OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Image Credit: Ansel Hsiao
Intent: To update the mainstream fighter of the First Order
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source:
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: First Order Naval Engineering
Model: ISF-35 TIE Space Superiority Starfighter
Affiliation: The First Order
Modularity: N/A
Production: Mass Produced
Material: Alusteel fuselage with layered Carbon-Nanofilament armor plating, Glassteel and Transparisteel digital cockpit. Internal AR-03 Damage Reduction Component plating.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Classification: Starfighter
Role: Space Superiority
Length: 6.69 m
Width: 7 m
Height: 8 m
Hyperdrive Rating: N/A
Crew: 1 pilot minimum. Full crew of 2 (pilot, gunner)
Sublight Speed: Moderate
Maneuverability: Moderate
ARMAMENT
Armament Rating: Low
2 x L-s9.3 Laser Cannons
1 x Lb-14 Dual Heavy Laser Turret
1 x Turret-mounted Modular Missile Launcher (carries one of the following)
1 x Advanced Concussion Missile
1 x Mag-Pulse Warhead
1 x Disruptor Torpedo
1 x Advanced Proton Torpedo
Defense Rating: Average
Standard Combat Ray Shielding
Standard Combat Particle Shielding
Countermeasures
Chaff
Flares
SQUADRON COUNT: Average - 12
STANDARD FEATURES
Standard Starfighter Sensor Package
Standard Communications Package
Advanced TAT and BAC Combat System Package
Deep Scan Multi-Sensor Array
Integrated Fleet Command Data Exchange Network
Standard Navigation Systems
Ionic Shielding Package
Ion Shields
Cap Drains
Duraplast Plating
Energy Sinks
[*]
Standard Electronics Warfare/Countermeasure Package
Sensor Jammer
220-SIG Tactical Sensor Jamming Device
Electronic Countermeasures
Full-spectrum Distortion Projector
ADVANCED SYSTEMS
Strengths:
Space Superiority: The ship is designed to wrest control of the skies and the vacuum of space from opposing enemies, it excels outlasting, outrunning, and destroying other enemy starfighters to secure victory for the First Order.
Advanced Propulsion Systems: Featuring upgraded sublight speed and maneuverability, the Firebolt can easily outrun and outmaneuver other space superiority fighters of its size and class, granting it a significant boost to evasion and, by extension, survivability.
Coordinated Attack: Several standardized systems such as the communications package, the combat systems package, and the command data exchange network heighten coordination between each fighter and its squadron, granting these starfighters quicker overall reaction time and increased organization.
Armor Plating: With the advent of easy-to-produce carbon-durasteel nanofilament, every new starship in the First Imperial Navy has been retrofitted with durable, long-lasting, and easily replaceable armor plating, with this starfighter being no exception. The material grants it a distinct advantage against ships that attempt to ram into it, garnering the perpetrator a nasty surprise.
Laser Cannons: Despite its role as a superiority starfighter, it has a rather weak 'alpha strike', its capability in destroying enemy fighters relying on sustained fire from its laser cannons and turret, should it run out of munitions for its warhead launcher.
Short-Range Craft: Lacking a hyperdrive, the F-35 is requires a carrier ship to travel between battlefields. This is a common issue with most mass produced ships in the TIE series, save for a few outliers.
As the Mandate issued by the government created ripples through the First Imperial Military, the Navy was one of the branches that was hit hardest. The need for modernization was apparent, with the fighters and bombers that served as the staple of the Starfighter Corps being years old and frankly outperformed by newer enemy models.
Featuring a centuries-old design, the F-35 'Firebolt' is similar to its First Order brethren in that it has deflector shields but still no hyperdrive unit. One of the thing that makes it unique, however, is the addition of a modular warhead launcher (designed to fit concussion missiles, cluster missiles, proton torpedoes, and other small military-grade munitions) to complement its standard pair of laser cannons and laser turret instead of a simple concussion missile launcher.
While modelled after the more advanced TIE/SF, the F-35 moves to bridge the gap between that design and its less prestigious cousin, the TIE/FO, for a deadly combination that would make even the hardiest of pilots tremble in their flightsuits.
