(Click for Full Size) Overview:
In the ever expanding battlefields faced on NS-Earth, the need for the ability to transport large numbers of troops and equipment over long distances has always been seen as a must. Sadly this has always been a slow task, aircraft can only carry a limited number of troops, few can carry more than one or two pieces of heavy equipment and all require multiple refuelings to reach the farthest battlefields. These drawbacks mean that the use of ships is a must when transporting military forces across the world. Unfortunately transport vessels can take months to reach a combat zone, which places limits as to a nation's response to the rapidly changing modern day battlefield. In order to alleviate this problem, and provide a means to rapidly transport large numbers of troops and equipment world wide, Polaris Aerospace started The LRNSA Project.(Long Range Nuclear Strategic Aircraft). Based on earlier design studies such as the Lockheed CL-1201, the goal of the LRNSA Project was to create a super-heavy aircraft capable of rapidly transporting large amounts of men and equipment over extreme distances. The ultimate result of the project was the Model AN5K "Roc". The AN5K is a massive super heavy transport, and is built to be able to deliver approximately 2000 metric tons of cargo anywhere in the world on short notice. Coupled with a passenger capacity of over 2000 combat troops, the AN5K can deliver a full infantry Battalion with support vehicles to its destination. To this end the AN6K utilizes the latest in nuclear propulsion technology in the form of a two thousand megawatt reactor powering 4 massive Dual-Cycle High Bypass Turbofan engines. The engines are dual cycle, using conventional jet fuel for take-off and landing, and switching to nuclear for cruise power. The use of nuclear power while cruising means that the range of the aircraft is such that the primary limiting factor when determining the aircraft's range for a mission is the amount of consumable supplies used by the Aircraft's crew and passengers rather than fuel load.
The AN5K's primary identifying feature, other than its massive size (The aircraft's tail is higher than a 15 story building), is its unique tail-less blended wing-body design. The design allows for both increased lift and decreased drag resulting in a superior lift to drag to ratio compared to a conventional layout. The design also allows for increased interior volume and increased fuel efficiency when the engines are running on conventional jet fuel. The aircraft is divided up into 5 decks, split at the back by the main reactor. The lower two decks are devoted to carrying cargo or other mission gear, with the upper three decks are devoted to crew and passengers. Due to the blended wing body design, these upper decks extend out into the wings allowing for increased space for crew, passengers and cargo. Aft of the reactor on the upper decks are service and storage areas.
The crew of the AN5K LRNSA is split into one of three operational areas depending on their role, Flight Operations (FO), Maintenance Crew (MC) and Payload Specialists (PS).
Flight Operations crew members are responsible for flying the aircraft, operating the reactor, and defense systems. The Flight Operations Crew operate the AN5K from the flight deck and an aft control room for the reactor. The flight deck crew consists of the Pilot, a Co-pilot, a Navigator, a Radio Operator, 4 Defense System Operators and, 4 Flight Engineers (3 Propulsion, 1 Electrical). The rector control room is manned by 5 crew, a Nuclear Flight Officer (NFO), 2 Nuclear Flight Engineers (NFE) and 2 Airborne Reactor Operators (ARO). In total 17 crew members are required to fly the aircraft. Due to the extreme ranges involved in the aircraft's operation the Flight Operations crew operate on 18 hour days and are assigned to one of 3 six hour watches, giving a total Flight Operations crew of 51.
The aircraft is commanded by the pilot of the first watch, with the Executive Officer a the pilot of the 2nd watch. The aircraft's third in command is the Senior Nuclear Flight Officer who is assigned to the third watch.
Maintenance Crew are responsible for maintaining the aircraft's systems in flight. While not assigned to a specific watch, these crew perform any an all repairs capable of being done in flight. The crew consists of 2 Nuclear Systems Technicians and 4 Nuclear Systems Mechanics, who are responsible for any inflight repairs of the nuclear propulion system that can be performed in flight. In addition 6 additional mechanics are carried to repair the other aircraft systems.
Payload Specialists crew are responsible for the aircraft's payload. For the base transport model this crew consists primarily of load masters, responsible for cargo,stewards, responsible for the passengers, as well as the galley crew members. For other versions such crew can include pilots for parasite aircraft, air traffic controllers, additional EW specialists or a regional commander's staff. For a normal transport mission, the Payload Specialist crew usually numbers between 15 to 20.
Located at the forward most point of the top deck, the Flight Deck is the brain of the AN5K The AN5K's flight deck features a full glass cockpit, with each of the 12 crew stations having multifunction LCD displays. Each crew station has a full keyboard and trackpad, in addition to the other controls. The pilot and copilot control the aircraft via a fly-by-optics system. Both the pilot and copilot are provided with their own full set of flight controls. The majority of the cockpit stations are arranged in a horseshoe shape, with the pilot and copilto stations at the front, and the flight engineers and defense systems operators along the sides. In the center of the horseshoe, aft of the pilots are stations for the radio operator and navigator. Further aft are two additional crew stations for another flight engineer and defense systems operator.
Due to the large size of the AN5K's crew, the entire uppermost deck, with the exception of the flight deck and reactor control rooms, is dedicated primarily to housing the crew, but also contains space for the addition of mission specif equipment. At the front of the upper deck is the flight deck, immediately aft of the cockpit is the forward mission room. The forward mission room is designed to allow for the expansion of the flight deck to provide a control center for the additional crew required for LRNSA variant missions.Unlike traditional aircraft which may have a single bunk or two for crew to sleep, LRNSA provides every crew member with a cabin. These cabins sleep between one and two crew members depending on rank. Senior officers such as Pilots and Nuclear Flight Officers have individual cabins, all other crew members share a cabin. Each cabin contains bunks, a desk, and storage for personal belongings. In total there are 52 cabins. Aft of the forward mission room are 14 crew cabins stretching along the sides of the aircraft. This block of cabins ends at a small crew lounge and stairs to the lower decks. A corridor on either side of the stairs leads to an additional 5 cabins on either side. These corridors lead to the central mission bay. Two side corridors lead into the wing roots, and 14 more cabins on each side. The central mission room is a large space and is built to be easily reconfigurable. Different LRNSA variants use it for different purposes. On some variants this space is fitted for additional crew quarters, while others use it for command and control centers. At the very end of the top deck is the reactor control room, flanked on either side by crew lounge / mess areas.
The massive weight weight of the AN5K is borne by 132 landing wheels. The main Landing gear of the AN5K is consists of two sets of wheels, each one mounting 44 wheels in 11 rows of 4. The Nose gear has a further 16 wheels in 4 rows of 4. The reminder of the wheels are mounted on the undersides of the massive wings in sets of 8, 4 and 2. Each Tire for the main landing gear measures just short of two meters across and is fitted with ceramic disc brakes.
The large size of the AN5K means that the LRNSA is extremely vulnerable to detection from hostile forces. As such it is not recommended for operations in areas where hostile aircraft may be encountered. However in the event that the AN5K is detected and attacked by hostile forces, a comprehensive defense system allow it to fight off most threats. The defense system consist of a variety of radars along with both passive and active electronic countermeasures. In addition the AN5K can carry up to 252 long range air to air missiles for defense.
The most important step in defending from any attack is to see that attack coming, to this end the AN5K is equipped with a powerful array of radars to detect any and all threats to the aircraft. Two separate clusters of radar, one located at the nose and the other in the tail provide radar coverage for a full 360 degrees. Each cluster contains several multipurpose active electronic scanned arrays, angled to provide for the maximum amount of coverage. These radars are capable of detecting and tracking fighter sized targets at up to 400 kilometers away. This allows for the AN5K to spot possible threats prior to such threats entering missile range and thus giving the aircraft time to react.
The Long range radars are only part of the defense system. The AN5K also carries numerous electronic countermeasures to interfere with enemy attacks.These countermeasures include both the aformentioned radar jamming systems as well as the new INFRD system (INFrared laseR Disrupter). The INFRD system utilizes infrared lasers to disrupt the seekers of an enemy heat seeking missile. The system works by aiming a laser at the seeker head of an oncoming missile. The laser interferes with the enemy missile's guidance system by overwhelming the seeker, and causing the missile to veer of course and lose its lock on the aircraft. The AN5K is fitted with 6 such turrets. One Dorsal, one ventral, two near the tail and two more in the nose, allowing for full 360 degree coverage.
In addition to the electronic countermeasures, the AN5K also carries more traditional air defenses such as flare and chaff dispensers. The dispensers for these countermeasures are located in the tail and wing roots. The Dispenser mounts are modular and can be fitted to carry either a Chaff Module or a Flare Module. The Modules can each hold 30 Flares or an equivalent number of Chaff canisters. The AN5K has mounts for 50 modules. 15 are located on either side of the tail, as well as an additional 10 in each wing root. Together these modules can carry a total of 3000 Chaff canisters or Flares
In addition to chaff and flares, the AN5K's defensive package also includes the capability of using towed decoys. Up to 8 such decoys may be carried. Each decoy is housed in an under-wing pod when not in use.
Among the more potent defense the AN5K carries is the Advanced LRNSA Attack Repulsion Missile (ALARM). The ALARM has a range of over 200 kilometers, travels at over Mach 5 and can be fitted with either a nuclear or a conventional warhead. While engaging a fighter aircraft at the maximum range may not always result in a kill due to the enemy fighter having ample time to react to the attack, it does however require the fighter to break off its own attack in order to evade the missile, allowing the AN5K to escape harm. In the event the enemy does manage to fire a missile at the AN5K , ALARM is capable of intercepting other air to air missiles, providing the AN5K with a stand-off hard kill countermeasure against such threats. ALARMs are carried on 9 missile rotary launchers, and the AN5K is capable of carrying 28 launchers for a total of 252 missiles. It should be noted that carrying a full load of ALARMs does reduce the cargo capacity of the aircraft by around 150 tons.
LRNSA's final line of defense is the ACES (Airborne Close in wEapon System). ACES is a close in weapons system comparable in role to those found aboard most modem navy vessels. ACES utilizes a network of short range targeting radars and Infrared Sensors to locate and track hostile targets. Aft locating and tracking the hostile target, ACES can then engage it with one of its 30mm gun turrets. An ACES turret has two 30mm autocannons each with 500 rounds ready to fire. Additional ammunition maybe carried elsewhere in the aircraft and loaded as needed. The cannons are capable of engaging targets at up to 2 kilometers away from the aircraft. LRNSA is fitted with two ACES turrets, a dorsal turret, located aft of the cockpit, and a ventral turret, just forwards of the reactor. These turrets can be partially retracted when not in use to reduce drag. ACES is designed to be autonomous, and as such is capable of automatically detecting and engaging any possibly hostile target which enters into the range of its turrets. ACES flags a target as hostile if and only if it meets a set of parameters including the target is a small target, if it is traveling at a high speed, and if it is currently maneuvering to intercept the aircraft (Or is believed by the system to be capable of doing so). For improved reaction time against hostile targets, ACES is directly linked to the fire control and tracking systems used by the aircraft's ALARMs. The fire control system used by the aircraft's ALARMs is designed to automatically activate the ACES and feed it data on any inbound targets it has failed to successfully engage.
The AN5K is powered by a Model 3-1.8G-AC (Gen 3 Reactor, 1.8 GW, Aircraft). At over 10 meters in diameter not including support systems the spherical shaped 3-1.8G-AC generates over 1800 Megawatts. The reactor is a circulating molten salt design utilizing uranium tetra-fluoride fuel suspended in a mixture of Sodium-fluoride and Zirconium-fluoride salts (Designated in service as JF-N-1). The use a of a circulating fuel design allows for the AN5K's reactor to be easily refueled on the ground for servicing, greatly simplifying maintenance and ground handling.
During operation the fuel mixture is first pumped into the reactor core, entering the core with an initial temperature of approximately eight hundred Kelvin. Inside the reactor core are numerous channels through a beryllium Oxide lattice for the fuel mixture to flow through. As part of the lattice the beryllium oxide surrounding the channels serves as a neutron reflector, reflecting neutrons back into the fuel mixture thus causing the fuel to go critical. A number of control rods are located within the lattice between the fuel channels. These control rods are also manufactured primarily from beryllium oxide serve as neutron absorbers. Reactor power can be governed via the insertion and removal of these control rods. During operation the control rods are mostly retracted allowing the reactor to operate at full power. The resulting increased rate of fission heats the fuel mixture from the initial eight hundred kelvin to over one thousand degrees kelvin prior to it leaving the reactor core.
After leaving the reactor core, the fuel mixture is pumped through a heat exchanger transferring the thermal energy to the coolant loop before being returned to the reactor. To save on space and reduce the amount of shielding needed, this heat exchanger is contained within a spherical shell surrounding the reactor. The fuel is pumped through channels in this shell and coolant is pumped through bundles of tubes passing through the channels. The coolant used is a liquid Sodium-Potassium Alloy (NaK) due to both its high thermal conductivity and its much lower melting point compared to other metal coolants. The use of NaK as coolant allows for the coolant loops to be drained for maintenance, easily as unlike other liquid metal coolants NaK is liquid at room temperatures and does not have to be heated prior to being drained or added. From the heat exchanger the NaK is pumped to one of the 4 main engines where it transfers its heat to the air driving the turbines.
Startup & Shutdown:Due to the 3-1.8G-AC's use of a Liquid fuel mixture, the refueling process is not unlike that of a conventional aircraft, although with a few diffrences due to the unique nature of the nuclear fuel. The AN5K is moved to a special fueling area at its home base and piping is attached to a refueling valve located on the top of the aircraft. After the piping is secure, the JF-N-1 fuel is pumped into the reactor and the circulation pumps are started. During this period the Reactor's control rods are fully inserted and the fuel is not critical, however it is still circulated through the reactor and heat exchanger. While on the ground, the aircraft's coolant loops can be hooked to an external coolant system to allow for ground testing of the reactor. To power up the reactor the control rods retract allowing the nuclear reaction in the core to reach criticality. This is usually done after takeoff, as the aircraft is reaching cruising altitude.
To shutdown the reactor, the control rods are reinserted, slowing down the fission and inhibiting criticality. The circulating fuel design allows for the reactor to easily be able to be shutdown and restarted in flight. The reactor is normally shutdown as the aircraft descends from crusing altitude for approach and landing. After landing, the aircraft's reactor is usually refueled. To defuel the reactor, the An5K is parked over a special defueling pit and piping is connected to a fuel drain valve on the bottom of the aircraft beneath the reactor. The valve is then opened, and the fuel flows down into an underground storage system. From this underground storage it can be sent to a reprocessing facility, where waste products are removed and additional fissile material is added.
Safety & Shielding:The 3-1.8G-AC is designed to maximize crew safety and is equipped with multiple safety systems. The circulating fuel design is an inherently safe design with many features that incorporates many passive safety features. Chief among these is an inherent ability to quickly react to load changes, an important feature when the aircraft's engines rely on the reactor. Another inherent safety feature is a resistance to accidents involving voids forming in the coolant of the reactor, while in a normal reactor this can easily create problems, the use of fuel as a coolant in the circulating fuel design, means that these voids form in the fuel mixture itself, which in turn pushes fuel out of the core, lowering the amount of fuel reacting. Another important feature of the reactor is the relatively low operating pressures compared to more conventional reactor designs. The biggest safety feature, is the ability to completely remove all fuel from the reactor in an emergency. The dump valve for the reactor used to drain the fuel can, in an emergency be opened in flight. While this carries a large environmental impact through dumping nuclear fuel into the open air, it does mean that any issues with the reactor going out of control are stopped. Due to the environmental impact, this feature is only to be used as a last resort.
While the design incorporates many safety features, the design also has a few drawbacks. One of these is the ability for the NaKto become activated and present hazard to crew working on engines immediately after shutdown. While the reactor incorporates measures to minimize activation of the coolant, for crew saftey the Coolant should be Drained or allowed to decay for 5 days prior to working on the engines. In addition, as with all Nuclear Reactors, the 3-1.8G-AC emits radiation and as such must be shielded from the crew. To this end the entire reactor assembly is immersed inside a tank of borated water. This tank is further surrounded by layers of lead and plastic. Due to the heavy weight of radiation shielding, the crew and passenger areas are all located to the front of the reactor, with the exception of a few storage and service areas. By locating the crew and passenger areas in this way the amount of shielding required for the reactor is greatly reduced. Since personal will not be spending extend periods of time aft of the reactor, less radiation needs to be blocked to stay within acceptable exposure levels. This greatly reduces the mass of the shielding which means the aircraft can devote more mass to other systems and cargo.
To be expanded.
Simplified Diagram of a Fireball Style Test Reactor of the same configuration as the 3-1.8G-AC
The AN5K is propelled by 4 NT-214-D High-bypass Turbofan Engines. (Nuclear Turbofan-2014 Dual Cycle), each NT-214-D generating over 556 KN of thrust during flight Among the largest jet engines ever built, each engine features main fans measuring over 12 Meters across and the entire engine stretches over 20 meters long. The heart of these engines is their unique dual-cycle core. Whereas other nuclear powered aircraft may rely on separate conventional engines for takeoff and landing and relying on their reactors only for cruise, or posse a possible health hazard by using only a reactor for power thus requiring the use of nuclear power during takeoff and landing, the AN5k is unlike any other aircraft in service in that it's NT-124-Ds are not constrained to a single source of power during flight and are able to operate using both conventional jet fuel and the thermal energy delivered by the coolant from the AN5K's 3-1.8G-AC reactor. During takeoff and climb to altitude, the NT-124Ds burn jet fuel. Once the aircraft is at cruising altitude the reactor is powered up and the coolant begins to heat up and begins to transfer heat to the engines. As the reactor powers up the amount of heat delivered to the engines by the coolant increases and reduces the amount of Jet Fuel needed to maintain cruising power. As a result of this the engine's conventional fuel injectors automatically decrease the amount of fuel being used, ensuring that the engines deliver consistent thrust during the reactor start up. Prior to descent for landing, this process is slowly reversed.
One important operating consideration for the NT-124Ds compared to the engines of other aircraft, is that the pilot does not always have direct control of engine power during the entirety of flight. While the aircraft is taking off and landing, the engines are throttled like any other jet engines, and as such can be directly controlled by the pilots. However, during cruise mode due to the engines drawing power, all increases in thrust require an increase in reactor power. To this end while the aircraft is operating in cruise mode, the throttle is switched from direct controlling the engines, to instead providing "requests" to the crew in the reactor control room, who in turn increase reactor power, and by extension the engine's power. While this does create a delayed response between a pilot's wish to increase thrust, and the thrust increase, it is seen as an acceptable tradeoff for the long ranges which the nuclear power mode provides. In an emergency, the pilots can re-enable direct thrust control of the engines by using jet fuel to increase engine power.
Technically it's a f*cking Hybrid so pro-environment hippies can suck it.
LARS Specifications:
Length: | 13.7 Meters |
Wingspan: | 13.0 Meters (7.5 folded) |
Height: | 4.1 Meters |
Range: | 2,00 km |
Top Speed: | 1000 km/h |
Propulsion: | 2 x LARS-1 Turbofan Engines 9 KN Thrust Each |
Crew: | 2 |
Payload: | -10 x Passengers or - 4 Litters and two attendants - 2000 kg Cargo |
As the long ranges and extended missions planned for LRNSA became a reality, the need for a means to transfer crew and cargo to and from the aircraft while it is in flight became apparent. Few regions have airports with the facilities to support nuclear aircraft, and even fewer are built to handle circulating fuel designs. Of those limited airfields, most lack runways large enough for LRNSA. This lack of runways means that it is not only impractical, but nearly impossible to divert the aircraft for a landing in the event that crew or cargo needs to be loaded or unloaded mid-mission. To solve this issue the LRNSA Airborne Resupply/Support vehicle (LARS) "Swallow" was created. LARS is a small twin engine jet transport capable of being launched and recovered by appropriately equipped LRNSA Variants in flight. LARS is capable of carrying up to eight passengers, one and a half tons of cargo, or a combination of crew and cargo. While the small payload of LARS is not enough to significantly extend a LRNSA's mission through resupply, it does allow for crew transfers and mail delivery while in flight, a role which serves both to increase morale, allow for medical evacuation and replacement of ill crew members as well as providing a means for more secure delivery of information.
Because LARS was designed for the same role as a conventional aircraft carries Carrier On Board Delivery aircraft,it shares many similarities with more conventional transport aircraft. Chief among these is its rear payload ramp. While the ramp is unable to be opened until the aircraft is moved to the hangar, it allows for easy loading and unloading of large cargo. LARS is powered by two turbofan engines. The turbofan engines allow LARS to match the speed and altitude of a LRNSA in cruise mode. Measuring at only 13.7 meters long and a wingspan of 13 meters, LARS is much smaller than most other CODS due to its parasitic nature. For carriage aboard LRNSA, the LARS features folding wings, which bring the aircraft's maximum width to only seven and a half meters folded. The small size of LARS does limit its payload, the aircraft is only capable of transporting 6000 kgs of cargo or ten passengers. It can also be configured to transport four litters with two attendants. LARS is flown by a crew of two, located in an all glass cockpit at the front of the aircraft. LARS also features flares, chaff and a basic ECM system for limited defense.
In order to carry LARS, the aft cargo bay and the service decks immediately above it must be completely rebuilt. Instead of a single large cargo bay and separate upper service area, the area is split into a hangar bay capable of storing up to four LARS and a launch/recovery room. The hangar bay can carry up to four LARS all of which can be worked on in a shirt sleeve environment. The launch/recovery room is located where the rear cargo ramp would normally be located and is operated from the hangar by large sliding doors. The Launch/Recovery Bay is dominated by the Launch/Recovery Equipment and the Aircraft Hatch, which is located in the same place the aft cargo ramp would normally be. Locating the bay at the aft end of the aircraft allows for easy loading and unloading of aircraft while LRNSA is on the ground. The Launch Recovery Bay's equipment is suspended from the roof of the bay. The equipment consists of two primary components, the Guidance / Refueling Probe (GuRP) and the Aircraft Recovery Trapeze (ART). Both of these systems are fully automated. The Guidance /Refueling Probe is similar to the refueling flying boom mechanisms used by many large airborne tanker aircraft. Consisting of a long gimballed telescoping pole with control wings, the probe is extended into the airstream and is "flown" to the inbound LARS. Once the probe has connected with the LARS, a datalink is established with LARS granting control of the aircraft to LRNSA's docking system. After control of LARS is transferred, the probe begins to retract with LARS flying along with, drawing it in closer to the LRNSA. Once the LARS is within range, the Aircraft recovery Trapeze is lowered around the GuRP and attaches to the LARS on the upper fuselage and wing roots. Despite its name ART is not actually a trapeze system, instead ART is made up of a pair of arms supporting a cradle that connects to three locations atop the docking aircraft. Once the system indicates that these connections are secure, the GuRP is disconnected from the aircraft. The GuRP is then retracted into the aircraft and moved to the side of the Launch/Recovery Bay. After the GuRP is secured, the ART is retracted into the Launch/Recovery Bay. The bay door is then closed and pressurization of the bay begins. After the bay has been pressurized, catwalks are extended from the sides of the bay around the aircraft. These catwalks allow for the unloading of crew and payload as well as performing any needed maintenance. After the crew and payload are offloaded the wings can be folded, and an interior crane system can be connected to the aircraft. This crane system is mounted on overhead tracks which allow it to move the aircraft into the storage hangar and secure it on a storage rack. To launch an aircraft, the interior crane brings a LARS out of the hangar and into the Launch/Recovery Bay. Once the aircraft is in the Launch/Recovery Bay, the hangar doors are closed, the aircraft's wings are unfolded, and the aircraft is loaded and fueled. After these preparations are complete, the ART is attached to the aircraft, the room is cleared of all personal and the Launch/Recovery Bay doors are opened. The ART then lowers the LARS out of the LRNSA, after which the engines are started. Once the engines are started, last minute checks are performed and the LARS is released to fly to its destination.
An Embarked LARS detachment consists of four LARS and 32 crew. 10 of these crew members are flight crew for the LARS aircraft. Of the 22 are support crew, 16 are responsible for the maintenance of the LARS, and the remaining 6 are for the Launch/Recovery System.
AN5K-L Roc Super heavy Transport:
The AN5K-L is the base line model LRNSA. The Model L is built to serve primarily as a super heavy transport although it does possess limited self defense capabilities. To fulfill this task, the aircraft is built to carry a whopping two thousands metric tons of cargo. The main cargo bay of the AN5K-L stretches 74 meters long, 4 and a half meters high. It starts out 13.5 Meters wide before expanding outwards to 26 meters meters across towards the center of the aircraft. The aft cargo bay is somewhat smaller only stretching for roughly 35 meters and 15 meters wide. The Aft and forward Cargo bays are separated by the aircraft's main reactor, however two smaller cargo bays measuring 18 meters long by 7 meters wide x 4 by meters tall connect the two main bays. In addition to the main cargo deck, there is a secondary cargo deck above the main cargo deck in the forward area of the aircraft. Connected to the main cargo deck via a ramp that lowers to a point just aft of the main cargo bay's loading doors as well as a small 2 1/2 ton lift just forward of the reactor, the upper cargo deck stretches over 60 meters long. from near the nose of the aircraft aft to the main reactor The upper cargo deck width varies from 16 meters in the forward section of the aircraft, to over 36.5 Meters near the center of the aircraft. Combined the cargo bays offer nearly 17,000 cubic meters of cargo space.Cargo can be loaded onto the main cargo deck via both a front loading ramp in the nose, and a secondary ramp at the tail.The aft boarding ramp can be opened in flight to allow for the airdropping of troops and supplies. The upper cargo deck can be loaded via an internal cargo lift, a lowering ramp the comes down just aft of the forward cargo ramp, and via opening side doors.
Above the foreword cargo bays are the main crew and passenger area. These areas are located almost exclusively in the foreword half of the aircraft as a means to reduce the amount of shielding required for the reactor. The area is primarily split up over 3 decks. The uppermost deck is restricted to the flight crew and contains the Flight Deck and Reactor Control Room as well as the Flight Crew's living accommodations. The other two decks are dominated by passenger cabins. The exact layout of these cabins varies between An5K variants, however the standard layout is 237 Enlisted passenger Cabins,24 Cabins for Senior NonComs and 10 rooms for officers. The Enlisted Cabins each seat 8 troops in 2 rows of 4 chairs facing each other. The chairs on each side fold into two beds and another bed folds down above each of those, forming a total of 8 bunks. The Noncom Cabins seat 2 rows of 4 facing each other and have 4 bunks. Officer Cabins are laid out similarly to the Noncom Cabins, however they only seat two and one set of bunks is replaced by a desk. In total between all of the cabins there are berth for 2,012 passengers, enough for a full regiment of combat troops. In addition to the cabins these areas contain the main galley, passenger mess and passenger lounges.
The upper of the two main passenger decks contains the main officer's Club, located at the nose of the aircraft, immediately below the flight deck as well as the main galley and mess. In addition 131 of the enlisted cabins are located on this level. Twenty one of them are located between the forward boarding area and the Officer's Club in 7 rows of three, the other 110 are located aft of the boarding area stretchering back to the mess area. Located near the front of the wing roots on either side are two small passenger lounges. The mess area located to the aft of the passenger cabins is the primary dining area aboard the AN5K and has the galley and a small bar.
The mess area is also the location of the main stairways between the passenger levels and the crew area. The lower of the two passenger decks contains both the remaining enlisted cabins, as well as the officer and non-com cabins. The Officer's cabins are located in the nose and partially encircle a small common area for the officers. Aft of this are the 24 Non-Com cabins located in 6 rows. Moving further back is the main stairwell to the other levels and two lounge areas in the port and starboard wing root. Around each are 14 enlisted cabins. To the rear of these lounges are the remaining 90 enlisted cabins. Aft of these cabins just forwards of the reactor is another small lounge area.
AN5K-E Garuda Airborne Command Post:
The AN5K-E is a LRNSA Variant built to serve as a massive airborne command center. Equipped with a comprehensive network of sensors and communications systems, the Model E allows a command staff to coordinate military activities from the air on a theater level for extended periods of time. Extra missile bays. Has launch bay for small satellite launcher, with up to 6 launch units.
ALF Specifications:
Length: | 15 Meters |
Wingspan: | 11.8 Meters (6.7 folded) |
Height: | 2.9 Meters (3.6 folded) |
Range: | 750 km |
Top Speed: | Mach 2 |
Propulsion: | 1 x ALF-1 Turbofan Engine 80 kN Thrust (130 w/ Afterburner) |
Crew: | 1 - 2 |
Armament: | Up to 6,500 kg of Munitions across 11 Hardpoints: - 2 x Wingtip Launch Rails for Short Range AAMs -8 x Under wing Hardpoints - 1 x Under body Hardpoint - 1 x 30mm Revolver Cannon w/ 250 Rounds |
The AN5K-AC -C is an airborne aircraft carrier. Carrying an air wing consisting of two dozen aircraft, including 20 multi-role fighter jets, the AN5K-AC -C allows an Air Force to rapidly deploy a fighter squadron anywhere in the world on short notice without the need to build or negotiate the use of air fields. In addition to its fighter wing, the AN5K-AC -C is also equipped to carry 4 LARS, using the same rear mounted launch / recovery and hangar bays as other LRNSA variants.
The backbone of the AN5K-AC's air wing is the Advance LRNSA parasite Fighter (ALF). Nicknamed the Oxpecker after the parasitic bird, the ALF is a 4.5th generation single engine multirole aircraft. Unlike most other airborne parasite fighters, ALF is a full size fighter designed to be comparable to or better than more conventional land based fighters of its size. The ALF utilizes a cranked-arrow delta wing, similar to that of the F-16XL. Unlike the F-16XL however, the ALF features two vertical stabilizers located midway out along the wings. In order to reduce the amount of space needed for storage, ALF features folding wingtips, the entirety of the wings outboard of the twin vertical stabilizers are able to fold up vertically against the vertical stabilizers. The ALF also features a set of all-moving canards for control. Additional control is provided by a two dimensional Thrust Vectoring nozzle. The Nozzle provides up to 15 degrees up or down. The design of the nozzle is such that it is also capable of reversing thrust while in flight. This ability is crucial to the aircraft's parasitic nature as it allows for increased control of speed while docking.
For a parasite aircraft, ALF is heavily armed, capable of carrying up to 6,500 kg across 11 hard points as well as 30 mm revolver cannon.. There are four hard points under each wing and an additional hard point on the fuselage. The two remaining hard points are wingtips launch rails for short range Air to Air Missiles. Six of the eight under wing hard points are rated to weapons of up to 500 kg, with the remaining two rated for 1000 kg, and the center line station is rated for 2000kg. The two heavy wing stations and center line fuselage station are "wet" to allow for the use of drop tanks. The 30mm Cannon fires at over a thousand rounds a minute and is equipped with 250 rounds. These rounds are of the same caliber as that used by the AN5K's ACES close in weapons system, which allows both the Air Wing and the ACES to draw from the same supply of ammunition.
The AN5K-AC has two Launch Recovery Bays for its ALFs. Located along the center line of the craft forward of the reactor, the Launch Recovery Bays take up most of the original cargo deck. The two Launch / Recovery bays are functionally identical. As with the LARS Launch Recovery Bay, each bay is equipped with a Guidance / Refueling Probe (GuRP) and an Aircraft Recovery Trapeze (ART). Both of these systems function as they do for LARS. As on LARS, the GuRP is autonomously deployed and connects to the ALF. As with LARS once the boom is connected control is transfered to the docking system which moves it into rang of the ART. The ART moves the aircraft into the Launch /Recovery Bay which is then closed and pressurized. After bay pressurization the ALF has its wings folded and is moved via an overhead crane to storage. From the Rear Launch / Recovery Bay, the aircraft can be moved to one of two locations, a lift to the main hangar deck or to one of two side hangars located on either side of the aircraft lift Each of those two hangars has space for two ALFs, located one behind the other. For the Forward Launch /Recovery Bay, there is no space available for storage, so the aircraft is moved directly to the forward aircraft lift and then moved into the main hangar.The forward aircraft lift also has access to nose doors for the loading and unloading of aircraft while LRNSA is on the ground.
The main hangar bay is located above the Launch / Recovery Bays. The hangar bay occupies what would normally be the upper cargo deck and lowermost passenger deck. The main hangar bay has space for 14 ALFs. The Alfs are moved around the main hangar via an overhead crane system which connects to the crane system of the lower deck via the aircraft lifts. The cranes for the system travel along vertical tracks in the hangar bay's ceiling, the tracks span lengthwise across the hangar and line up with storage locations for an ALF. As there are multiple tracks running parallel, there are multiple locations where the cranes can switch to a different track in order to access every storage location. It should be noted that due to to the cramped nature of the Main Hangar Bay, when all aircraft are aboard only half of of the aircraft are able to be moved directly to the aircraft lifts. Embarking a full air wing also requires an aircraft to be stored in each of the two the aircraft lifts.
In addition to the Hangar bays, the AN5K-AC has other modifications. The side cargo bays that flank the reactor have been replaced with magazines for the Air Wing's munitions and storage of spare parts and equipment . A second major change is that the passenger deck has been reconfigured from a higher capacity passenger layout to one better suited for long duration crews. A new air traffic control/ Combat Information Center on the upper most deck, located in the area immediately aft of the cockpit was also added. This control room is in charge of directing the AN5K-AC's air wing during flight operations.
Besides the changes to the interior layout, the AN5K-AC has also been fitted with a more advanced avionics package compared to other models. The primary upgrades have been to the radar and communications systems. Chief among these upgrades is ACTS, the Airborne Control & Tracking System. The ACTS is responsible for all air traffic control relating to both LRNSA and its air wing. ACTS breaks down the airspace around LRNSA into four zones, Hazard/Approach, Local, and Region. The Hazard/Approach zone is the area immediately around the aircraft, as well as a corridor extending forwards from the aircraft. Traffic within this zone is tightly controlled and usually limited to any aircraft in line to dock in order to minimize the rick of collisions. The Local zone extends outwards from the edge of the Hazard/Approach area out to 50 kilometers. Local traffic usually consists of escort fighters, as well as aircraft in a trailing pattern that are waiting for clearance to approach for docking. The Region zone of Acts extends from the outer edge of the Local zone to the edge of LRNSA's radar range, which can extended for hundreds of km. Traffic in the Region zone usually consists not only of LRNSA's air wing, but also aircraft from other units. Civilian aircraft may also be within this zone. Unlike Local and Hazard/Approach, the ACTS does not usually direct traffic within this zone and instead tracks all aircraft, with an emphasis on locating possible threats. The ACTS is operated by a crew of 9, with three air traffic controllers for each of the three control zones. The ACTS is always online while the aircraft is underway and as such is constantly manned. This need for constant manning means that the aircraft requires 27 crew members dedicated to running ACTS. This staff is split into 3 groups each operating on the same watches as the flightcrew.
Not including the normal AN5K flight crew, the AN5K-AC has a mission payload crew of 144. 32 of these are from the AN5K-C's LARS Detachment. The rest are there to support the Fighter Wing. 25 of the crew are pilots. The dual Launch Recovery Systems for the ALFs require a further 15 crew members. There are 60 maintenance staff for the air wing. In addition to the air wing's crew, the AN5K-C also carries the aforementioned air traffic control staff of 27. Combined with the normal AN5K crew of 80, the AN5K-C's full crew totals 233 airmen.
AN5K-M Dapeng Arsenal Plane :
Long Range Land Attack Missile Airborne:
Length: | 5.5 Meters |
Wingspan: | .5m(Folded) Meters (2.67m unfolded) |
Range: | 1,500 km |
Top Speed: | 900 km/h |
Propulsion: | 1 x TEM-3 Turbojet Engine 5 kN Thrust |
Warhead: | - placeholder |
The AN5K-M was designed to bring the concept of the cruise missile carrying arsenal ship into the air. The AN5K-M is designed to carry 320 long range cruise missiles anywhere in the world, a payload unmatched by any other aircraft. The cruise missiles are not the only weaponry carried by the AN5K-M, in addition to the cruise missiles it is also fitted with the standard LRNSA defensive package which includes up to 252 ALARM long range air to air missiles. Combined these two systems allow the AN5K-M to engage large numbers of nearly any conceivable air or surface target at extreme ranges, well outside the ability of most targets to fight back.
The primary cruise missile carried by the AN5K-M is the Long Range Land Attack Missile Airborne (LRLM-A). LRLM is a long range missile roughly comparable in size and role to the American Tomahawk.
The LRLM is powered by a Turbojet. LRLM can be fitted with numerous kinds of payloads including, but not limited to, a 400 Kg HE warhead, various sub-munitions, or a nuclear warhead. The sub-muntions able to be carried by LRLM includes various sizes of cluster bomb canisters. The missile can carry between 10 and 25 sub-munitions each capable of holding anywhere from 5 to 10 sub-munitions depending on size. Another sub-munition that can be carried are the Enhanced Area of Effect Munitions(EAEM). The EAEM is a family of small guided bombs that range in size from 25kg to 100 kg. These weapons are located in bays along the sides of the missile and are dispensed en-route to the missile's primary target. They can be used to engage secondary targets or deal additional damage against the primary target. The LRLM can carry 2, 4, or 6 EAEMs depending on size. In addition to this, missiles carrying EAEMs are fitted with a 100 kg HE warhead.
Unlike most cruise missile carrying aircraft, the AN5K-M does not carry its cruise missiles inside conventional bomb bays, nor does it carry the missiles on underwing hardpoints. The missiles are instead stored internally on 40 rotary racks, with each rack carrying 8 missiles. These racks are split across two decks, with 18 of the racks on the lower deck, and the remaining 22 on the upper deck. Theses racks are loaded via the nose cargo door of the aircraft, and then moved along interior tracks to storage locations. A small lift near the front allows for racks to be moved between the lower and the upper deck. This lift may only be used during loading and unloading of the racks while the aircraft is grounded. The interior tracks allow a rack to be moved to any one of four launch positions. These tracks are fully automated, the Aircraft is capable of autonomously selecting a missile rack and move it to the proper launch position, all with minimal human interaction. There are 8 launch positions (four per deck), located along the sides of the aircraft. These positions are each capable of launching an entire rack's worth of missiles in under a minute, allowing the AN5K-M to unleash up to 32 missiles in short succession. After dispensing the missiles, the racks can be moved back to a storage location. Due to the way that the interior tracks are laid out, an additional rack can easily be positioned to take its place at the launch position without needing to wait for the rack to be stored at its original location.
Apart from the heavily modified cargo bays, the AN5K-M has numerous other modifications. Similar to the AN5K-C, the lower passenger deck has been omitted in order to make more room for the upper missile deck, as the standard AN5K-L's upper cargo deck lacks the vertical height needed to store the rotary missile racks. The AN5K-M also features an upper passenger deck configured similarly to the AN5K-C, in order to better accommodate the mission crew during extended operations. The AN5K-M has a new Combat Information Center located aft of the cockpit on the flight deck. Due to the high amount of automation, all aspects of the AN5K-M's missile launch system are controlled from the CIC. The AN5K-M also carries a full detachment of 4 LARs, along with their associated onboard launch/recovery systems and hangar facilities.
AN5K-MN Ziz Nuclear Cruise Missile Carrier:
Atomic Ramjet Missile-85:
Length: | 20 Meters |
Wingspan: | 6.0 Meters |
Range: | 200,000 km |
Top Speed: | > Mach 3 |
Propulsion: | 1 x NR-215 Nuclear Ramjet |
Warhead: | 12 x Variable Yield Sub-munitions |
Compared to other LRNSA variants, the AN5K-MN
Ziz has a fairly conventional role, operating not unlike a more conventional cruise missile carrying strategic bomber. What sets the AN5K-MN apart from such bombers, apart from its massive size and near limitless range, is its payload of two dozen Atomic Ramjet Missiles-85 (ARM-85). The ARM-85 is a nuclear ramjet powered supersonic cruise missile based on the work of the American Project Pluto and the associated SLAM. The ARM-85s give the AN5K-MN the ability to strike targets worldwide.
ARM-85's nuclear ramjet propels the missile at speeds of over Mach 3. While en route to the target area ARM flies at around 10,000 m in altitude. Upon nearing the target area ARM dives to 150-300 meters in order to evade enemy air defense systems. This nap-of-the-earth attack profile is achievable due to the missile's advanced flight control system. To attack its targets ARM-85 carries 12 variable yield submunitions which can be dispensed at preset locations anywhere along its flight path. A secure satellite communications system means that ARM can be given new targets while in flight.
The ARM-85's payload consists of twelve nuclear warheads. The warheads are carried in a twelve Cell Vertical Launch System located just forwards of the Missile's reactor. Each VLS cell holds a single sub-munition. Each submunition consists of a small rocket motor and a variable yield nuclear warhead. The available yields for the submunitions are 10, 15, 50, or 100 Kilotons. The sub-munitions are individually hot launched as the ARM-85 passes by a mission target. The rocket motor carries the warhead clear of the missile. Upon engine burnout, the warhead is detonated. This launch system enables to ARM-85 missile to escape from the nuclear blasts of its own sub-munitions and allow it the ability to continue on to additional targets. Targets can be preset before launch, or designated after launch through the missiles satellite communication system. In addition to this, the yield for each warhead can also be preset prior to missile launch or set in-flight also via the missile's satellite communications system.
The ARM-85 is powered by the NR-215 Nuclear Ramjet. The engine functions not unlike a conventional ramjet, air enters the engine via the ventral ram air-intake, is passed through the heart of the engine, where it is heated up, which forces it out of the engine', producing thrust. Unlike a conventional ramjet which burns jet fuel to heat the air, the NR-215 uses a 600 Megawatt Solid Fuel Nuclear Reactor. In place of a conventional ramjet's fuel injectors, the NR-215 instead passes air through thousands of channels in the reactor core. The intense heat experienced by the Missile due to its high flight speed would be enough to destroy conventional fuel rods (Temperature within the reactor exceeds 1200° C),due to this the NR-215 uses specially designed ceramic fuel elements. The ceramic fuel elements are composed of Beryllium Oxide and enriched Uranium Dioxide with zirconium dioxide added for support. Each element is a small tube approximately 100 milometers long and 7.5 mm across. The tubes have a hexagonal shape, with a 60 mm wide air channel through the center. Fuel Elements in the reactor are lined up in rows 15 deep. There are 30,000 rows in the reactor core, for a total of 450,000 individual fuel elements. The use of numerous small elements in the reactor as opposed to larger fuel rods helps to reduce thermal stress in the reactor's fuel. The reactor core is 1.3 Meters Across, 1.5 Meters long.
The ARM's guidance system uses a three-pronged approach to reach the missiles target. The guidance system relies on a combination of Terrain Counter Matching (TERCOM), an Inertial Navigation System (INS), and a GPS receiver. For the majority of the missiles flight, the primary means of navigation is the INS. This is due to the fact that since the INS is an entirely on-board system, it cannot be spoofed. However the missiles INS is imperfect and loses accuracy as the missile flies further from its launch point. Due to this fact the missile uses GPS for mid-course guidance updates. During the missiles attack run, terminal guidance is provided by the missile's TERCOM. The TERCOM system uses a radar array in the missile's nose to measure the terrain ahead of the missile. These measurements are compared to a preexisting map of the earth's terrain to locate the missiles position. From this information the missile can adjust its course towards the target accordingly. Once the terrain data matches that of the target location, the missile ejects a sub-munition to eliminate the target and proceeds to its next target. When the missile ejects a sub-munition it uses its communications system to query the launching platform for new orders. If no new orders are received, it proceeds to the next target.
AN5K-MN carries its missiles in a two deck magazine which takes the place of both cargo decks. Missiles are stored on an overhead rack and are moved along a track to one of two launch bays on the lower level of the magazine. The overhead rack system is derived from one used by the AN5K-C Airborne Aircraft Carrier to move its parasite fighters around. This overhead system delivers the missile from storage to one of the two launch bays. Launching a missile is as simple as moving opening the launch bay doors and dropping the missile into the air stream. Post-launch the missile starts up its reactor and enters into a dive. The dive provides the missile with an airspeed sufficient to start ramjet flight. Upon ramjet activation the missile climbs flies back up to a cruising altitude of approximately 10kms, about level with the launch vehicle, although at this point the missile has already traveled a considerable distance from the AN5K-MN launcher.
AN5K-AL Hakawai Missile Defense Platform:
Shoots down missiles or something
Length: | 170 Meters |
Height: | 17.6 Meters (45.7 Meters to Tail) |
Wingspan: | 350 Meters |
Power: | 1 x 1,800 Megawatt Reactor |
Propulsion: | 4 x Type NT-214-D Turbofans |
Cruising Speed: | 1000 km/h |
Empty Mass: | 3,000,000 kg |
Payload: | 2,000,000 kg |
MTOW: | 5,400,000 kg |
Range: | -Jet Fuel : 1,500 km -Nuclear : 60 Day Endurance (~1.4 Million km at cruising speed) |
Cruising Altitude: | 10,000 meters |
Armament: | -252 ALARM Air to Air Missiles -2 x ACES 30mm Gun Turrets |
Passengers: | 2012 |
Crew: | ~80 |
Flight Operations Crew: | 3 Watches each with: 1 x Pilot 1 x Copilot 1 x Navigator 1 x Radio Operator 4 x Defense System Operators 1 x Electrical Systems Engineers 3 x Propulsion Engineers 1 x Nuclear Flight Officer 2 x Nuclear Flight Engineers 2 x Reactor Operators Total: 17 per Watch Total Flight Operations Crew: 51 |
Maintenance Crew: | 2 x Nuclear Systems Technicians 4 x Nuclear Systems Mechanic 6 x Systems Mechanics Total Maintenance Crew: 12 |
Payload Crew: | 15-20 |