Faction: Rigellans

Manufacturer: Rigellan Commonwealth

Class: Heavy Bomber

Crew: 17

Acceleration: 80 meters/ second/ second

Length: 68.8 m

Width: 63.12 m

Height: 32.05 m

Armament:

Missile Launcher Class 2, Turret Mounted (x1)

11 missiles, fired at up to 10 individual missiles per second.  Volleys can be any number of remaining missiles. 

Particle Cannon Class 1 (x2)

800 discharges per cannon, fired at 10 discharges per second.

"Tsedef" Armored Scouts have been in Rigellan service for almost 200 years. Long before the Solarans were colonizing Centauri, these hardy spacecraft were making surveys of (what would later be named) New Earth and Thargheld.

"Tsedef" Armored Scouts tend to get an enormous workout, because Rigellan exploration is nearly constant.  As a result, Tsedefs tend to report high rates of equipment failure.  It isn't that their construction isn't durable, it's just that it is in constant use.  The astute Wanderer should therefore take care when undertaking a journey onboard a Tsedef, as maintenance delays are very common.  (In regards to safety, however, Tsedef flights are almost without peer.  These craft can take quite a beating.)

Tsedefs, like most Rigellan craft, employ ion drives for efficiency and long range.  The downside of these drives is that the acceleration afforded by them is no better than average.  Still, ion drives are an excellent choice for craft that must travel long distances with minimal use of expendables.

While not the most graceful of designs, Tsedefs can definitely fly handily in atmosphere. This is especially important in enabling them to handle all aspects of planetary surveys.  Fortunately for Tsedef pilots, the craft has a comprehensive antigrav maneuvering system, with very good artificial intelligence support. This makes landing quite a bit easier, especially when terrain is difficult.

Although these armored scouts "class" in the low end of heavy bombers, their armament is substantially lighter than a true heavy bomber.  Their "bite" is still quite lethal, however, as Rigellans believe in being prepared for significant threats at all times.