B-80 Cassandrae
| B-80 "Cassandrae" | |
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| Type: | Reconnaissance / bomber |
| Place of origin: |  Shireroth
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| Date In service: | 1732 AN (planned) |
| Operators: | Shireroth
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| Number produced: | 87 |
| Number in Service: | - 86 / 1,000
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| Designed: | 1723 AN – 1728 AN |
| Manufacturer: | Consortium
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| Length: | 16.3 m |
| Height: | 4.54 m |
| Wingspan: | 16.96 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 × FG-8 turbojet engines |
| Range: |
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| Maximum Altitude: | 21,300 m |
| Speed: | 836 km/h |
| Crew: | 4 (pilot, navigator, weapons officer, flight engineer) |
| Armament: | 2,564 kg of payload can be mounted inside the internal bomb bay and on two underwing hardpoints |
| Sensors and Processing Systems: |
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| Cost: | |
The B-80 Cassandrae is a Shirerithian jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by Tosko Aeroengineering during the 1720's after Norton in response to a requirement from the First Thuylemans Government for a high performance sub-sonic bomber, readily capable of mass production in accordance with the Shirerithian Hegemony Implementation Plan. Among the performance requirements for the type was an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed.
The origins of the B-80 can be traced back to the A-10 Kambera, a ground-attack aircraft ostensibly developed for Shireroth by the ESB Group as a response to the Tee-al menace, but in reality pushed into mass production as a consequence of the Sxiro-Jingdaoese Confrontation. Whilst time and the Kalirion Fracture had robbed the Imperial Forces of its inventory of Kamberas, in some cases literally where the Black Legions had involved themselves, the type informed the performance characteristics that the Thuylemans Government considered desirable for the Imperial Shirerithian Air Forces during their rapid expansion after 1718 AN.
The Shirerithian strategic doctrine under the administration of Louis Thuylemans anticipated two key developments, firstly the departure of Shireroth from the Raspur Pact, and secondly the near simultaneous advent of a major conflict with a near peer rival. As such, and especially if the period of tension which began with the Floria–Shireroth diplomatic conflict was allowed to carry on into the 1730s, the Imperial Republic would require a large and capable bomber force capable of deep strikes into the territory of its main adversary. The development of the B-80 was accordingly undertaken with an eye on the wider geopolitical context, and the looming implicit deadline for bringing the aircraft into service.
The decision to assign the work of developing and manufacturing the B-80 to a consortium of companies in the Western Imperium was not coincidental. Depending on various factors, including how and if the islands of Sathrati had received Imperial garrisons before the commencement of the anticipated major conflict, communications and supply chains between Benacian Shireroth and Greater Kildare could be interdicted. As such, the Imperial Forces might, for a time, be constrained to rely upon locally available armaments, until such time as the industrial might and manpower reserves of Kildare would finally overpower the attempts to blockade the Shire Sea.
Similarly the chosen namesake for the aircraft - Kaiseress Isa IV Cassandrae - was no accident. A sanglorian Kaiserees adopted into the Ayreon-Kalirion dynasty after her death, the name was strongly suggestive of the desire, and resolve, of the Imperial Republic to regain its sundered provinces to the north.
