If you think Caterpillar is the end of Drake’s exploration in Star Citizen’s cargo hauling gameplay, you are dead wrong! Ironclad is the latest product from Drake, aiming to take the cargo game to the next level for those who doesn’t seem to be happy with the amount of space that Caterpillar delivers.
Sitting somewhere between Caterpillar and Hull-C in the amount of available space, Ironclad is like a massive flying brick with a single integrated cargo bay in front that can be accessed both from a big ramp and from above, thanks to its retractable roof.
This incredibly design makes loading and unloading of cargo pretty easy, as the tractor beam operators sit right above the roof of the cargo bay, and with the roof retracted, they can easily handle the cargo inside the ship.
This is a huge benefit over something like Caterpillar, where the total space is divided by different sections, which doesn’t allow to use the full potential of the ship’s massive space.
While Ironclad’s cargo bay is not a hangar specifically, but we can see in the concept images that you can indeed fit smaller ships like C8X Pisces into the cargo bay.
Drake Ironclad Specs And Stats
- Ironclad Standard:
- Pledge Price: $450 (Normal) / $400 (Warbond)
- Cargo Space: 1536 SCU
- Length/Width/Height: 120x52x20 meters
- Turrets:
- 1x Size-5 (Manual)
- 1x Size-3 (Manual)
- 2x Size-3 (Remote)
- Ironclad Assault:
- Pledge Price: $535 (Normal) / $475 (Warbond)
- Cargo Space: 1152 SCU
- Length/Width/Height: 120x52x20 meters
- Turrets:
- 1x Size-5 Quad (Manned)
- 2x Size-3 Quad (Remote)
- 2x Size-3 (Remote)
- 1x Size-3 (Manned)
- Ironclad Standard & Assault Bundle:
- Pledge Price: $925 (Normal) / $835 (Warbond)
Similar to Caterpillar, the pilot cabin is located on a secluded part on the left side of Ironclad, and it has the ability to detach itself from the entire ship, in case you want to save yourself from death even for the price of sacrificing the cargo.
That being said, Ironclad is not an easy ship to deal with when a full crew is boarding it. The base model of the ship comes with multiple turrets in the front and back to deal with threats. Then also comes a military variant of Ironclad with more defensive systems that come at the cost of losing some cargo space.
Currently, there is no official release window for Drake Ironclad. We have no clue how much it will cost, but it is surely the next big step for cargo haulers in the verse who are looking for something more convenient that can land anywhere and deliver cargo to any spot, rather than something like Hull-C that is not suitable for all cargo destinations.
The good news is that the arrival of Ironclad will ease and speed up the development of the Drake Kraken, according to CIG’s John Crewe, as both ships use similar design language.
In the end, take a look at some screenshots from the Ironclad, while patiently waiting for its anticipated release!
