Laohu

Unit type: mobile suit transport ship
Dimensions: length 79.5 meters, width 51.8 meters
Armament: 6 x 20-tube missile launcher, 3 fore, 3 aft
Powerplant: 9 x battery unit, output rated at 1700 kW each; charge power leeched from embarked Tieren Space Type mobile suits
Propulsion: 3 x rocket engine
Hangar capacity: 15 mobile suits

With its relatively primitive technological base, the Human Reform League never established an exceptionally strong presence in space. Deployed at around the same time as the League began patrols in Earth orbit above its airspace with Tieren Space Types, the Laohu is a simple and actually rather primitive mobile suit carrier that, much like the League's Tierens, is still effective at what it does in spite of its "stone age" technology.

The Laohu is an exceedingly simple and spartan vessel, consisting of a detachable bridge and core module that hangar and weapons pods can be attached to in a triangular arrangement. Up to fifteen hangar pods can be mounted in three groups of five along the Laohu's axis, each one storing a single Tieren-type mobile suit, while three rocket engines run between them. The transport's front and back are essentially dictated by where the bridge module is attached - the module can separate and move under its own power, allowing the Laohu to "change directions" simply by moving its bridge from one end to the other, as well as functioning as a crew escape device if the ship is critically damaged. While the Laohu has a significant fuel supply and is capable of long-range missions, it actually has no sustainable power source. Batteries are provided for backup purposes, but the ship is primarily intended to draw power by siphoning excess electricity from the embarked Tierens' nuclear reactors. In the event of damage, individual hangar pods can be jettisoned from the Laohu's core module.

The ship is relatively lightly armed, primarily designed to supplement its Tierens with support attacks. The outer hangar pods on both ends of the Laohu are fitted with a multi-tube missile launcher, designed to be salvo-fired and blanketing a large area with explosives. For assault purposes, those hangars can also be converted into dedicated "weapons pods" that simply hold more missiles, sacrificing the ability to carry a Tieren in exchange for allowing the launchers to fire many more missiles than they would ordinarily be able to carry. The Laohu is relatively sluggish and slow to turn, making it reliant on its mobile suits for close defense.

Laohus were in the process of being phased out of service in UC 220, and were totally withdrawn from active use by the Human Reform League just before the formation of the Earth Union. In the intervening years, most Laohus have been sold off as surplus or scrap, making them not-uncommon sights as both freighters and escort ships as well as bases for pirate raiders. The Laohu's simplicity and easily available spare parts makes it attractive to many buyers, and it's likely the old boats will remain in use for some time.