asymmetrical layout.

Blue Planet Tech Room Description

The Rhea is Han-Ronald's next generation strike bomber. Its primary role was, at least in theory, to conduct precisions strikes against targets without the need for a dedicated escort wing. This tactic has been quietly discouraged by squadron leaders, and although the Rhea is generally considered a success, it now flies with escort like other bomber designs. Its unusual asymmetrical design is unpopular with pilots, but it appears to be a statistical success even amongst the historically casualty-prone bomber force.

Inferno Nostos Tech Room Description

Advanced Terran strike bomber.

Replacing the Artemis in the anti-shipping and anti-subsystem roles, Dynamic Metamer designed the GTB Rhea to be more survivable than the Artemis, without sacrificing firepower. Early designs were not promising, as simultaneously improving the handling of the bomber and incorporating next-generation active armor required sacrificing secondary payload capacity, and the bomber still could not mount defensive turrets. However, the debut of the Light Plasma Accelerator Cannon in 2389 marked a turning point in the Rhea's development. Unlike heavier PAC variants, the LPAC's energy draw was light enough that the Rhea's DM-63 reactor could support it, allowing Dynamic Metamer to sacrifice a third secondary bank in favor of a side-mounted tri-barrel cyclic bank for the LPAC. A recent firmware update also allows the Rhea to mount the new Aquinas in the cyclic bank. Mass restrictions preclude SPELLS implementation.

Credits List

• Model by Col. Fishguts
• Earth Defence Reskin by Freespaceking

Performance:

Statistics

Original

Name	GTB Rhea
Type	Strike Bomber
Manufacturer	Han-Ronald Corp.
Maneuverability	Medium
Max Velocity	72 - 87 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	120 ms-1
Armor	Medium
Hitpoints	300 pts
Shields	400 pts
Length	28 m

Blue Planet

Name	GTB Rhea
Type	Strike Bomber
Manufacturer	Han-Ronald Corp.
Maneuverability	Medium
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	4.0, 4.5, 4.0 s
Max Velocity	70 - 84 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	140 ms-1
Max Afterburner Duration	6.00 s
Armor	Medium
Hitpoints	275 pts
Shields	600 pts
Length	26 m
Weaponry
Primary weapons
1st bank	3 guns
Secondary weapons
1st bank capacity	60
2nd bank capacity	60
Countermeasures
Countermeasure capacity	25 countermeasures

Inferno: Nostos

Name	GTB Rhea
Type	Advanced Strike Bomber
Manufacturer	Dynamic Metamer
Maneuverability	Low
Max Velocity	65 - 85 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	100 ms-1
Armor	Heavy
Hitpoints	500 pts
Shields	800 pts
Length	30 m
Countermeasures
Countermeasure capacity	35 countermeasures

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

Default Statistics				Blue Planet				Inferno Nostos
Bank	Guns	Capacity	Standard Loadout	Bank	Guns	Capacity	Standard Loadout	Bank	Guns	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	3	60	Subach HL-7	1st	3	45	Balor	1st	3	-	LPAC
								2nd	2	1200	Prometheus
Compatible Primaries				Compatible Primaries				Compatible Primaries
Subach HL-7, Prometheus S, Prometheus R, Maxim, UD-8 Kayser				Subach HL-7, Prometheus S, Prometheus R, Maxim, UD-8 Kayser, Balor				[1]: LPAC, Aquinas [2:] Subach HL-12, Subach SD-14, Prometheus, Prometheus G, Vulcan

• Missile Banks

Default Statistics			Blue Planet			Inferno Nostos
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout	Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout	Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	65	Cyclops	1st	60	Cyclops	1st	40	Cyclops II
2nd	28	Tornado	2nd	60	Tornado	1st	60	Arbalest
Compatible Secondaries			Compatible Secondaries			Compatible Secondaries
Tempest, MX-64 Rockeye, Harpoon, Hornet, Tornado, EMP Adv., Trebuchet, Cyclops, Infyrno, Piranha, Stiletto II			[1:] Tempest, MX-64 Rockeye, Harpoon, Hornet, Tornado, EMP Adv., Trebuchet, Cyclops, Infyrno, Piranha, Stiletto II, Eos [2:] Tempest, MX-64 Rockeye, Harpoon, Hornet, Tornado, Trebuchet			Shocker, Hurricane, Shadow, Ghost, Stiletto III, Maelstrom, Hornet M, Arbalest, Cyclops II

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

In War in Heaven the Rhea is actually extremely similar in terms of maneuverability, and shields and armor to the original Hercules. They are larger and pack less primary firepower than the Hercules, significantly reducing their survivability in a dogfight situation. They are extremely fast for a bomber, and could probably used as something of a dive-bomber. Against UEF forces and their fast, heavy-hitting interceptors, the Rhea will nearly always lose.

In Inferno: Nostos, both secondary banks are placed on the wing pod. The top rack uses a dedicated dogfighting dual gun slot akin to the Athena, so the Rhea can somewhat defend itself in a pinch. Afterburners allow enough closure to simultaneously let off a dive bomb attempt and gun run with the LPAC. Depending on the point defense coverage on a ship, the Aquinas may be a better option on the anti-hull slot.

Download link:

• Original - http://www.freespacemods.net/download.php?view.98
• Earth Defence dump | FSMods
• Inferno: Nostos Release thread | Hard-light forums