Chapter 19: Interlude Earth Vessels: Fighter Craft

 

Fighters have been part of humanity's militaries for centuries now. The first entered prominence in the first world war. The planes of that age were made of lightweight materials, and weren’t particularly fast. Not to mention humans were very much still learning the value of airpower in that time period. As such that age saw many crazy designs, and ideas that did not last. By the second world war, humans had very much gotten a handle on what a warplane would look like, and what it could be used for. Although these craft were still not particularly fast, not by modern standards anyway. That changed with the advent of jet engines which dramatically increased the speed and range of aircraft. It was by far one of humanity's greatest breakthroughs in aviation technology and revolutionized the field.

When humanity started colonizing the stars, it wasn’t long before the need for armed space vessels became apparent. The first attempts at armed spacecraft were large slow, and unwieldy ships that were also fairly fragile. The chief cause of this was the need for large gravity rings which hampered warship design. It wasn’t long before warship designers were looking at fighters and carriers. Carriers had largely displaced battleships after the second world war, and in space it was looking like carriers might prove even more vital.

It wasn’t long before humanity had its first space carriers. They were slow unwieldy ships but they weren’t intended to intercept or directly engage other ships. Instead they would like older carriers rely on fighters for their main offensive arm. This brings us to Earth’s first space superiority fighter, the SF-302. Developed by Star Tech Industries, the 302 was the first successful space fighter attempt, but not the only one developed at the time.

The SF-302 featured twin nuclear-powered ion drives for her main propulsion unit and four chemically powered booster rockets. This made her quite agile for the era. For armament, she was outfitted with short-range railguns and missiles. The craft was compatible with several different missile types, and could even carry nuclear missiles. It was able to intercept and outrun most spacecraft of her age. It proved to be a very prominent craft during the early years of the first Colonial war. 

Many pilots consider this age to be a golden period for space fighters. However, fighters like the SF-302 were small, lacked artificial gravity, and dampers. They were also short-range and could not travel far from their motherships. The lack of dampers also limited their agility in a dogfight to what a crew could handle.

The advent of gravity plating and inertial dampers did much for fighters. Just as the development revolutionized capital ships, fighters also greatly benefited from the developments. It was in this time frame that Star Tech Industries put forth the SF-543 Falcon.  It was the first major fighter to employ a pulse wave engine. It had only a single crude laser-based engine, and two ion drives for propulsion. Chemical rockets were not included in the design. The craft was supplied power by two small nuclear reactors. Like the older SF-302, she was able to carry missiles, but in addition, she carried two torpedo ports located under the wings port and starboard. The Falcon did not carry railguns like older fighters. Instead, she was outfitted with two high-energy linked laser cannons. They could fire intense short-duration laser bursts rated at several terajoules each, and could melt through armor fairly quickly. Being energy weapons also meant they didn’t require physical ammunition allowing more space for other systems.

The Falcon quickly became a major part of the Mars Colonial fleet. Her engine configuration gave her unparalleled mobility, and she quickly became a favorite of pilots everywhere. Her success in the Mars colonial fleet soon garnered attention, and other groups were soon looking to produce similar fighters of their own. By the time war broke out, she had several rivals looking to be tested. That war proved to highlight everything the falcon did right, and what was done wrong. Lessons that were put to use in later pulse wave engine equipped fightercraft.

Of course, I am sure none of you are really interested in such old fighters. So lets move on to the SF-1137 Nighthawk. The Nighthawk was developed by Star Tech Industries late in the Third Colonial war as a space superiority fighter. Outfitted with an armored and modular hull, she could carry several loadouts depending on the needs of the mission. Typically the Nighthawk carried four wing-mounted particle cannons, and two nose-mounted cannons for ship-to-ship dogfighting and strafing attacks. These cannons were rated to fire high-intensity charged particle bursts equal to several hundred terajoules. Each cannon could fire just over two thousand pulses per minute and could inflict considerable damage to anything unlucky enough to be at the other end of the emitter muzzle.

The armor configuration of the Nighthawk prevented the use of external hardpoints for attaching mission hardware. As such her missiles are loaded into internal bays and deployed by armored drop bay launchers in the wings. The craft also mounts two sideloaded and armored torpedo ports located at the base of each wing. The ship could carry up to a dozen missiles, and a half dozen torpedoes. Some configurations could allow it to carry more torpedoes or missiles depending on mission requirements.

The Nighthawk employed twenty centimeters of overlord armor, and an energy web grid for protection. It also employs ECM and a streamlined hull. The fighter presents a rather minimal sensor profile allowing her to evade detection from most scanners. This is even further helped by her low energy signature that is achieved thanks to a special coating in the hull plating that is designed to minimize her energy emissions.

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Propulsion is achieved via a single dual cored particle pulse wave engine. This one engine gives her armored frame impressive agility and speed. A pulse detonation drive allows it to rapidly accelerate to maximum speed in mere seconds or shed speed when needed. The pulse detonation drive is a modification of the pulse wave drive that allows the engine to temporarily overcharge, and produce a massive burst of thrust in a short period. This cannot be sustained for long, and the drive must be allowed to cool afterward. As such the drive cannot be used in rapid succession.

Power for the ship is provided by a single micro-fusion reactor. The reactor is tied directly into the main engine, and shunts excess power into two primary capacitors from which all other systems draw power. The weapons or armor can very quickly drain power not used by other systems during a battle. That energy can also be used by the pulse detonation drive for a brief speed boost or rapid directional change.

The Nighthawk itself proved to be a very effective fighter during the third Colonial war, and its modular design allowed it to be easily updated to better fare against Cathamari ships. The war however did reveal its limitations. The launcher configuration wasn’t designed for volley fire which limited its ability to take advantage of shield penetrating munitions. In addition, the craft suffered from a limited range. Field modifications were able to extend this, but it was never intended to stray very far from its mother ship. In addition, field experience found that it was not easy to conduct emergency repairs in the field.

The X-1204 was designed by Star Tech Industries as a successor to the highly successful Nighthawk. One intended to overcome the shortcomings of the older fighter. They went with a dual-engine design this time as while the Nighthawk was agile they felt they could produce a faster more maneuverable starfighter. This one was intended for deep space missions, and the second engine would provide redundancy in addition to more thrust. Power was again provided by a micro fusion reactor. This reactor was again directly tied into the engines, and two primary capacitors. This time however there was also a direct tie in too the main weapons. Allowing the cannons to recharge more quickly.

The 1204 was outfitted with a new generation of fighter particle cannon rated to deliver 4184 terajoules of charged particle energy with each bolt. That gave them the nickname megaton cannon. Each of these four cannons was rated to fire 2500 bolts per minute and has an effective range of ten kilometers. They are utterly devastating against unshielded targets, able to shred armored hulls very quickly.

The twelve zero four uses the same armored missile setup as the Nighthawk, but she does not use the same torpedo set up. Instead of being mounted under the wings, her torpedoes are mounted on the nose of the craft with a belly loaded bay. Her wings have also been changed a bit to allow the wing magazine to be linked with the belly magazine. This allows her to carry more torpedoes at the expense of missiles if a mission calls for it. Testing found this set up works better for torpedo heavy loadouts. Moving the launchers also allowed for a configuration that supports volley fire, but came at the cost of two cannon mounts.

Changes to the shape of the starframe allowed the craft a heavier overall torpedo loadout and increased range. Some of the requirements resulted in the 1204 being larger than her predecessor making her one of the largest starfighters to ever be designed by humans. Although not the largest fighter ever built, and still smaller than most combat shuttles. As such no major redesign of the hangars used by capital ships would be needed to support the new fighter. Although some minor adjustments were needed. 

The 1204 features thinner armor than that of the Nighthawk at only 12 centimeters, but that 12 is supplemented with the same improvements found aboard the Enterprise resulting in roughly similar protection. The armor is uniformly thick on all hull sections. The hull is reinforced to protect vital sections. The fighter also features an energy web grid, ECM, and a sensor-absorbing hull. Energy signature has been minimized to reduce detection via a special hull layer.

The fighter has been designed for multiday deployments. Allowing her to be sent on missions a considerable distance from the mothership. The ship features high density fuel cells, that allow her to store more fuel in less space. The ship can carry more fuel than she is likely to use in any given mission profile. The cockpit has been designed as a multipurpose space that is both a living quarter and a control station. A small engineering bay, and cargo bay are located behind the cockpit, and can be accessed via the cockpit without leaving the craft. The cargo bay is designed to store supplies to last a pilot for several days. There is also a basic toilet on the craft, but not much else in terms of facilities. 

It remains to be seen how effective the 1204 will be. It was designed alongside several other fighters, and shuttles that also remain largely untested, but we will not cover them today. Enough time has already been spent on space superiority fighters.

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