So yeah, this is another one that's been interfering with my efforts to finish things that I needed to get roughed out at least, Aludran aerial battleship Scorn moving below the ridgeline of a valley as aircraft of the Aludran Air Force and Fleet Air Arm deploy in support of Operation Anvil. Getting back to arting after an hiatus, this seemed a good one to do some work on. :D

Still working on descriptions for the other aircraft, but they're now semi-complete!

SCORN

Air Destroyer AANV Scorn, BBN-A 17, capital-scale aerial battleship

The S-Class are three extremely large battle Leviships specialised for low-altitude operations and fleet support. They were designed by the 700-year-old firm of naval architects owned by the Karim family in response to Requirement 5409 to replace the increasingly obsolete N-Class aerial battleships with vessels using the latest technology; indeed, it rapidly became apparent that cost was no object and the three were intended as showcases of Aludran technological excellence. The three ships' boiler cores were laid down at roughly the same time in the high-security Leviship construction pens at Blackridge Works in northern Aludra, with priority given to finishing Scorn as a testbed for the other two.

Development costs for the S-Class along with the construction and outfitting of the three Grimalkins and their 1,800 Griffon drones were the chief reason for the re-suspension of the Army's endlessly delayed Future Soldier program to free up funding, though as ever infantry anti-tank missile programs continued to receive it.

Scorn uses a variation of the common "fours and eights" Aludran gun layout for large Leviships, using eight dual-gun turrets so that at least four guns can be pointed in any direction and eight in most. The S-Class have a broader stern which allows all sixteen guns to fire within an arc of about 45 degrees of the direction the nose is currently facing.

Like most modern surface ships of destroyer scale or larger, the exterior "bridge" is actually just a pilot house used when there is no immediate threat to the vessel, with the actual bridge located in an armoured, self-contained cocoon amidships. Scorn is unique in using an experimental spherical bridge structure with the crew seated on a pedestal in the centre and a 360-degree simulated exterior view constructed from the ship's sensor data projected on the walls. While this proved extremely effective at providing full situational awareness, it was also extremely expensive and difficult to service, and the other two S-Class use a more conventional flat bridge with a simulated 360 horizontal / 90 degree vertical field of view. The bridge crew and most other seated stations use an eyepiece-mounted augmented reality system based on that used by Chiran infantry, the specific system a derivative of that used by Aludran attack helicopters.

The Mk 68 Advanced Gun System's ten-inch calibre is regarded as being the practical limit for paired Leviship turrets; larger guns using through-ship barbettes have historically been prone to catastrophic explosions, while offset guns impose unacceptable restrictions on the Leviship's internal layout.

The Mk68 is part of a family of weapons from the 155mm Mk 55 AGS used by the SN-5 Monarch self-propelled gun to the 550mm Mk 70 AGS mounted on Grimalkin-Class hybrid carriers, all of which share common design elements. All feature a full 90 degrees of elevation (though this is a somewhat questionable feature on the Monarch), fully automated loading, fuze setting and ammunition management, with a six-part modular propelling charge allowing selectable velocity similar to the original liquid-propellant AGS concept demonstrators. The rate of fire of any AGS system is the same, approximately 10 rounds per minute.

The capabilities of the Mk68 were proven almost immediately when the Etrusean Air Destroyer Trenchant investigated Scorn while the latter was conducting final testing. Believing that Trenchant may try to engage them while their fire control system was still uncalibrated and their missiles incapable of launching, Scorn opened fire, bringing the Etrusean Leviship down over the Layahat islands within three minutes of commencing engagement.

While it had been planned for the S-Class to use a fast-firing variant of the Mk 55 AGS as their secondary weapon, all AGS barrel production had been reserved for Monarch guns and so the design defaulted to Aludra's endlessly updated 127mm Mk6 Dual-Purpose Gun, a reliable and battle-proven system the fundamentals of which are almost sixty years old. The Mod 35 variant was a new update specifically for the S-Class, including a faster autoloader and improved cooling and recoil systems allowing for sustained fire rates of fire exceeding 45 rounds per minute.

The Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun is a uniquely Aludran design, an approximately A½-gauge 350rpm actively liquid-cooled fully automatic shotgun designed for close-range defence from missiles and aircraft, to supplement a vessel's lighter point defence systems with a far higher volume of fire than the dual-purpose guns. Typically the VDG has twin linkless ammunition feeds, one of either airbursting HE or "smart" self-forging interceptor rounds and the other "shot" shells each containing 65 tungsten flechettes; originally these were steel, but these proved ineffective against the current generation of Chiran armoured anti-ship missiles.

The fire control system is the Block 39 upgrade to the Iron Shell integrated air defence and gunnery control system used by Aludran air defence cruisers and battleships. This is further integrated with the Corona battle management system, a system originally designed under the name Aurora for the cancelled CS-70 AWACS and further developed using Navy funding.

The S-Class, like many Air Destroyers, also perform submarine-hunting duties, and carry drop cells for active and passive sonobuoys and two large retractable dipping sonars. Heavyweight depth charges, pattern charge mortars and torpedoes are all carried to engage a submarine if one is detected. The S-Class are also fully equipped for both laying and clearing mines, with a specific focus on neutralising the sophisticated canister missile-mines used by the Chiran Navy.

As with a number of smaller Leviships of the same timeframe, in addition to their rear-mounted engines the S-Class feature eight outriggers (or pylons) which mount three-dimensional vectored-thrust engine units, eliminating the need for control surfaces. Unlike the smaller M-Class, the S-Class have additional inboard engine units at the base of each pylon, allowing the outrigger to still retain function even if the turbine units in it are disabled.

The S-Class use a standardised container loading system with eight sets of loading gear on each side and four on the centreline linked to six-position rotary "ferris wheel" racks. The system uses the PA-8 military container system rather than civilian shipping containers as in previous Leviship series, featuring flexible dividers that allow the mounted containers to function as auxiliary storage bays while they are on board. Munitions loading is handled by dedicated systems that shift containers to the relevant magazine or handling area automatically.

The precise particulars of the Zorn Industrial Alchemy Silverthorn radar absorbent material / spaced armour scheme used on the S-Class are classified, as are details of the engines; it has been confirmed the outrigger-mounted engines are in some way electrically driven. While it is still classified, it has essentially been confirmed that the S-Class generate power using two liquid fluoride thorium reactors, with enough additional output for an anticipated future refit with Chiran-style electromagnetic cannons replacing the primary armament.

Ditching has always been a problem for low-level Leviships, since they often operate below the effective altitude for parachute egress without extensive crew training. While the S-Class do carry emergency parachute racks with line loops at their evacuation assembly points, the primary method of ensuring crew survival in the case of a catastrophic loss of lift is to safely bring the ship to ground. The emergency ditching system is a massive Sias Kinetics DORMA liquid-fuelled rocket engine mounted underneath the rear section, which is jettisoned in two halves if the engine is to be deployed. Spite and Scourge have enough fuel to fire this engine for 20 seconds to arrest their descent with the nose at 45 degrees, while Scorn, oddly, is rated for two minutes of thrust. Since the three are externally identical, it is generally accepted that Scorn's ditching engine, which has never been seen since she was the only one of the three not shot down at least once during Operation Metronome, is of a totally different design to her sisters. S-Class vessels have floatation screens that allow them to function as surface vessels after ditching as long as their lower hull is relatively intact, and feature an unclear type of waterjet propulsion system allowing a speed of around ten knots. Compartmentalisation is sufficient that Spite remained afloat after becoming the only Leviship in history to be torpedoed.

Being designed for a crew of obligate carnivores, the S-Class feature a pair of 75-foot walk-in freezer units for fish and meat, with additional food stores generally kept in mounted containers. Food is prepared by a staff of qualified chefs and served in two main dining halls. Since an Aludran warship's crew interactions are modelled on a noble Household, these facilities are shared by officers and enlisted, with mealtimes serving as an opportunity for semi-formal communication between senior and junior staff. Aludran tradition dictates a reversal of what other nations consider privileges of rank; it would be considered exceptionally Improper for an officer to take position in line ahead of an enlisted crew member, for example.

The crew of 529 is large considering the degree of automation, being built around survivability, comfort in normal operations and covering the Aludran preference for a midday nap. Crew comforts include lounges, bathrooms and shower units for each set of 35 bunks; each member of the crew has an assigned non-shared sleeping position since Alun find sleeping in a bed that smells of someone they are not intimate with bizarre. Crew quarters are also equipped with standard Aludran 225-volt 4-pin plug sockets for personal electronics. As is normal for most armed forces, the crew quarters have unisex fixtures and the occupants are not segregated.

Each ship also has two gymnasiums and a library. Scorn was the first ship in the aerial or surface fleet to store her media collection digitally, just barely beating the re-launch of the refitted Line of Battle Ship* Lady Janice. Passageways are broad and designed to be accessible by a variety of species, including padded tops to doorways to protect horns and antlers and slam stops on doors to protect tails. For Chiran-species crew rotating duties can be assigned to keep them moving around.

The S-Class have ten air conditioning plants and use electrical distribution rather than steam piping to keep crews from having to work in Minimum Acceptable Uniform in some spaces as on some older Leviships. As dedicated low-level ships, they feature NBC filtration systems but are incapable of pressurising their interiors to operate at high altitudes.

The S-Class' medical facilities are state of the art and on par with those of a carrier or surface battleship, and Scorn in particular was used as a mobile field hospital throughout Operation Anvil. In theory, up to 1,000 ground troops and their equipment or in excess of 2,500 other personnel could be embarked on an S-Class Leviship if all nonessential internal spaces were cleared and the hangars emptied. In accordance with the Treaty of Lyle's stipulations on armed vessels acting as temporary noncombatants, the S-Class carry two large Designated Noncombatant banners which can be mounted on their flanks if they are being used for dedicated hospital operations or transferring civilians.

Perhaps the most bizarre feature of the three S-Class ships is the "retrieval net" which can be affixed to the vessel's earth anchors on one side and then drawn across to the other. A report from the Chiran Cruiser Submarine Zheilin-7 included a recording from the ship's optronics mast of Scorn dropping several depth charges on an empty area of ocean, then running down her earth anchors and lifting them with the net spread between them. It was only later that the crew realised they had just witnessed an Air Destroyer fishing.

Scorn is the ninth boss of the Chiran videogame Bold Fleet 5, fought over the Karwen Islands. The infamously difficult battle is the result of the game's Aludran-born secondary lead designer being the ex-girlfriend of Scorn's Captain. Scorn was the only boss in the series with voice acting provided by her real commanding officer until Bold Fleet 8, an arrangement made via radiophone while Scorn was docked at Lyle.

864ft 7in
114,000 tons
529 crew
70 knots (official: recorded cruising at 80 and actual top speed classified, rumoured to exceed 90)
16 x 254mm Mk 68 Advanced Gun System (8 twin turrets)
28 x 127mm Mk6 Mod35 Dual-Purpose Gun
14 x 75mm Mk11 Mod 6 Vessel Defence Gun
40 x Sabran Protector 35mm CIWS revolver cannon
Lindstrom Optics Cuirass-H laser CIWS with 12 emitters
4 x G7 Mod 8 Vertical Launch System (440 cells)
4 x G6 Mod 5 Downward Launch System (80 cells)
10 x A8 Trainable Variable Missile System
4 x FCA Type 2 Pattern Charge launcher
2 x 25-cell A7M heavyweight depth charge tubes

Aircraft: 7 STOVL aircraft, 10 attack helicopters, or 14 utility helicopters
8 spotting drones
4 ASW drones

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Others

There are four main Aludran noble families involved in the manufacture of aircraft. Fais and Kheri (Fs and Kh) are only involved in the design of helicopters, while the two main military aircraft companies are those of the families of Zahir and Alenda (Zh and Al). A fifth family, Mozav (Mz), only participates in civil aircraft development, but assists the others in the development of military versions of their designs, though the cancelled CS-70 AWACS project (which would have been Mz-70 if adopted) would have been their first airframe developed strictly for military requirements.

Several other families are also heavily involved in aircraft design; materials research is handled by the Zorn dynasty's company Zorn Industrial Alchemy, and computer systems and electronics by the Luan and Schon families. The Vanek family's subsidiary Vanek Aerospace also develops avionics, and is known for engine designs. Members of the family assisted in the design of Ruhm's first locomotive running gear, and Empress Kora dio Alud granted the family their own noble title following Nadzia Vanek's invention of the first practical piston internal combustion engine and the Imperial Motor-Carriage, the first practical automobile. Later she would also design the first piston Leviship engine, replacing the older Shinohara Gear** on all Aludran Leviships.

ZhMz-24C Condor

The Condor is a standard military airframe developed from the four-engined Mz-21V airliner, used for a variety of duties including AWACs, maritime patrol and aerial refuelling. Use of the smaller export Mz-21V rather than the domestic Mz-21 reflects the Aludran military's usual policy of not provisioning for Alcacian (or Mirrai) vehicle crews, something they regard as a matter of "regrettable practicality." Military versions use high-powered Vanek-developed engines and are fitted with ECM systems. Some sources imply that the current C-variant tanker features a modernised armour scheme and is fitted with some form of active countermeasure system, possibly similar to the SD5 point defence grenade launcher used on Aludran bombers or the Sabran L-D guided aerial mine used by the Al-900 Sabre II.

Zh-33DN Viper

The Zh-33DN is the latest variant of Aludra's most common multirole fighter, now fitted with canards and vectored exhaust nozzles for improved manoeuvrability.

The Zh-33 had been in service for a little over fifteen years by Operation Anvil, originally selected as part of Requirement 4909, the Advanced Tactical Fighter project.

While not a match for the latest Chiran (or Mirrai***) fighters one-on-one, Vipers never fight alone and Aludran squadron tactics result in impressive performance against even cutting-edge modern fighters.

Zh-40A Battleaxe

The Battleaxe is Zahir's next-generation air-superiority fighter, adopted in limited numbers as an interim due to the cancellation of the Sabre II's overly ambitious MS-990 combined cycle engine and delays in the MS-800 variable-cycle engine.

Zahir developed the Battleaxe for the less stringent stealth specification of Requirement 5377, a procurement plan later superseded by Requirement 5401, the Future Combat Aircraft project. At this point Zahir had 25 flying prototypes and had already completed production tooling, while even Alenda had cautioned the Empress of a strong potential for delays in the Sabre II. As a result, Empress Lana dio Alud accepted a draft plan to procure 200 Battleaxes and upgrade existing Zh-33DF fighters to the new DN standard, with the plan retiring 200 obsolete Zh-33CTs from second-line squadrons.

Al-443E Warhawk

The Warhawk is an ageing subsonic ground-attack aircraft, and is a direct descendant of one of Aludra's earliest jet aircraft, the Al-400 Hawk. The workhorse of Aludran combined-arms tank tactics, the Warhawk has served faithfully in almost every skirmish on the Aludran border and is respected by even Chiran forces****. Though it lacks modern avionics and pilot interface systems, it has thus far resisted all attempts to replace it.

One of the most heavily armoured aircraft not built in Etrusea*****, the Warhawk is well-known for its resilience and extensive systemic redundancies.

The latest "E" variant addresses the obsolescence of the Warhawk's 30mm rotary cannon; tests against Black Swan prototypes had shown it to be ineffective except at suicidally close range. Experiments with a 40mm rotary gun led to the conclusion that crashing the aircraft into the target would actually be better for the airframe, and so the Warhawk-E instead mounts a pair of recoil-operated 50mm automatic cannons in underwing pods that incorporate the old landing gear pods.

Al-355L Cutlass

The Al-355 was Alenda's entry in the Advanced Tactical Fighter project won by the Zh-33. The basic design is loosely based on stolen data from the Etrusean Advanced Strike Fighter project, but with a much stronger focus on air-to-air capability. While the resulting large two-seat swing-wing fighter was not what the Air Force was looking for, the Fleet Air Arm found the Al-355 intriguing and requested further development.

The result was the Cutlass, a very capable carrier-based air superiority aircraft.

Al-900 Sabre II

Named after the Reformation War-era monoplane, the Sabre II is Aludra's latest fighter, the result of the Future Combat Aircraft program. While a challenging project, the result is one of the most sophisticated and capable stealth aircraft ever constructed.

The initial Sabre II design submitted for Requirement 5401 was radically advanced; a Mach 4-capable interceptor using a turbine combined cycle engine, which could switch bypass ratios for turbofan, turbojet or ramjet-like performance. While the Vanek MS-990 engine did function as predicted, the sheer cost of the engine and the systems needed to support it would only allow the procurement of 107 aircraft under the project's ten-year budget projection, somewhat short of the goal of 1,500.

Gia sen Vanek and her designers returned to the drawing boards and dusted off the abandoned MS-800 variable cycle engine specification initially developed as a high-tech alternative powerplant proposal for the Zh-33. With technological progress as it was, a prototype MS-800 was firing on a test bench at Vanek Aerospace's main research labs within three months, though the path to the full-production MS-800 would be a long and winding one.

The fuselage uses the same classified outer material as the Zorn Silverthorn material scheme used on Scorn, with a ceramic armour layer of unclear configuration underneath. Five of the six testing drone variants used for general damage testing and testing of the L-D system with live missiles were instead built from welded steel.

As is standard for Aludran combat vehicles, the electronics were designed to link to a "black box" on the schematic. The purpose of this is to allow Aludra's main software and electronics manufacturers, the Luan and Schon families, to design the flight computer systems as late as possible to keep their hardware and software current. In the meantime, test aircraft used an adapted Zh-33DN flight control system. As with the Schon SCH-X battle management system for Army AFVs, the Sabre's SCH-XA flight computer is fully modular and designed with future incremental upgrades in mind. Despite the historic rivalry of the two families, both of whom claim to have produced Aludra's first integrated circuit, the Schon family worked very closely with the team from Luan designing the L-Q75 AESA radar. As with SCH-X, the majority of the data transmission systems use fibre optics rather than conventional cables.

Like most modern combat systems, the Sabre II makes use of an augmented reality system to allow a sensor-based view of surroundings, even capable of making the airframe appear transparent to increase the pilot's effective field of view, allowing the use of a retractable "hard canopy" for increased pilot protection. The Mantis attack helicopter****** already employed this system successfully, and it proved so reliable that the Mantis has an opaque "hood" with no clear canopy. The Air Force rejected proposals involving the Army and Navy's Virtual Touch Interface with its movable projected holographic displays, feeling they were unsuited to the confines of a cockpit, and instead opted to place virtual displays entirely in the pilot's helmet projection, with a touchscreen-based, AR-enhanced glass cockpit for fixed UI elements.

The Sabre II mounts a Sabran Mk 62 Mod 6 35mm electrically-driven revolver cannon with 155 rounds of ammunition as the primary gun armament, a derivative of the highly successful Sabran Protector CIWS system.

The most unique countermeasure is the L-D guided aerial mine, a 60mm steerable gliding fragmentation grenade ejected from a 12-tube launcher between the V-tails, using an automated command guidance system linked to the aircraft's missile warning system to engage chasing missiles. This system's primary purpose is engaging SAMs fired at the retreating aircraft during SEAD operations, but the L-D can also engage air-to-air missiles and has a limited ability to engage aircraft behind the Sabre II in a dogfight*******. The L-D requires no guidance inputs from the pilot, and can either be triggered manually or use an automated engagement mode where it will eject projectiles on identification of a suitable target.

The L-D system is a replacement for the initial project's planned use of a laser based on the Lindstrom Cuirass, with an unclear configuration of emitters said to provide full 360-by-360 coverage. This would have served as both an anti-missile system and replace the aircraft's conventional gun, but while possible on paper, Lindstrom's prototype rig caused intractable thermal problems with scaled-down cooling systems, even setting fire to a balsa wood aircraft mock-up during its first test firing.

During final simulated gunfire / live flight SEAD testing, only the Tarantula self-propelled guns The Spirit of Mercy and The Spirit of Providence successfully engaged the thirty-third Sabre II, 900-70-177, before being attacked, and it was concluded that the aircraft being vulnerable to a near-miss from a simulated 18-inch fragmentation round was not particularly concerning. Expert commentators assume that the method used by the two vehicles to detect 900-70-177 was some novel use of the Tarantula's synchronised battle management system to produce a firing solution for one using data from both; the particulars of this test remain classified. The Black Swan tank involved in the tests persistently failed to engage the aircraft but always shot down the missile fired at it, which the Army considered "a satisfactory compromise."

Alenda upgraded all existing Sabre IIs immediately following the test, suggesting the discovery of a countermeasure to the tactics of the two Tarantulas. A month later the Air Force rather grudgingly approved a request by the commander of Spirit of Mercy to paint a Sabre II kill marking on her turret.

The Sabre II is scheduled to replace the first-generation Dagger stealth attack aircraft entirely, and will eventually replace all Viper fighters currently in service. At the time of Operation Anvil only 35 Sabre IIs existed, and 20 participated in the operation, most engaging enemy SAM radars and tactical ballistic missile control stations. By the Battle of Omar, this had risen to 374 aircraft.

Emera LCB-39

While Emera Industries is normally associated with construction equipment, they are equally a major supplier of agricultural machinery. Emera's line of combine harvesters stretch back to the industrial revolution with the "Emera Automatic Combined Harvester," a steam-powered vehicle build on the chassis of the Zula-3 traction engine.

The LCB-39 is a venerable design sufficiently popular that it is still in production over 40 years after its introduction, though today it is mostly retained in Emera's product line for small farms operating on a tight budget. They are especially common among Alun farmers who regard themselves as Aludrans in the disputed areas on the border, since they do not have a patron noble family to assist with equipment purchases.

This one is red.

*Modern Aludran battleships are of two types; "fast battleships" are focused on speed and stealthy design, while a "Line of Battle Ship" or "Main Battle Ship" completely discards stealth in favour of protection. The Line of Battle Ships are also used to assist carrier aircraft in actually finding the fleet, effectively being passive radar beacons, since Chiran designers are very fond of building missiles that lock on to carrier transponder signals.
**The Shinohara Gear was the main method of Leviship propulsion in the early industrial revolution, designed by Delfi railway pioneer Kimi Shinohara. As a replacement for sails and steam manoeuvring vents on boiler Leviships, she proposed mounting gearboxes outside the hull driven by chains from internal steam engines powered by surplus steam from the Levistone heaters; to these gearboxes, an "air propeller" could be mounted. Shinohara had little experience in aerodynamics and no idea how such a propeller should be formed, and experiments with bronze warship propellers proved less than adequate; for a time Shinohara's ideas were regarded as unworkable. Four years later, the Basram physicist Camilla Serrano wrote a paper describing the theoretical geometry of an aerial propeller and vindicated her. For almost half a century aircraft propellers retained the name "Serrano Propeller."
***At the time, the current generation of Mirrai fighters placed the pilot in an armoured fluid-filled pod at the aircraft's centre of mass, with a simulated 360-degree view. Since Mirrai are adapted to moving in liquid and can focus their eyes underwater, this does not affect them as it would other species. While Mirrai fighters are the only crewed aircraft that can match manoeuvrability with Aludran Griffon drone fighters, they are around thirty times as expensive.
**** The Chiran nickname for the Warhawk is usually translated as either witch or sorceress, but has a connotation of age in Chiran, relating to old folk beliefs in the powers of village wise women.
*****The B-95 Grand Dragon bomber used by Etrusea is a heavy bomber with twenty engines designed by a company that traditionally made Leviships, and its heavy defence variant the B-98ACI Bomber Stream Protector is the only aerodynamic-lift aircraft ever to mount explosive reactive armour.
******While classified as a helicopter, the Mantis is actually a small hybrid Leviship using cylinders of low-grade Levistone to decrease its effective weight. This allows the Mantis to mount far more armour than should be possible given its speed and manoeuvrability. The Tarantula uses a similar low-lift system; here, Levistone increases the mobility of the 370-ton self-propelled gun, with the unintended side-benefit of allowing the vehicle to "walk" on its eight articulated earth anchors by applying maximum power to the Levistone heaters. The first identification of the Mantis as a Leviship occurred during Operation Anvil, when one of the intermeshing-rotor aircraft performed a controlled (if heavy) vertical landing despite the complete destruction of its rotors, while the Tarantula was identified as such on Omar when The Spirit of Providence recovered itself from a large anti-tank ditch by climbing out.
*******Which serves you right for trying to dogfight with a cat.