Federal Dropship
Developed by Core Dynamics, the Federal Dropship is a versatile combat vessel widely used by the Federal Navy. Boasting one large and four medium hardpoints, the vessel can contend even with larger ships such as the Python, while its two military compartments allow the pilot to enhance the ship's defensive profile.
— In-Game Description
The Federal Dropship is a military ship produced for the Federation by Core Dynamics. Pilots must earn the rank of Midshipman with the Federal Navy before they are permitted to purchase it. The Federal Dropship has excellent hardpoint placement, and is known for its ability to remain functioning even when the hull is at very low integrity thanks to its module protection.
Overview
The Federal Dropship is generally available for purchase at Stations controlled by minor factions that are aligned with the Federation. Systems controlled by Federal President Zachary Hudson are guaranteed to have the Dropship on hand, along with other Core Dynamics vessels. Its body shape and design is shared with the Assault and Gunship, sometimes making it difficult to tell them apart at a glance. The Dropship is the cheapest of the three and the lowest needed federal rank.
The Dropship is a very good combat vessel. Featuring a large hardpoint and 4 medium hardpoints it has no trouble dealing with ships lower than its price and can put up a good fight against even higher tier ships like Pythons. Furthermore, the Dropship has above average armour as well as two military compartments for extra defense making it bulky. It suffers from low shielding and has rather poor mobility so it is poor against nimble ships like Vultures. Overall the Dropship is a respectable ship for both a Bounty Hunter or Pirate.
As a Trader, the Dropship has 164T of space to haul cargo. This is very good for a medium ship; and is the fifth best of all non-large ships. Combined with its impressive defense, even when unshielded and ability to easily dodge interdictions the Dropship can be a very appealing trade ship. The biggest downside is its very low jump range, especially when fully laden which may make trade options very limited.
As an explorer, the dropship is notorious as one of the worst ships in the role with a poor jump range of 19.66LY or so, the second lowest jump range in the game, being only a fraction higher than the Federal Gunship. Needless to say, the Dropship is a poor choice as an exploration vessel and its terrible jump range can make both trading and chasing bounties very cumbersome, especially as the ship will be weighed down further with combat modules or cargo. Engineering the Dropship is almost mandatory.
The Dropship is an excellent miner. 4 Medium hardpoints for one of each mining tool, while retaining a large hardpoint for self defense, small size, great cargo space and good defences make the Dropship a fantastic miner and can be a miner's next stepping stone after the Keelback. Its only downsides are its lack of an SLF and its terrible jump range, which can make reaching specific mining points tricky.
Overall the Dropship sacrifices some combat aspects to be better at trading and mining. The biggest downsides the ship suffers are its miserable jump range and its required federation rank. However, its price tag lets it be a good stepping stone ship, as there are no other medium ships in its range without required military ranks.
The weapon hardpoints are located as follows: Two side-mounted Class 2 Medium hardpoints in front of the lower wing (One each side), two bottom-mounted Class 2 Medium hardpoints located slightly behind the point at which the front fuselage tapering ends (One on each side of the underside), and One bottom mounted Class 3 Large hardpoint located under the nose of the ship and slightly forward of where the front fuselage tapering ends. Although all hardpoints have good to excellent fields of fire when fitted with turrets, the side mounted hardpoints benefit the most from turrets.
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | Always available | 10% discount |
| Brestla | i Sola Prospect | Always available | 20% surcharge |
| G 35-15 | Kirchoff Hub | Feb. 03, 2020 | 15% discount |
| Dinda | Mount Sunday | Feb. 03, 2020 | 15% discount |
| Met 20 | Brady Ring | Feb. 03, 2020 | 15% discount |
| Ix | Scully-Power Station | Feb. 03, 2020 | 15% discount |
| Duamta | Wang City | Feb. 03, 2020 | |
| Procyon | Hardwick Station | Feb. 03, 2020 | |
| Dulos | Wilson Ring | Feb. 03, 2020 | |
| Beta-3 Tucani | Bakewell Platform | Feb. 03, 2020 | |
| Gliese 563.1 | Matteucci Ring | Feb. 03, 2020 | |
| CR Draconis | Andreas Horizons | Feb. 03, 2020 |
Outfitting
- Main article: Outfitting
All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Federal Dropship.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Hardpoint | Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Large Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 3 |
| Utility Mount | Empty | -- | -- | 0 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Bulkheads | Lightweight Alloys | I | 1 | 8 |
| Reactor Bay | Power Plant | E | 6 | 6 |
| Thrusters Mounting | Thrusters | E | 6 | 6 |
| Frame Shift Drive Housing | Frame Shift Drive | E | 5 | 5 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 5 | 5 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 6 | 6 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 4 | 4 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x16] | C | 4 | 4 |
| Internal Compartments | Cargo Rack [x32] | E | 5 | 6 |
| Cargo Rack [x16] | E | 4 | 5 | |
| Shield Generator | E | 5 | 5 | |
| Cargo Rack [x8] | E | 3 | 4 | |
| Empty (M) | -- | -- | 4 | |
| Empty (M) | -- | -- | 4 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Supercruise Assist | E | 1 | 1 | |
| Planetary Approach Suite (H) | I | 1 | 1 |
- (L) = Loaned Module
- [x#] = Capacity
- (H) = Requires Elite Dangerous: Horizons, reserved solely for Planetary Approach Suite
- (M) = Military Compartment reserved for Hull Reinforcement Package, Module Reinforcement Package, or Shield Cell Bank
Trivia
- "Dropship" is a science fiction term for a type of orbit-to-planet military "landing craft", by analogy to those deployed from ships to land.
- "Drop-shipping" is also the practice of transferring goods directly to a customer, among other aspects. This could explain the ship's high cargo capacity and lack of Fighter Hangar.
- The wings on the Dropship are front-swept, which is seen on some aircraft and helps with lift.
Videos
Gallery
- Federal Dropship
- Federal Dropship
- Cockpit
- High Res Screenshot of a FDS in a Coriolis Hangar
- E-D Federal Dropship - Hangar Frontal View - High Res.jpg
- E-D Federal Dropship - Hangar Aft Side View - High Res.jpg
- E-D Federal Dropship - Hangar Left Side View - High Res
- E-D Federal Dropship - Sunglare-Aft Bottom View with Hardpoints deployed - High Res
- E-D Federal Dropship - Sunglare-Aft Top Side View - High Res
- E-D Federal Dropship - Sunglare-Front Bottom Side View with Weapons Deployed - High Res
- E-D Federal Dropship - Sunglare-Front Bottom Side View with Weapons Deployed II- High Res
- Top radiator banks exposed
- side radiator banks exposed
- Close-up of Cockpit exterior
- Federal Dropship
- FDS on the hunt for pirates
- Federal DropShip
- Federal Dropship
Core Dynamics Federal Dropship Blueprint- Federal Dropship with Midnight Black paint in a planetary ring
- Federal Dropship and a planet
- Federal Dropship cockpit
- Federal Dropship and a planet
- Federal Dropship cockpit front
Core Dynamics Federal Dropship art
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