Aphid-class Transport Frigate

The Aphid-class transport frigates, or Aphids, are a series of small, lightly armed cargo ships widely used due to their versatility and durability. Capable of deflecting small arms fire and a limited exposure to light anti-ship fire, Aphids were the most common light-transport vessel used in the Milky Way from the mid-First Era to the late-Second Era.

Description
The Aphid's primary schematics changed remarkably little over its millenium of popularity. The Aphid Series One, through Series Five, measured a mere 100 meters in length, 35 meters width, and 35 meters height at its structural extremes. The Aphid Series 6, the most popular and heavily manufactured model released in 52 S.E., grew to 110m x 35m x 35m, but increased its cargo volume capacity by nearly 15,000 cubic meters thanks to an efficient redesign of the cabin and crew areas. Subsequent series of Aphids would retain the same schematics.

Design
The Aphid was originally designed to offer a highly versatile light-transport vessel to both civilian and military organizations operating in potentially hazardous conditions. Intended to both replace the heavily conventional-armored transport runners of early-First Era militaries and alleviate the need for civilian transports to operate strictly under armed escort, the ships met instant success with not only their target demographic, but with pilots and transportation firms generally.

The Dirge Corporation advertised the Aphid Series One as larger, yet lighter, nimbler, and more durable than other light-transport ships at market in 483 F.E., when the Aphid was introduced. Indeed, the Aphid Series One boasted a 23% greater cargo volume capacity than the then-popular conventionally-armored Shellrunner Mk.III and a 16% higher top-speed than the best-selling civilian light transport ship, the Lockheed-Boeing Econostar.

Construction
The first three series of the Aphid were constructed exclusively at the Dirge Mancturing Complex on the planet Ghad. However, due to frequent strikes by unions on Ghad and an increasingly sprawling Milky Way market, the Dirge Corp. opened new production lines on Bubba's Junction (only briefly) and Xolrak with the introduction of the Aphid Series Four. Dirge again opened new production lines with the rampant success of the Series Six, expanding the company's industrial footprint to every major grouping of planets in the Milky Way.

From the introduction of the Series One to the present-day Series Nine, it is estimated that the Dirge Corporation and its subsidiaries have manufacutred and sold over 20 billion Aphid-class ships.

Propulsion
Series One through Series Four utilized dual, rear-mounted solar-powered ion-burst engines, a marked improvement over the standard ion-thrust engines dominate at the time of the Series One introduction, which lacked anything that might be respectfully referred to as acceleration. The Series Five added a single ion-thrust engine to the rear chassis to grant better fuel efficiency or higher speed in longer transit.

The Series Six utilized four adjustable Jolly-Heyward photon-ion hybrid engines, mounted not on the rear but against the fuselage just behind the atmospheric wings. The increase in engine count to four again increased speed, while the swap to photon-ion increased fuel efficiency. The relocation of the thrusters away from the rear greatly increased the ship's turn speed and overall maneuverability. This general layout, with some minor upgrades and modifications, persists to the present-day models of the Aphid.

Armament and Protection
Aphid-class ships are armed with two light laser batteries located just above the cabin and just beneath the rear cargo hold, of varying discharge and manufacturer depending on the series. Clever pilots have also been known to utilize the ship's static-field tow system to disrupt hostile vessels or, in more than one recorded case, sling space debris into enemies.

Series One through Six of the Aphid utilized a reinforced titanium-carbon hull, with thick points located at the rear and where the atmospheric wings meet the fuselage. Starting with Series Seven, the Dirge Corp. switched over to a thin carbon-nanite hull, which decreased weight without loss of protection, but increased cost of production. Upon the introduction of the Aphid Series One, the Aphid enjoyed substantially less conventional plating protection.

The hallmark of the Aphid, however, is its 2 mW Emerald-class Light Shielding Unit, the first energy-based shield introduced to a light transport vessel. When first produced by Dirge Corp., the Emerald was by far the lightest, lowest-consumption shield ever produced; existing shields at the time of the Series One's production were of such scale that they were reserves strictly for heavy transport freighters and warships. Though the Emerald is too weak to repel anything more than a brief exposure to light ship fire, it completely eliminates the threat of small arms and conventional explosives. At the time of the Series One's introduction, small arms fire constituted over 90% of weapon-based transport ship damage, as pirates and hostile forces typically only attacked when transport ships neared landing. By the introduction of the Series Six, which saw an upgrade to a 5 mW unit, damage to transport ships due to small arms fire was reduced to negligible levels.

Shortcomings
Though generally capable, flaws did exist among each series of Aphids. The lack of central-rear thrust prior to the Series Six ensured that if any one engine failed, the ship was effectively disabled, as the remaining operating engine, if used, would cause the ship to list in one direction to an degree that the ship's navigation thrusters could not remedy.

Prior to the Series Four, the lack of either real or digital omni-directional line-of-sight from the bridge was the leading complaint of pilots. Instead the ship relied exclusively on its hazard-response AI and text reports to deal with emminent threats outside of the pilot's anticipated vision. The Dirge Corporation first offered digital omni-directional line-of-sight as an option with the Series Five and incorporated as part of the standard package from the Series Six onward.

Emergency bridge detatchment is a feature included in some ships roughly equal to the Aphid in size, but is not offered in any series of the vessel. Though various governing bodies called upon Dirge to incorporate it as a luxury option, the company declined to do so, citing the rarity of actual detachments, even where possible or advisable, and low demand.

Present Market
The Aphid Series, as a whole, retains the largest market share of light transport vessels today, but that share has declined in recent centuries due to improved competition. Of all Aphids to still exist in part or total operation, leading market analysts estimate that roughly 45% are from the Series Six, despite its tremendous age, thanks to its considerable upgrades over earlier series, the lack of equally considerable advances in subsequent series, and its ease of maintenance.

At present, the Aphid X is the third most popular newly produced light transport vessel (for which records are published) at market, trailing the less expensive Sabin TN405 and the Stolco "Bubba's Classic", favored among smugglers for its high speed and cloaking capabilities.