Elite:Dangerous. Federal Gunship vs Assault Ship vs Dropship

Basics

All 3 ships are on same frame so they are very similar and have exactly same cockpit but same time there are some differences making those ships completely different. Fastest is Asault Ship, it's also most agile ship from this trio. Dropship is cheapest while Gunship is most expensive. Gunship also has most weapons - 1 large, 4 medium and 2 small, Dropship has 1 large and 4 medium while Assault ship has "only" 2 large and 2 medium - very similar to Imperial Clipper and i must say that Federal Assault Ship is Federation answer to Clipper because those ships are very similar - big hull mass, very agile and fast with 2 large and 2 medium hardpoints, byt there are still many differences and Federal ships are very limited in internal compartment amount thus you will have weaker shields and less shield cell banks but you gain in hull armor strength, hull mass is greater and you can use effectively fixed weapons. At least finally we have a federal ship that is fun to fly.

Ship:	Dropship	Assault Ship	Gunship
Price (maxed out)	14m (136m)	19m (100m)	34m (123m*)
Top Speed	197 m/s	238 m/s	184 m/s
Top Boost	328 m/s	396 m/s	302 m/s
Pitch 360 w 4 PIP	11,2 sec	8,5 sec	13,3 sec
Pitch 360 w 0 PIP	17 sec	10,6 sec	17 sec
Jump range	12,96 LY	15,20 LY	12,27 LY
Hardpoints	1L 4M	2L 2M	1L 4M 2S
Shield	411	383	514
Armor	1050	1050	1225
Max Cargo	164 tonnes	96 tonnes	168 tonnes
Hull Mass	580 tonnes	480 tonnes	580 tonnes

*Military Grade Armor, Dropship and Assault Ship price include Mirrored armor.

Hardpoints

Hardpoint locations are similar for all ships: Gunship and Dropship have exactly same locations for 1 Large and 4 Medium - Large and 2 medium are on the bottom, closer to nose in center, 2 mediums are on sides and you can use very effectively left side and left bottom medium hardpoints for fixed weapons even against very small enemies, so even from close range you can hit with both guns, both small weapons of Gunship are located on top of the ship. I wouldn't use small hardpoints because they are very weak against medium and large ship hull, except if you have spare power.

Assault ship has same placements for bottom weapons - large and 2 medium, second large is on top of the ship where Gunship has it's both small weapons.

Shields and Armor

All three ships have 4 utility mounts, so not many shield boosters can be fitted. Dropship and Gunship has maximum of class 6 internals so class 6 shields, Assault ship only has class 5 so it has weakest shields from all 3 ships, but even Gunship and Dropship have weak shields compared to other similar size ships. Armor is fine for all ships and if you want to make silent runner then Federal Assault ship is a good choice.

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