Design CharacteristicsThe vehicle uses a single
CF6 turbofan to power it, which is placed in the center of the vehicle, near the front, in order to absorb air. The fuel exhaust is then directed through several fuselage tubes, four of which, which lead to multiple point thrust vectors in order to provide gyro stabilization for the vehicle while in flight. This engine possess similar characteristics in performance to the
Boeing 767.
The vehicle uses gyro stabilization software and hardware similar to that on the V-22 and other similiar vehicles. The thrust vectors are semi-flexible and can vent the exhaust in any desirable direction.
Because the engine is in the front of the vehicle (in the middle, and is exposed to the outside air) and vents the thrust in various directions, the engine does not suffer from typical oxygen exhaustion most VTOL aircraft suffer from. In addition, 1000 pounds of
NOS is present in the vehicle, and is capable of being burned in case of potential oxygen deficiencies in the case of crashes. Because the exhaust is already hot and does not need to burn, it can in large part be directed in any desirable direction. The direction is capable of 210 degrees, in any direction thrust vectoring on all main four exhaust ports.
The vehicle, in it's standard condition, can carry an array of 48 soldiers, and 1 M90 Scorpion, 2 MRAP, 4 FED BRAVO's or 8-10 HUMVEE's, 4-5 unmanned tanks, 4 155m howitzers, or 13 105mm howitzers. With an extra cargo hold present, the vehicle can carry a total of 138 standing, 6 x 23 soldiers, roughly 24 feet across by 70 feet long. Without this, the vehicle can only carry 48 standing/sitting soldiers, or a total of 16 sitting soldiers (8 on each side).
The armor on the vehicle is quite large. The engine takes up roughly 4 tons, while the thrust vectoring tons up another 4 tons, and various other parts of the vehicle take up another 4 tons. For the size of the cargo bay, this is not necessarily large (except when extended). Much of the weight is taken up by high grade armor, which on the outside is similiar to the Apache AH-64 helicopter, and can deflect .50 caliber rounds with ease. The inner part of the armor is chobam silicon carbide armor, which is capable of deflecting a single 40mm in tandem with the outside armor. Each tile is roughly 4 x 4 inches and surrounding tiles are relatively unaffected by the impact of various rounds. While it can survive hits from larger rounds, such as the 57mm anti-aircraft rounds, it can penetrate the hull and as a result is likely to cause damage to the individuals inside. The pilots of the vehicle are fully shielding from such rounds, however, and also have a titanium tub similar to the A-10 warthog present.
Due to design problems and complicated gyro stabilization, each vehicle varies from 60-100 million dollars in cost. While expensive, there is hardly any other vehicle of it's type. The vehicle also consumes vast quantities of high grade jet liner fuel, using around 1800 gallons per trip, compared to only a few hundred in helicopters.
