Valkyrie industries is really not much of a company. It's more of a private venture... And a highly unusual one, at that.

A female elf, or at least a member of a subspecies of the Elven race, was exiled from her homeworld to Rifts Earth by one of the major governments there after her used of banned, advanced war technologies to crush the largely magical kingdoms surrounding her own.... However, she was about to secret upon her person a computer containing the full blueprints for four military combat designs that had served her Technocracy well; Also, there were two designs for relatively new technology; One, shielding, and the other a potentially deadly heavy ground weapon.. The Bi-Magnetic Beam Cannon.

After arriving on the North American continent, she met up with an evil mage from the Federation of Magic, who had a bone to pick with the Coalition. She didn't like that government, either, but recognized that the principle threat to humanoid races on Earth was the Splugorth, not the Coalition.

During their travels, which traversed most of the North American continent, Kalyaran Su'ehlestai, as she was known, came across the ruins of the USAF museum; Though most of the aircraft and exhibits were utterly destroyed in the Rifts, one set perfectly intact. The XB-70 Valkyrie prototype, recently restored before the coming of the Rifts with the latest preservation technology. Kalyaran, fascinated by the design and it's history, which she was able to recover from displays around it, convinced her Mage "friend" to magically teleport it, and themselves, back to a largely intact secret Boeing manufacturing facility, designed for limited production of prototypes, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest which they had discovered earlier in their travels.

Once that was done, she did away with her friend, secretly loathing magic just as much if not more than Karl Prosek does (She actually admires the man for his anti-magic stance, but considering her own alien, D-Bee status, hates him for his complete, unyielding intolerance.)

Gathering together an assortment of technicians and designers who don't care about the potential uses of their equipment, and using her own considerable knowledge of aircraft design, they worked together on the XB-70 Valkyrie prototype, using a combination of ripped off NGR/TRIAX technology and several designs and concepts brought from Kalyaran's homeworld, was rebuilt into the prototype for the new LRB-70 Valkyrie design.

The design intent was clear; The massive bomber was intended to carry, at high speeds and high altitudes, an awesome load of smart cruise-missiles or simply incredible, high powered thermonuclear devices in the form of gravity bombs with yields of dozens of megatons; Or in the case of a weapon similar to the ultimate form of the Soviet "Tsar Bomba", up to 150 megatons.

Also, it was to be reasonably capable of defending it's self from an attack by enemy fighters or other such threats, in terms of defensive weaponry, while still carrying that death-dealing bomb load and the speed and the "New Type" shielding that had been developed by scientists from Kalyaran's homeworld, and she took the designs for, which is the primary defense.

After converting the prototype to MDC levels and technology, Kalyaran and her Valkyrie industries have proceeded to build two more, with one more under construction and the materials for a fourth available. It is planned to sell three of the full LRB-70 Valkyries; That will give Valkyrie industries enough money, when combined with that from planned sales of their other designs, when diverted back into the acquiring of new construction materials, to begin (Though perhaps optimistically), an eventual addition 36 of the bombers. One of the production models and the converted prototype will remain in their hands, to provide an awesome counterstrike should anyone try to seize the craft by force, if the base at which they are built is ever located.

Kalyaran plans to introduce a light multi-purpose fighter design, a land/sea robot design, along with a mountable variable shielding system based on the "New type" shields of the LRB-70, along with fixed-mount defensive Bi-Magnetic Beam Weapons, and both multipurpose lightweight infantry rifle and personal body armor based on the four blueprints and two designs she brought with her, and some prototypes are already in service here defending the facilities, though her desire to construct more of the craft as a destabilizing influence on Rifts Earth that could allow her to get back into the "Wonderful game of politics", is her principle goal at the moment. Still, she was some question of letting the overpowered bombers into the hands of others.

Possibly because of raids for nuclear materials from the old Bangor USN installation in Washington State, and the Hanford site, along with other reactors in the area, Kalyaran and Valkyrie industries was able to get a quantity of most of the materials needed to create bombs. She also has small amount the other materials needed such as Tritium and has constructed some free fall hydrogen bombs to go along with the bombers. However, no plans have been made to sell any. Discreet overtures of selling to Tolkeen have already been made. At least, of selling the bombers to them, despite Kalyaran's loathing for the magicians; She considers them a less serious threat to personal survival and success than the Coalition States at the moment.

Even for those countries and kingdoms not looking for nuclear deterrence, the awesome cruise-missile payload of the LRB-70 is very lucrative indeed, and it's only a matter of time until Valkyrie industries gets customers....

As an additional lucrative offer, Valkyrie Industries offers the leasing of services of technicians who care capable of maintaining and repairing any of Valkyrie Industries' products, including the SB-70, for Kingdoms without the sufficient technological base to maintain the equipment on their own. Many of these technicians are already knowledgeable of other equipment made by other manufacturers from Rifts Earth, and can perform maintenance and repairs on that equipment as well.. For an additional price.

The current asking price is 400 million, but considering the variable shield technology employed, and the considerable capabilities of the craft, this makes the asking price well-worth it.

The initial prototype has been used for several long range surveys over the Pacific and towards South America and Australia, with deployably, expendable scout drones carried (Recovered from the Boeing facility; Outdated and SDC, but still useful in that regard), and the possibility of contacting nations in those regions and offering the bombers to them has been considered, but delivery is a risky proposition considering the chaos of the world; The money up front, and no refunds if the bomber fails to arrive.

The design it's self holds very true to the original XB-70, though of course with the latest technology; The reactor is highly overpowered and possibly vulnerable, though it's position makes reactor detonation quite unlikely. However, the performance drawn from this makes the Valkyrie simply a stunning aircraft even by modern Rifts standards.

The original "Drooping wingtips" of the XB-70 Valkyrie design are retained on this version, still with an up to 65 degree droop for very high mach speeds.

Model Type: LRB-70 (Quite simply: Long Range Bomber.) Valkyrie Long Range Strategic Bomber
Class: Strategic Bomber
Crew: 4: Pilot, Co-Pilot, Communications Officer, Bombardier Chief. Seating for up to six extra passengers
 

M.D.C. By Location:

Prototype:

Production:

	Automated Pop-Up Dual Laser Turrets (6):	300 each	300 each
	Medium Range Missile Launchers (2):	100 each	100 each
	Wing Mounted Cruise Missiles (24):	75 each	75 each
	[1] Bomb Bay Hatch:	200	200
	[2] Reinforced Bomb Bay:	400	400
	[3] Main Delta Wings (2):	250 each	500 each
	[3] Secondary Canard Wings (2):	100 each	175 each
	[4] Main Fuselage:	620	1,150
	Reinforced Crew Compartment:	300	300
	[5] Nuclear Turbo thrusters (6):	200 each	200 each
	[6] Variable Force Field:	200 per side (1,200 total)	200 per side (1,200 total)

Notes:
[1] The bomb bay hatch is a part of the main body, same penalties as above. Destroying the bomb bay damages the targeting array reducing targeting bonuses by half.
[2] The bomb bay is part of the main body and is virtually impossible to hit even when in a position/angle to hit and even with a called shot; -8 to strike. If the bomb bay is breached, the jet explodes inflicting damage equal to current combined bomb load or crash damage, whichever is greater.
[3] Destroying one the small canard wings reduces speed and piloting skill both by 10%, destroying both reduces speed and piloting skill by 25%. This is cumulative with turbo thruster losses (I.E., Both canards and one thruster lost, speed is -50% and piloting is -40%).
Destroying one of the large wings sends the jet into a catastrophic tailspin with results identical to a standard
[4] Destroying the main body knocks the aircraft out of the sky and detonates the jet on impact. Same explosive characteristics as a standard crash.
[5] Destroying one turbo thruster reduces speed by 25% and piloting skill by 15%, destroying two reduces speed by 50% and piloting skill by 30%. If three or more thrusters are destroyed, the jet goes into a catastrophic tailspin and will crash. Crew will die unless they eject. Crash causes 2D4x100 M.D. to a 300 foot radius with no salvageable parts remaining. A standard crash will NOT cause the bomb load to detonate.
[6] The force field will stop energy attacks and fast moving objects. Slow moving objects can pass through. Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (60 MDC) per melee

Speed:
Driving on ground: Impractical for anything other than takeoff, 70 mph (112 kph) maximum
Flying: The nuclear Turbo thrusters enables the Valkyrie to reach a maximum speed of Mach 4, with an overdrive speed of Mach 4.8, and climb to a maximum altitude of 95,000 feet (29,230 meters). The aircraft has a minimum glide speed of 120 mph (193 kph).
Range: Nuclear powered with a 10 year fuel capacity. Advanced ceramic jet engines begin to overheat after 72 hours of continual use at Mach 4; Mach 4.8 cannot be sustained for more than sprints of 20 minutes at a time.

Statistical Data:
Height: 30 feet (9.23 meters)
Width: 105 feet (32.3 meters)
Length: 196 feet (60.3 meters)
Weight: 300 tons fully loaded
Cargo: None other than seating for six behind the crew which can be used for storage if not occupied.
Power System: Nuclear
Features of Note: Equipped with ejection seats w/ parachutes and flotation devices as well as a self-destruct system that can be activated by the pilot or automatically engages five minutes after emergency ejection or on impact, whichever comes first.
Black Market Cost: Those currently finished are available for 400 million credits apiece.

Weapon Systems:

1. Pop-Up Dual Laser Turrets (6): One turret is mounted on the top and bottom of each large wing tip and two are mounted on the top of the fuselage. The turrets each have a 360 degree rotational capacity and a 45 degree arc of fire. The weapon system is primarily used against attacking fighters and intercepting missiles.
   Maximum Effective Range: 6,000 feet (1,828.8 meters)
   Mega-Damage: 1D4x10 M.D. per blast.
   Rate of Fire: Automated; 6 attacks per melee per turret with a +6 to strike for each attack.
   Payload: Effectively unlimited
2. Medium-Range Missile Launchers (2): The Valkyrie carries two medium range missile launchers under the canards near the front of the bomber. The launchers can be controlled by the pilot, Co-pilot, and/or Communication/ECM officer. They are usually outfitted with High-Explosive, Fragmentary or Plasma missiles and the missiles are normally smart missiles. This weapon system uses an automatic loading system and carries additional missiles for reloads.
   Range: Varies with missile types, medium range missiles only (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Damage: Varies with missile types, medium range missiles only (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time, or in volleys of 2, 4, or 6.
   Payload: 12 missiles each launcher with a total 24 missiles.
3. Ordnance Bay: The bomber has a large bay in the main body that carry a wide variety of different ordnance types. It was designed primarily to carry 32 laser-guided thermonuclear "city-buster" (Extra Heavy) bombs. Other ordnance types include missiles, torpedoes, naval mines, and lighter bombs. Missile and bombs sizes may be mixed between different types of ordnance but an ordnance drop or launch must include the same type and size of ordnance. Ordnance may be carried at the rate of four short range missile, four light bombs, two medium range missile, or two medium bombs for one long range missile or heavy bomb. One Cruise missile or extra heavy bomb may also be carried instead of two long range missiles or heavy bombs. Both guided and unguided ordnance may be carried. Launching of ordnance is controlled by the weapons officer but the pilot and copilot has emergency controls.
   While none have ever been produced, there have been huge 150 megaton bombs designed for the LRB-70. At the moment, these doomsday devices are a purely theoretical design of one of Kalyaran's engineers, and none have been constructed, nor are there any plans to either to. If any are ever produced, the bomber would be limited to carrying 9 of them. However, the weight of carrying these devices would prevent missiles from being carried on the wings, and rob the LRB-70 of it's overdrive capability. Each "Super Bomb" would take the place of four cruise missiles or extra-heavy bombs. These weapons are not guided, nor do they have parachutes, to conserve weight, and would have to be launched at 95,000 feet, traveling at mach 4, to insure aircraft safety; Finally, they would have to be deployed in pairs of two to maintain the aircraft balance, wasting one bomb for fratricide at all times (though that may be standard practice to insure destruction of target.).
   Effective Range: Varies by missile type for missile and varies by altitude bomb is dropped at (Go to Revised bomb and missile table). Also see damage for thermonuclear weapons on table.
   Mega Damage: Varies by missile or bomb type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Rate of Fire: Ordnance is dropped or fired one at a time or in volleys of two, six, twelve, or twenty four (with twenty four only possible for light or medium ordnance) but must be the same size (light, medium, or heavy) and style of ordnance (all missiles or bombs in a volley)
   Payload: 288 short range missile or light bombs, 144 medium range missiles or medium bombs, 72 long range missile or heavy bomb, or 36 cruise missile or extra heavy bombs. Ordnance can be mixed and naval mines may be carried as well as missiles and bombs.
4. External Hard points (24): the bomber has twenty four hard points to carry additional ordnance. The missile hard points are partially recessed into the wings to reduce drag. Each hard point can carry one cruise missile or long range missile. Launching of ordnance is controlled by the weapons officer but the pilot and copilot has emergency controls. With cruise missiles, the bomber has -3 to all piloting rolls with 6 per wing and -7 to all piloting rolls with 12 per wing. With 12 cruise missiles per wing, speed is limited to Mach 2 because the ends of the wings cannot be lowered sufficiently for enhanced maneuvering characteristics at high speeds. If the bomber is carrying long range missiles, all penalties are halved.
   Effective Range: Varies by missile type for cruise or long range missile (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Mega Damage: Varies by missile type for cruise or long range missile (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
   Rate of Fire: One at a time, or in volleys of 2, 4, or 6.
   Payload: 12 Cruise or Long Range Missiles per wing for a total of 24.
5. Anti-Missile Chaff Dispenser: Located at the very tail of the bomber are four chaff dispensers. When tailed by a missile, a cloud of chaff and other obtrusive particles can be released to confuse or detonate the enemy's attack. Rifts Earth decoy systems are assumed to not operate against Phase World missiles due to technological difference. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (Add +20% to rolls for smart missiles.)
   Effect:
   01-50 Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud - Missile are all destroyed
   51-75 Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (May lock onto another target)
   76-00 No effect, missile is still on target
   Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind flying monsters that fly through cloud. They will suffer the following penalties: reduce melee attacks/actions, combat bonuses, and speed by half. Duration: 1D4 melee rounds.
   Payload: Sixteen (16)

Special Equipment:
The bomber has all the standard features of a standard fighter (same as standard robot minus loudspeaker and microphone) plus these special features listed.

• Internal Active Jamming Gear: Causes -25% to detection but when it is active, other vehicles/ bases can detect that it is jamming, and some missiles will home in on jamming signals. Jamming also causes a -4 penalty to all radar guided weapons.
• Radar: Range 500 miles (805 km), The radar system can identify and track up to 96 targets simultaneously and is also capable of Terrain Following for low altitude flight. With Combat & Targeting Computer, the aircraft can fire missiles at up to twenty four targets at the same time.
• E.S.M.: Radar Detector, Passively detects other radars being operated..
• FLIR: Forward Looking Infrared. Allows pilot and weapons officer to get visuals on targets at night.
• Laser Navigational System: Allow flight at low altitude without use of Radar. Gives a map of the Terrain.

Combat Bonuses:

+1 to Initiative
+2 to dodge
+3 to dodge while traveling over 300 mph

[Golden Age Weaponsmiths, Wellington Industries, and TRIAX are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

Initial Writeup by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).

Reformatting and revisions by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 2000, Marina O'Leary & Kitsune. All rights reserved.