The KM-256 Shmel is the result of the Alliance aerospace industry to find the perfect balance for a spacebone combat craft, a robust powerful space gunships that have enought enduance and firepower to outclass most single seater aerospace assets.
The reasoning behind this claim is that the Shmel divides the tasks of collecting data tracking and targeting enemies to a crew of 5, pilot, co-pilot, two weapon systems officers and an egineer, the crew that have at their disposal 8 indipendent turrets fo a complete 360° coverage from both enemy aerospace assets, missiles or space debries, a larger craft like a gunship also allows to pack way more robust deflector shields but most importantly to carry an impressive payload of missiles wich are carried in modular detachable pods, that can be replaced with a quartet of multiple wearhead Casaba howitzer packing anti ship missiles.


The standard issue missile pods can carry different payloads but the 4 more common missile types are the following :

- HM-201M a MIRV missile that divides in 5 indipendent missiles with plasma warheads
- DFT-32 a heavy missile with a laser primed fusion warhead that can be oriented to direct the thermonuclear blast in a 45° cone to compensate the lack of manuverability of the munition
- SAM R-77 a single shot high power railgun missile, it closes the gap to the target and it fires a super-velocity volley of AP flechettes
- HM-112 a smaller diameter missile that can be packed in groups of 4 and fired indipendently, the warhead is a tandem design with a ion diruption precursor charge to weaken shields and a follow up plasma munition


Lenght:
24 meters (78 feet)

Armament:
8x turretts with HRE-145 Energun-Pulsar rotary cannon

Equipment:
2x hardpoints for weapons
2x vertical equipment bays
1x secondary cockpit module