KeelbackMining

Mining makes you a sitting target, and the Keelback's answer is unusual for so cheap a ship: a ship-launched fighter bay. The same combat-capable Type-6 derivative that hauls cargo makes a budget miner that, when a pirate interdicts you mid-session, can deploy an SLF (flown by you, a crewmate or an NPC) to drive the attacker off — rather than simply dying laden in the ring.

Its ore hold is small — around 98 tonnes — because slots go to the fighter bay, refinery and limpet controllers, so per-trip hauls are modest. As pure mining throughput it's poor value. But for a budget commander who wants a cheap miner with genuine self-defence, or who enjoys the SLF mechanic, the Keelback offers something no other low-cost miner does: the ability to fight back without a Python's price tag.

Four things define the Keelback as a miner:

• A fighter bay for defence. Unique at its price — deploy an SLF to drive off the pirates that hunt laden miners.
• Cheap and rank-free. Under 3M credits — the most affordable miner with real self-defence.
• Tougher than a Type-6. A more durable hull better suited to standing its ground in a ring.
• Versatile. The same cheap hull mines, hauls cargo, or fights a little.

A unique sub-3M Cr fighter bay and medium-pad, rank-free access lift a defensible, accessible miner — but a ~98 t hull (~70 t practical) caps it at niche throughput.

The 68/100 headline is a verdict against the mining role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for mining specifically. The role column is the maximum cargo capacity in tonnes — though practical ore capacity is lower once the mining suite and fighter bay are fitted.

Same class — medium-pad miners

The Keelback carries the least of the medium miners but is the cheapest with a fighter bay. The Python and Krait Mk II defend themselves better with far bigger holds, but cost much more. The Keelback's edge is cheap SLF defence — a niche pick.

Other classes — the alternatives

If you want a defended miner, the pricier Python and Krait Mk II do it far better with much bigger holds. The Keelback's only edge is doing it cheaply. For most budget miners, a bigger-hold option or simply mining safe systems makes more sense — the Keelback is for the SLF novelty on a budget.

At ~2.95M Cr the Keelback is cheap, with no rank gate, though the fighter bay, hangar and SLF add to the fit. The all-in cost lands around 12M Cr with a defended mining build.

It's a niche-and-novelty pick. For mining volume the cheaper Type-8 (or even a Type-7) holds far more; the Keelback makes sense only if the cheap fighter-bay defence specifically appeals.

A defended budget mining fit built around the fighter bay. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the mining baseline; Engineered targets the ship's defence and mobility — the mining tools are deliberately left stock.

Buy the hull (~2.95M Cr) and fit only what the buy-only column carries: a single 2D Mining Laser (Fixed) on a medium mount and two 5E Cargo Racks for ore. The hull ships with stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — no armour spend on a budget miner. Core internals stay stock E-rated — plant, thrusters, FSD, distributor and sensors — on a 4C fuel tank.

Every other slot is deliberately left empty at this stage. The fighter hangar, refinery, collector and prospector limpet controllers, bi-weave shield, second mining laser, sub-surface missile, abrasion blaster and utility scanners all wait for the A-rated pass.

This is a hull-and-a-laser starting point: you can scrape ore, but you can't yet refine, defend, or run the fighter bay that gives the Keelback its purpose.

A-rating priority for a defended budget miner (bulkheads stay stock Lightweight Alloy — a miner pays for tools, not plating):

• 1Power Plant → 4A — Run the fighter bay, lasers, limpets and shield together. ~1.5M Cr
• 2Power Distributor → 3A — Sustained laser and limpet power. ~1M Cr
• 3Fighter Hangar (5D) + mining suite — The 5D Fighter Hangar plus the 4A Refinery and 1A collector and prospector limpet controllers — the defended-mining loop. ~1M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 3C bi-weave — Survive while the SLF fights. ~1M Cr
• 5Thrusters → 4A — Reposition and escape; A-rate the FSD alongside for laden range. ~1.5M Cr

Mining engineering is light and targets the ship, not the tools. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1Plant to G5 so the fighter bay, tools and shield run together.
• 2Engineer the ship's defence and mobility — bi-weave, thrusters — not the tools.
• 3FSD Increased Range for reaching hotspots and hauling ore home.
• 4Leave the mining lasers, refinery and limpet controllers stock.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the Keelback mines a modest ~70t hold but can launch a fighter to defend it — a cheap miner that survives the rings that kill plain budget haulers. The bulkheads stay Lightweight Alloy, rolled G5 Lightweight Armour to shave hull mass — that mass saving, not added plating, is what feeds the ~30 LY laden jump and ~340 m/s boost. Its ore-per-credit is poor; the SLF is the entire reason to choose it over a bigger-hold miner.

• The fighter bay is the whole point — if you don't want it, a bigger-hold miner makes more sense.
• An NPC or crewmate must fly the SLF to defend you while you mine.
• Ore-per-credit is poor — choose the Keelback for cheap defence, not volume.
• Don't engineer the mining tools; engineer the ship's defence and the plant for the bay.