“Swift, strong, and reliable — it carries life or death alike.”
The Ironback is the backbone of Skarkova’s tactical air operations and transport capabilities. Designed by Skarkovan engineers, it features heavily reinforced armor, light deflector shields, and highly responsive thrusters, allowing it to move quickly through combat zones while withstanding small arms and light energy fire.
Primarily deployed as a troop transport, the Ironback can carry squads of soldiers, cargo, or critical supplies into hostile territory. Its modular design makes it highly adaptable, and the ship is widely exported across League of Independent Systems worlds, often forming the core of any planetary defense or mercenary deployment.
The hull is a rugged, darksteel frame with angular plating, reinforced cockpit glass, and external hardpoints for weapon mounts. Its rear bay features hydraulically assisted loading ramps for rapid troop and cargo deployment.
Armament:
Twin forward-mounted light plasma cannons.
Side-mounted rotary laser turrets for close defense.
Defenses:
Reinforced darksteel hull.
Light deflector shields.
Engines: Quad sublight thrusters with pivoting gimbals for agile maneuvering.
Crew: 2 pilots + up to 12 passengers or 8 fully equipped soldiers.
Role: Dropship, troop support, light gunship.
Purpose: Evacuation and field medical support.
Features: Internal medical bays, cryo-stasis beds, advanced life-support systems, and automated med-drones.
Role: Rapid extraction under fire; capable of providing first aid during transit.
Purpose: Covert insertion and reconnaissance.
Features: Low-emission engines, cloaking dampeners, radar-absorbing hull plating.
Role: Infiltration, ambush, or intelligence operations.
Purpose: Cargo and personnel ferrying.
Features: Enlarged internal hold, reinforced floors, modular rack systems for supplies.
Role: Supply drops, planetary logistics, and evacuation missions.
Purpose: Heavy support for ground assaults.
Features: Roof-mounted missile pods, side-mounted heavy plasma cannons, reinforced front plating.
Role: Targeting armored vehicles and fortified positions.
Purpose: Close air support in dense battlefields.
Features: Twin rapid-fire blaster turrets, grenade launchers, and suppression drones.
Role: Suppressing enemy infantry, clearing landing zones.
Purpose: Command and control in field operations.
Features: Advanced holo-comm suites, encrypted data uplinks, battlefield sensor arrays.
Role: Coordinating strikes, relaying intelligence, directing squad movements.
Purpose: Electronic warfare and disruption.
Features: ECM generators, signal jammers, EMP pulse emitters.
Role: Disrupting enemy communications, shields, and targeting systems.
The Ironback is a point of pride among Skarkovan pilots and engineers, symbolizing the ingenuity and resilience of their world. Pilots often personalize their gunships with clan markings, painted motifs, or engraved names of battles and heroes.
In the field, Ironbacks move like predatory beasts, swooping into battle zones to deliver troops or supplies and darting away before heavier forces can react. Skarkova’s mercenary culture emphasizes adaptability, and as a result, Ironbacks are common sights across L.I.S. member worlds, serving with everyone from elite mercenary bands to planetary defense militias.