This is where you get your unit ready for combat.  There are 5 things you need to do.  1) You need to assign pilots and crew.  2) You need to update your Defense Values.  3) You need to select the Ammunition types for your Smoothbore Cannons.  4) You need to fill out your hardpoints with Missiles and Rocket Pods.  5) You need to calculate the unit's Total ECV.

Assigning pilots and crew consists of simply picking the skill level of the crew you desire.  Note that as skill levels increase, the ECV rises dramatically.

So, if you had a pilot with a Piloting skill of 4 and a Gunnery of 5, that would be 1075 ECV.  It is not difficult for a well trained crewmember to be more valuable than the unit he is using.  Also, note that Gunners don't need piloting skill.

There is also Formula to determine the ECV of your Pilots and Gunners, should you need one higher than 15.

Piloting ECV = (((Piloting Skill + 4)^3)*0.8) + 200

Gunnery ECV = (((Gunnery Skill + 4)^3)*0.5) + 100

You will notice on the Unit Record Sheet a value called "MSRP".  This stands for Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Pilot.  The Piloting skill of your Pilot must be equal to or higher than the Unit's MSRP.  If your Pilot has a lower Piloting Skill than the MSRP, all Defense Values are halved, Maximum Speed is halved, and all Turn Numbers are doubled.  For every point of Piloting above MSRP, add 1 to the Defense Numbers.

Next, fill the ammunition bins with whatever ammunition types you want.  Note that only Smoothbore Cannons can use Special Ammunition.  Here is the link to the Special Ammo page.

Now you need to fill out your hardpoints.  You can find the list of Missiles and Rocket Pods at the links listed.  Be sure to add the ECVs for the Missiles and Rockets you select.  Remember, each Hardpoint has a limited number of slots, and cannot mount more missiles or rockets than the available slots.  For example, if you have a 9 slot hardpoint, you could not mount 2 Rocket Pods, since each Pod takes 5 slots.

Finally, add the ECV of your crew, and that of your missiles and rockets.  Add to this the unit's Base ECV and you will have the total ECV of the unit.