Ripper

Developed to fulfill the Star League's requirement for a quick response VTOL aircraft that could carry a squad of infantry and their equipment, the Ripper normally carries elite infantry or Jump Infantry that need quick deployment or retrieval.

The Ripper, built from proven components for maximum reliability, uses a Fusion Engine to give the vehicle a significant range, as well as a high top speed, so much that the infantry compartment is equipped with special acceleration couches to handle the strain of a high speed combat insertion. While the Ripper is heavily armored for a transport VTOL, carrying one and a half tons Aldis Heavy Ferro-Fibrous plating to survive the high G maneuvers that are the hallmark of the craft, a Small Laser or even a well-equipped infantry squad can down the vehicle in short order.

While Aldis Industries's Terran based VTOL production lines were destroyed during Operation Liberation, Cal-Boeing was able to secure a copy of the plans and reintroduce the design during the Third Succession War. Save for the Free Worlds League, all the other Successor States have purchased large numbers of the Ripper.

Weapons and Equipment
The Ripper is armed with two nose mounted Omicron 950 Medium Lasers. The weapons are used more to induce flinch rather than strike an enemy, the pilot firing the twin lasers around the fringes of the vehicle's intended landing zone and then as they fly off to try and convince an unprepared foe to steer clear.

Variants
Due to the large volume and variety of buyers, there are a great number of Ripper variations in existence. The most common/notable are:


 * ERML : A simple modification, switching the standard lasers for ER Medium Lasers, boosting range. BV (2.0)= 432


 * MG / SPL : Targeted to combat the most common threat to the Ripper, many buyers replace the Medium Lasers with either 2 Small Pulse Lasers or 2 Machine Guns, for increased anti-infantry ability. BV (2.0)= 125 (MG), (SPL) BV (2.0)= 160


 * Light PPC (Kurita) : Produced per the request of the Draconis Combine, Cal-Boeing added an XL Engine so the medium lasers could be replaced with a Light PPC and extra Heavy Ferro-Fibrous plating could be carried. BV (2.0)= 371


 * Infantry (Lyran) : Produced for the LAAF as a Battle Armor platoon carrier, even with an XL Engine the extra weight required limits the craft to a single Small Pulse Laser and one ton of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor. BV (2.0)= 108


 * Royal : The upgraded model used by the SLDF Royal units replaced both standard mediums with a single Medium Pulse Laser. BV (2.0) = ??, BV (2.0)= 228, 255