Noval's Wing Drones are a key component of the Banshee-class Strike Frame. It provides thrust, shielding, and weaponry for the craft as an integral part of its systems.

Wing Drones can be used by other Frames within the NDC, provided that they are equipped with an Orchestra system.

A Wing Drone units serve a number of functions. Each drone has its own thrust and energy generation capabilities ¹⁾, shield units, and weapon systems.

For the majority of their operating time, the Wing Drones remain 'latched' to the frame by way of the Orchestra system. Using the Wing Drones as vectorable thrusters gives the pilot incredible control over the frame's maneuverability. For example, a Banshee can turn exceptionally swiftly by placing two Wing Drones near the frame itself and using them to thrust in opposite directions. For greater precision, the Wing Drones can be placed near the perimeter of the Orchestra's affect zone and used in much the same way.

Aether power and thrust are provided primarily by a pair of NH-M-M5 Magnetically Attenuated Plasma Scramjet "MAPS". A bank of four BW-PC-1A Plasma Core provide supplemental and backup power, should aether be unavailable.

An advanced Machine Intelligence controls the Wing Drone that works in tandem with the equipped Frame. The drone can accept simple commands, such as 'defend me' or 'attack this target'. They can also be controlled in a more direct fashion, with the equipped Frame and its pilot providing all instructions.

The Wing Drones' shields can be used for spot protection, providing additional barriers against attack. The drones are programmed to avoid taking a direct hit, instead using their non-conformal shields in such a way that if they are penetrated the attack would still miss the drone itself. In the case of an emergency, the Drone can be used to intercept an attack directly.

Weapon functions are provided by hundreds of SCALEs. These small devices can reconfigure themselves to form various weapons, allowing the Wing Drones to fire a single, powerful blast, or dozens of small blasts. They also provide the equipped frame with countermeasures against missiles and other kinetic weaponry.

The Wing Drone's SCALEs can also be used to create small maneuverability thrusters on the fly, making the drone surprisingly evasive.

The Wing Drone is a variable weapons platform and thrust unit that operates much like a small, unmanned fighter. The drone's SCALEs can be configured to act as one powerful weapon or a number of less powerful ones. It takes an average of two seconds for the SCALEs to reconfigure, after which time sufficient energy is available to allow them to resume firing.

• Wing Drone (SCALE-based Weaponry; Thin, electric teal beams that curve towards their target after firing)
  • Weapon modes (select one):
    • 1x T9 Heavy Anti-Mecha (600,000 km range; RoF 1 shot every 2 seconds)
    • 2x T8 Medium Anti-Mecha (400,000 km range; RoF 1 shot/second per weapon)
    • 8x T6 Heavy Anti-Armor (300,000 km range; RoF 2 shots/second per weapon)
  • 4x T5 Medium Anti-Armor (40,000 km range; RoF 10 shots/second per weapon) [Point Defense]

See Damage Rating (Version 3) for an explanation of the damage system.

• Body/Shields: Tier 6 (Light Mecha, Lightly Armored)

• Air speed: Mach 3.2
• Sublight speed: .425c

Wing Drones take commands via a secure, encrypted connection to their host Frame. They ignore commands or requests from any other external source unless they've been placed into maintenance mode, which can only be activated by physical contact inside of a maintenance panel on the drone.

The drones are hardened against electromagnetic interference and other forms of attack that might prevent them from operating normally.

Whisper created this article on 2020/12/21 09:45.

This article was created largely to simplify the Banshee's article.

Approved by Syaoran on 12/26/2020