TF502 'STARWOLF' FAWS Tactical Fighter
DESCRIPTION
The main role of the Starwolf Tactical Fighter is 'First Attack Wave Suppression (FAWS)'. An attacking force will typically launch multiple fighters to engage the capital ships offensive and defensive weapon systems. Starwolves are launched to prevent this 'first wave' of attacking fighters to reach the capital ships by greatly reducing their numbers before coming into in range. The remaining enemy fighters are more easily handled by the capital ships defense network.
As a secondary, attack role, the Starwolf can use it's Hedgehog system to overwhelm the shields of enemy capital class ships with a single burst of 16 missiles with a synchronized impact on a specific point. Only when friendly capital ships have trouble engaging enemy capital ships will Starwolves be deployed for this role. The problem with this tactic is that Starwolves will need to be heavily supported by fighters when attacking enemy ships head on.
Starwolves have atmospheric flight capabilities, however this uses considerably more fuel than spaceflight. A Starwolf is incapable of landing on a planet surface.
STANDARD OFFENSIVE WEAPON SYSTEMS LOADOUT
Two 'Muger MK7' 20 mm caliber chain guns
The guns fire a mix of armor piercing incendiary tracers and high explosive rounds at a rate of 2400 rounds per minute with a spool-up time of 0.5 seconds.
Two 'Kurstroski-S30' 30 mm caliber cannons
The cannons fire High Explosive Dual Purpose rounds at a rate of 350 rounds per minute.
Four 'Spagin HE5' High Explosive Missiles
Standard multi purpose fire-and-forget missiles with proximity detection systems.
HAAM16 'Hedgehog' Multimissile System
Multiple 'SPIKE' missiles fired simultaneously at up to 16 targets. The missiles are guided by the Hedgehog radar system. The high maneuverability of the missiles makes them capable of evading most countermeasures while guided by the Hedgehog. The system can also be used to overwhelm the shields of capital-class vessels.
DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS
Electronic warfare pod
The pod integrated in the lower wing is outfitted with many types of electronic warfare capabilities that include field jamming (producing a stealth bubble around the ship), ghosting (projecting false data) and tactical hacking (taking control of enemy ship systems, as well as some reconnaissance abilities.
Starburst
The starburst system ejects multiple decoys in different directions to confuse enemy guided weapon systems.
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NOTES
This was originally planned as a more standard shaped fighter. But once I started work on the engines the ship grew more in width than it did in length. Also, the placeholder dual wings looked kind of cool, so I build on that. The problem was getting it to be stable enough to be handled, and sturdy enough to hold up the cockpit section. I had a blast building it because it turned out so different than I had initially planned. Please check out the other views in the Starwolf set as they explain more than I can tell you (especially the front view).
TF502 'STARWOLF' FAWS Tactical Fighter
DESCRIPTION
The main role of the Starwolf Tactical Fighter is 'First Attack Wave Suppression (FAWS)'. An attacking force will typically launch multiple fighters to engage the capital ships offensive and defensive weapon systems. Starwolves are launched to prevent this 'first wave' of attacking fighters to reach the capital ships by greatly reducing their numbers before coming into in range. The remaining enemy fighters are more easily handled by the capital ships defense network.
As a secondary, attack role, the Starwolf can use it's Hedgehog system to overwhelm the shields of enemy capital class ships with a single burst of 16 missiles with a synchronized impact on a specific point. Only when friendly capital ships have trouble engaging enemy capital ships will Starwolves be deployed for this role. The problem with this tactic is that Starwolves will need to be heavily supported by fighters when attacking enemy ships head on.
Starwolves have atmospheric flight capabilities, however this uses considerably more fuel than spaceflight. A Starwolf is incapable of landing on a planet surface.
STANDARD OFFENSIVE WEAPON SYSTEMS LOADOUT
Two 'Muger MK7' 20 mm caliber chain guns
The guns fire a mix of armor piercing incendiary tracers and high explosive rounds at a rate of 2400 rounds per minute with a spool-up time of 0.5 seconds.
Two 'Kurstroski-S30' 30 mm caliber cannons
The cannons fire High Explosive Dual Purpose rounds at a rate of 350 rounds per minute.
Four 'Spagin HE5' High Explosive Missiles
Standard multi purpose fire-and-forget missiles with proximity detection systems.
HAAM16 'Hedgehog' Multimissile System
Multiple 'SPIKE' missiles fired simultaneously at up to 16 targets. The missiles are guided by the Hedgehog radar system. The high maneuverability of the missiles makes them capable of evading most countermeasures while guided by the Hedgehog. The system can also be used to overwhelm the shields of capital-class vessels.
DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS
Electronic warfare pod
The pod integrated in the lower wing is outfitted with many types of electronic warfare capabilities that include field jamming (producing a stealth bubble around the ship), ghosting (projecting false data) and tactical hacking (taking control of enemy ship systems, as well as some reconnaissance abilities.
Starburst
The starburst system ejects multiple decoys in different directions to confuse enemy guided weapon systems.
--
NOTES
This was originally planned as a more standard shaped fighter. But once I started work on the engines the ship grew more in width than it did in length. Also, the placeholder dual wings looked kind of cool, so I build on that. The problem was getting it to be stable enough to be handled, and sturdy enough to hold up the cockpit section. I had a blast building it because it turned out so different than I had initially planned. Please check out the other views in the Starwolf set as they explain more than I can tell you (especially the front view).