Changjiang Yun-30 (FT)

An extreme adaptation of the drop pod concept, the Yun-30 was designed to rapidly ferry ground forces from orbit to terrestrial battlefields during the early stages of a space-to-surface operation. Other than deploying ground forces, the Yun-30 has also seen use as a utility shuttle. It is nicknamed the "castle" by Revolutionary People's Army personnel.

Development and design
Designed by the 302nd Design Bureau of Zhushan's People's Aerospace Development Institute, the Yun-30 was conceived with the single purpose of ferrying ground forces from orbit to the surface, and then returning to orbit to pick up the next wave of troops. The simplistic role of the Yun-30 was partly a reaction to the increasing complexity of dropship technology in the ongoing arms race within the Human Sphere, with dropships increasingly taking on the role of in-atmosphere air transport and close air support gunships in addition to their primary role of landing ground forces from orbit.

The Union's member states were not lagging behind their counterparts in the Empire and the Federation in the development of dropships, with the Antillian AdT-17 later becoming widely regarded as one of the best dropships in the Second Hyperpower War. However, the increased complexity and demands made of the platform resulted in the AdT-17 having a high unit cost, limiting the ability for Union member states to field the required numbers of dropships to support space-to-ground operations. The value of each dropship also meant that inevitable losses during extremely dangerous landing operations were costly.

In this context, the Zhushani engineers chose to design a dropship that was entirely focused on the deployment of troops, abandoning almost all other capabilities to create a cheap and simple landing craft that could rapidly ferry first-wave troops to the ground.

The Yun-30 is a 32 metre-long aerospacecraft equipped with four fusion-powered thrusters, which are used for thrust in space and during surface-to-space launches, as well as providing retrograde during landings. Each Yun-30 is armoured against small-arms fire up to 30 mm, and also includes the typical passive electronic countermeasures and active countermeasures like flares and counter-projectiles. A crew of two to six personnel operate the craft from a command deck located above the single cargo deck. The cargo deck is able to seat 60 troops on drop-down seats along the bulkheads and on collapsible benches. With a carrying capacity of 80,000 kg, the Yun-30 can carry two light vehicles, one frontline tank, or any other assortment of cargo as required.

Despite its design origins which aimed to simplify its capabilities as a dropship, the Yun-30 is surprisingly well armed. A single dorsal Project 730 21.6 mm CIWS is able to provide heavy fire support for troops once the dropship is on the ground, allowing the dropship to provide covering fire for disembarking troops or act as an air-defence emplacement for the drop zone. In addition, four remote weapons mounts are located on each top corner of the Yun-30, capable of mounting QTJ-15 heavy machine guns or missile launchers. Typical combat loadouts equip the Yun-30 with two machine guns and one eight-cell missile launcher.

Bristling with weapons and protected against small arms fire, the Yun-30 is an imposing force when it lands on the battlefield, and Revolutionary People's Army soldiers have thus nicknamed the Yun-30 "castle". The nickname also gained widespread use during the Second Hyperpower War, wen landed Yun-30s were occasionally converted into forward command centres, barracks, casualty collection points, or more, a practice which has entered official United Front doctrine due to the ubiquity of the dropship type. Imperial forces also encountered a defence line that was anchored by a Yun-30 converted into a fortress-style bunker.

In space, Yun-30s have also been used as utility shuttles or personnel transport ships.

The success of the Yun-30 design during the war led to the Federation essentially copying the design wholesale with the highly similar UV-49 Marauder.

Specifications
General characteristics


 * Crew: 2-7 (Commander, Co-Pilot, 1-4 gunners, Loadmaster)
 * Length: 32 m
 * Height: 16.79 m
 * Powerplant: 1 × Zinoviev D-58 Fusion Reactor (Block A to D1); 1 × Baiyun WS-68S Fusion Reactor (Block D3 to K)

Armament


 * Guns: 1 × Project 730 21.6 mm CIWS
 * Turrets: 4 remote weapons stations capable of mounting
 * QTJ-15 heavy machine gun
 * Missile launchers

Complement
 * Passengers
 * 60 troops
 * Vehicles
 * 2 light vehicles (i.e. utility vehicles, light walkers)
 * 1 frontline tank
 * 80,000 kg of cargo