Designation: Zentraedi Nauglar Nodral In-flight Tanker

I. Dimensions:

Length :	74.6m
Width :	120m
Height :	30.3m
Weight :	1632 metric tons (empty)

II. Type:

• Design: Nauglar design bureau.
• Builder: Numerous shipyards in the Tirolian Mercantile Empire
• type: Two man in-flight refueling spacecraft.

III. Service History:

• Served with all arms of the Regular Zentraedi Forces and Border Fleets from 1751 onwards.

IV. Propulsion:

• Main power system: Zorrelev-3325-Distsvan protoculture-fueled Reflex furnace cluster. The powerplant of a Nauglar Nodral class vessel can nominally deliver up to 205 Gigawatts of power, and can operate for 75 minutes at maximum power before overheat initiates auto-shutdown.
• Main engines: Four Varretszal type 11 plasma-shock expansion engines mounted in the rear facing aft. The maximum output of each thruster is 75.2 GN.
• Attitude control system: Ten maneuvering and attitude thruster clusters. Two are located on both the ventral, dorsal, front and rear, and one on each flank.
• Planetary Capabilities: The Nauglar Nodral is not capable of planetary or atmospheric operations.

V. Performance:

• Maximum acceleration: 2 gravities with transfer fuel tanks empty.
• Delta-v capacity:: 10.4 kps.
• The dry stores endurance is two days maximum. After this time, the Nauglar Nodral will have to restock its supplies.
• The Reflex furnace can function for about 12 years at normal usage levels before an energizer rebuild is necessary.

VI. Sensory Systems:

Radar tracking:

• VTA1-SS (*) phased array radar with spherical coverage, for various scan/track, targeting, mapping, reconnaissance and navigation functions.

Optical tracking:

• VTA1-SS Multi-band digital camera system, for medium range all attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet band detection and tracking.

Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):

• VTA1-SS Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• VTA1-SS Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
• VTA1-SS Active sensor jammer system
• VTA1-SS Chaff and flare dispenser

(*) Terran designation. The Tirolian designers considered the sensors part of the design and did not assign separate designations for these systems.

VII. Armament:

• None.

VIII. Armor:

The armor of the Nauglar Nodral is composed of an advanced titanium-steel alloy. The armor stops all small arms and heavy infantry weapons fire, provides reasonable resistance to light mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Zentraedi 22.3mm HE autocannon round, and poor resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Valkyrie's 55mm APFSDS round.

The Nauglar Nodral, as a spacecraft, has a sealed cockpit that provides full protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards,. The internal consumables supplies can provide atmosphere for two days maximum.

IX. Development:

The Nauglar Nodral provided the Zentraedi mechanized forces stationed on the large battlecruisers and space stations with a means of increasing their effective range with several orders of magnitude, by refueling them with new reaction mass after accelerating or after combat. In order to do so, the Nauglar Nodral had four large tanks, which could hold a maximum of 1492 tons of reaction mass, and transfer this to pods such as the Regult (or any other mecha) four at a time.

The tanker was designed for its task, with four large reaction mass tanks on the flanks, a cockpit in the middle and the engines and other systems forming the hull between tanks and cockpit. Four coupling locations were installed, two on the ventral and two on the dorsal, just inside of each tank. The receiving Zentraedi mecha would position itself near the tanker over the coupling point, after which the actual probe would telescope on a movable arm from the tanker, and automatically connect in the port on the mecha. Transferring fuel was then accomplished in less than a minute for each mecha.

The Nauglar Nodral was not adopted by the RDF, but the docking principle was later adapted for the tanker pod of the Horizont transport.

See additional design notes.

Return to Zentraedi auxiliary Aircraft Index.

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