Diamondback Explorer
Combat Explorer

Description

The Diamondback Explorer was Lakon Spaceways' response to criticism of the original Diamondback ship class. By extending the ship's frame it allowed greater cargo capacity and so greater mission variety and endurance. It also brought the ship more into line as a smaller brother to the successful Asp line although at much more modest price range. The Explorer model can fulfil the same roles as its companion ship type, but also able to operate as a fast transport and resupply vessel useful for supporting deep space operations in a hostile environment.

The Diamondback Explorer is a combat exploration ship with good hardpoint placement, excellent heat efficiency, and a very long jump range, second only to the Asp and Anaconda. The larger brother of the Diamondback Scout, the Explorer boasts more internal space, better firepower, and greater mission flexibility via the extension of the ship's frame and replacement of two small hardpoints for a single large hardpoint. The Explorer is a useful stop-gap to fill the role of combat and/or exploration ship for those wanting to move beyond cheaper ships like the Cobra Mk. III but more affordable than the Asp Explorer.

The Diamondback Explorer is very effective in both exploration and combat roles, though limited internal space limits many multipurpose outfitting options (i.e.- Pirating/Smuggling), in favor of a more dedicated single task. The ship is equipped with fully animated tilting-wing and engine assemblies which rotate in and out of position when the landing gear is deployed or retracted.

The Diamondback Explorer shares the same maximum powerplant class limitation as the Diamondback Scout, while having more internal compartments and a larger offensive armament. These factors lead to the Diamondback Explorer having more power management issues with some loadouts. Thanks to the ability to fit a class 5 FSD and a 32-ton Fuel Tank, this ship is excellent for exploration, surpassed in jump range only by the Asp Explorer (<1 Ly), and the Anaconda. Even with a full combat outfit, the ship maintains an impressive jump range. This allows the ship to undertake long distance travel while still being able to defend itself and thus ideal for long-range travel into hostile territory, for Missions, as a forward scouting ship, or as a rescue ship with fuel limpets.

This ship is quite heavy for its size, and is currently the largest hull mass ship capable of utilizing small landing pads. While this has the benefit of making it harder to mass-lock than similar ships of its size, it makes the ship significantly less agile than its smaller brother, the Diamondback Scout, and even some ships larger than itself. However the Explorer isn't completely unwieldy - with gimballed weapons it can reliably keep weapons on target on all but the most agile of enemies. The Diamondback Explorer is not well suited for mining, as the lack of internal compartment space and higher price when compared to other ships make it a less than ideal mining platform.