The Type-9 Heavy is one of the largest cargo ships on the market. While it lacks the carrying capacity of the Imperial Cutter, it is significantly less expensive and can be purchased without acquiring ranks in the Imperial Navy. Furthermore, the ship's ability to equip a fighter bay makes It popular with traders looking to protect their cargoes from criminals.
— In-Game Description
The Type-9 Heavy is a heavy freighter and the largest of the five freighters manufactured by Lakon Spaceways. It has the second largest maximum cargo capacity of any ship available, behind only the Imperial Cutter, but can be purchased at a fraction of the Cutter's cost and does not require any rank. Although generally lacking in offensive and defensive capabilities, the Type-9 is a bulky yet capable ship best suited for trading or mining.
Overview
The pilot's station is located in the front center of the ship's canopy, with two co-pilot seats below the pilot on either side parallel to each other. The canopy has one of the largest views in the game with a near 180° view of the outside, with some visibility even below the ship and directly above; which can be quite useful in various situations and is especially helpful for VR players.
The weapon hardpoints are located as follows: two class 2 hardpoints situated on top of the ship and one more on the bottom of the ship making them excellent for turreted mounts, and two class 1 hardpoints situated on either side of the canopy, identically to the Type-7 Transporter. Two of the utility mounts are on top of the ship, near the hardpoints while the other two at the back; below the ship.
The Type-9 shares a maneuverability rating of 0 with the Type-10 Defender, and also has one of the lowest base speeds of all available ships. Combined with its large size, the Type-9 has extreme difficulty in shaking smaller ships from its blind spot and evading enemy fire (using a Fighter Hangar could help mitigate this). It has five weapon hardpoints to defend itself. Equipped with medium sized turrets, they can force enemy ships to operate with caution and give the Type-9 a chance to escape. Unlike its lower-tier options in the Type-6 Transporter and Type-7 the ship is better at defending itself and can often take care of small and medium ships making trading far less risky and often more profitable as it can often deal with the incoming enemy events, gaining bigger payouts. However, the low maneuverability makes it much harder to avoid FSD interdictions, so keep in mind you may be forced to fight incoming ships, which can be problematic for time-sensitive missions; or for simply maximizing profit per hour. It also makes normal supply mission a death sentence, since you will be unable to dodge the incoming powerful foes, and they can easily defeat a Type-9.
As a trading ship, the Type-9 has the second best cargo capacity behind only the Imperial Cutter. However, this is only a difference of 4T of cargo. Furthermore, the T-9 can downgrade to a class 5 Shield Generator, while the cutter can only equip a minimum of class 6. Thus if wishing to trade with a shield, the T-9 has the best cargo space in the game. Because of the Cutter's very high repair and rebuy prices and the Type-9's interdiction vulnerability, going shieldless in either case is not recommended.
The Type-9 has a massive fuel tank that can hold up to 64 tons of fuel. This gives the Type-9 a large range before needing to refuel: about 100ly when fully laden. This allows the Type-9 to move around the bubble without a fuel scoop when exploring for new trade routes, or when trading rare commodities (though smaller dedicated exploration ships are better suited for that task). However, for shorter range trading, one should consider downsizing the fuel tank to reduce weight so as to increase the ship's jump range.
The Type-9 has actually seen some niche use as a combat vessel. Although its low number of hardpoints makes its offensive damage lacking; when engineered and turreted they can deal decent damage. The biggest advantage the ship has is its dual Class 8 compartments which allow both a max level Shield Generator and Shield Cell Bank; which can often make taking the ship down difficult without engineering. However, while this is possible on paper the issue is that having both cell banks and a shield generator; along with Shield Boosters is rather difficult with the ship's Power Plant. Engineering or a Guardian Hybrid Power Plant, as well as power management, are mandatory for this strategy to function. Because of the low number of hardpoints and low speed, the weapons and engines will draw less power, meaning there is more power for systems. Furthermore, this makes it advisable to upgrade the system's capacity with engineering for the power distributor.
Its four utility slots are good for Shield Boosters and can help with a lower grade of shield. Chaff Launchers are not advisable, as the ship is often too large and slow of a target for them to be effective. Point-Defence Turrets also don't work too well as the large body will cut off half of the turrets range and the low maneuverability will make it impossible to face the turret in the right direction in time; thus an ECM would be a better fit for the T-9.
Another upside is its low cost means NPC pirates will generally fly similarly priced ships, usually flying Cobras or Vipers and will rarely fly Fer-de-Lances or Alliance Chieftains etc; which can all be outclassed unless upgraded by the Type-9. In open play this strategy also functions well as few players would expect a heavy freighter to exhibit offensive powers, they can be given a nasty shock if they were expecting an easy mark. It doesn't function well as a bounty hunter or Pirate, however, as its poor maneuverability and speed make interdictions difficult to perform, as well as its slow speed making it very difficult to catch up to ships.
Many pilots have problems fitting through the entrance of Stations while they are first getting used to the Type-9, and it can, therefore, be expensive for a new pilot to get used to. A Standard Docking Computer or Advanced Docking Computer can be useful for pilots who have trouble docking this ship, and it will usually dock the Type-9 no slower than piloting it manually, unlike with other ships. It will also prevent Bounties/Fines from hitting other ships, which is quite hard to avoid in a Type-9 even for veterans. It should also be noted that the Type-9 Heavy has better maneuverability when stopped; even though it is not very useful in combat, it is handy for docking.
On December 20, 3303, Lakon Spaceways released a revised model of the Type-9 known as the Type-10 Defender, which was commissioned by the Alliance to help counter the Thargoid threat. The Type-10 improves upon the Type-9's features by adding various combat-oriented improvements while sacrificing some cargo capacity.
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | Always available | 10% discount |
| Brestla | i Sola Prospect | Always available | 20% surcharge |
| Oduduro | Conrad Hub | Jul. 30, 2019 | 15% discount |
| KP Tauri | Spedding Orbital | Mar. 13, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Caerus | Popov Hub | Mar. 13, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Ki | Binet Port | Sep. 15, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Wolf 406 | Hamilton Gateway | Mar. 12, 2018 | |
| Barnard's Star | Miller Depot | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Luyten's Star | Ashby City | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Huokang | Steiner City | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Ao Guang | H.G. Wells Plant | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Beta Trianguli Australis | Lunan Hub | Mar. 13, 2018 | |
| Guathiti | Messier Port | Apr. 04, 2018 | |
| Robigo | Hauser's Reach | Jul. 05, 2018 | |
| BD-15 447 | Good Enterprise | Jul. 31, 2018 | 15% Discount |
| Diaguandri | Ray Gateway | Sep. 16, 2018 | 15% Discount |
| Tollan | Gordon Plant | Dec, 20, 2018 | |
| Ye'kuape | Bobko Hub | Feb 4, 2018 | |
| Deciat | Garay Terminal | Aug 30, 2019 | |
| CD-37 641 | Tikhonravov City | Sep. 1, 2019 |
Outfitting
- Main article: Outfitting
All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Type-9 Heavy.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 1 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Medium Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 2 |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Utility Mount | Empty | -- | -- | 0 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Bulkheads | Lightweight Alloys | I | 1 | 8 |
| Reactor Bay | Power Plant | E | 6 | 6 |
| Thrusters Mounting | Thrusters | E | 7 | 7 |
| Frame Shift Drive Housing | Frame Shift Drive | E | 6 | 6 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 5 | 5 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 6 | 6 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 4 | 4 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x64] | C | 6 | 6 |
| Internal Compartments | Cargo Rack [x128] | E | 7 | 8 |
| Cargo Rack [x128] | E | 7 | 8 | |
| Cargo Rack [x64] | E | 6 | 7 | |
| Shield Generator | E | 6 | 6 | |
| Cargo Rack [x16] | E | 4 | 5 | |
| Cargo Rack [x8] | E | 3 | 4 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 4 | |
| Cargo Rack [x4] | E | 2 | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Supercruise Assist | E | 1 | 1 | |
| Planetary Approach Suite (H) | I | 1 | 1 |
- (L) = Loaned Module
- [x#] = Capacity
- (H) = Requires Elite Dangerous: Horizons, reserved solely for Planetary Approach Suite
Notes
- The Type-9 first appeared in the development diary videos and in some of the live streams posted by Frontier Developments. Later it appeared in the early Alpha stages for Elite Dangerous and is one of the four ships that were in the first release of the Premium Beta.
Trivia
- The Type-9 Heavy length and width (117.4m, 115.3m) is comparable to the International Space Station.[1]
- The Type-9 Heavy's animated loading screen erroneously depicts the ship with different primary thrusters that resemble those seen on an Asp Explorer.
Videos
Gallery
