Guppy Fighter-Sub – a new vehicle for Blue Planet

The Guppy represents a new development on Poseidon – that of low cost submersible interceptors aimed at a wider market of colonial militias, small Incorporate militaries, and paramilitary organisations of all stripes. This has become possible due to the growing industrial base of colonial settlements, which has begun to reach a point where production capacities may exceed the demand for military subs by the larger, more powerful factions present on the planet. These organisations demanded high-end fighter-subs, such as the Reef Raider and its ilk, which remain out of reach for the smaller players. The Guppy on the other hand is designed and built specifically as a “budget fighter-sub”, holding not much interest for the likes of the GEO or large Incorporates who tended to gobble up the entire output of Poseidon shipyards.

Compared to these advanced interceptors, the Guppy is a slower and slightly less manoeuvrable craft. Due to its increased size and mass, it has an overall lower range and offers enemies a larger target. Its electronic systems are robust, but about a generation behind. Its structural resistance and weapons load are both in line with other models, though, and for the price of one standard fighter-sub a budget-conscious organisation can procure and operate at least one and a half Guppies (almost two when compared to cutting edge designs like the Reef Raider).

The Guppy uses two single shaft MHD drives to increase survivability and make it quicker and easier to maintain. This arrangement also serves to further reduce costs, because the two individual lower performance drives are much cheaper than the costly high-end multi-shaft engines of other interceptors. At the same time, this very fact is what makes the Guppy no match against other fighter-subs in terms of raw power output. Despite the systems being slightly outdated, the Guppy includes a full suite of combat electronics, including ECM systems and a computer assisted targeting, as standard, but no VR cockpit.

In its default configuration the Guppy is equipped to carry up to three full-sized, guided torpedoes on external hardpoints. Further cementing the Guppy’s role as a budget fighter-sub a variant configuration replacing two of these external stores with hard-mounted light torpedo cannons significantly reduces ammunition costs. Due to the placement of these cannons the variant has become known as the “Horned Guppy”.