Grand Admiral, First Order Central Command
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Image Credit: Elite Dangerous
Intent: To create a snazzy little strike fighter based off real world concepts.
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source: Inspiration
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Manufacturer: First Order Corp of Imperial Engineers (FOCIE)
Model: ISF/A-51 'Nightshrike' Advanced Strike Fighter
Affiliation: The First Order
Production: Limited
Material: Quadanium/Trimantium Composite-Layer Armor Plating, Glassteel and Transparisteel digital cockpit. Internal AR-03 Damage Reduction Component plating.
DESCRIPTION
The 'Nightshrike' Advanced Strike Fighter (often abbreviated to simply 'shrike') is perhaps the ultimate example of what happens when battlefield experience meshes perfectly with properly funded R&D and good oversight. Lethal, intelligent, and versatile it is the quintessential next-generation snubfighter and, at least at the time of production, one of the most advanced fighters in the galaxy.
The core concept of the craft is derived from the numerous large-scale fleet actions and extensive strategic maneuvers present in the ongoing Outer Rim War. Under the innovative guidance of Fleet Admiral [member="Fiolette Yvarro"], and steered by the experience of the Chief of Operations, Grand Admiral [member="Cyrus Tregessar"], the First Order Navy has begun a comprehensive program to adapt and reforge itself as a highly mobile, highly coordinated strike force, a distinct difference from the brute force method of the Empire of old.
The ISF/A-51 is an early representative of that plan.
One of the only First Order designs not based on the classic TIE model, the Nightshrike is designed as a multi-role long range patrol and strike fighter. The 'Nightshrike' is sleek and solidly constructed around a Quadanium Frame, giving it good durability and a distinctive black coloring. Defensively its most impressive aspect however is its maneuverability, which is significantly better than normal for a large snubfighter. This makes the Nightshrike a more than capable dogfighter, and thanks to a heavy armament it generally excels at the role.
The primary weapons are dual-role, with a pair of light rapid-fire laser cannons mounted atop the fuselage and a pair of heavy Assault Laser Cannons mounted below the cockpit. The Assault Lasers back a tremendous punch and have longer range than even heavy laser cannons, but have a slow rate of fire and high power draw. In standard configuration the weapons are linked in a 'stutter-fire' mode, with the rapid fire cannons firing several bursts to disable shields followed up by a pair of killing shots from the assault cannons. The power of the Assault Lasers also makes them very effective in strafing runs on larger ships, though the Spitefire's, being relatively short-ranged, are generally ineffective.
By far the most interesting feature armament-wise though is the absence of traditional warhead tubes and instead the inclusion of eight external hardpoints, designed to mount a variety of weapons on them. Disruptor Torpedo's, Advanced Concussion Missiles and Proton Bombs are all common, either for anti-fighter or anti-ship missions, but are not all that can be fitted.
A number of Auxiliary Pods can be mounted on the hardpoints. These include Gun Pods (featuring a super high rate of fire blaster cannon, an excellent dogfighting asset) Shield Pods (providing a limited charge boost to shields, dramatically increasing durability) and an EWAR Pod and Surveillance Pod (complete with cameras and recording devices and storage).
The hardpoints are typically described in a particular fashion, with the number of air-to-air weapons, then the number of aux pods, finally then number of strike weapons. For example, a fighter equipped with four Advanced Concussion Missiles, 2 gun pods, and 2 proton bombs would be briefed as 4-2-2. The most common standard loadout is a 6-0-2 configuration.
The hardpoint system has some drawbacks, most notably that they are far more vulnerable to enemy fire than a traditional integrated warhead tube. Additionally the whole system tends to be a give-and-take, with any significant number of aux pods severely reducing the strike capability of the fighter. The fighter also proved quite tricky to fly, requiring extensive training and most significantly, it can be very hard to utilize all the available features in a combat situation. There is a lot going on for this to be a one-man fighter.
The Nightshrike also has some issues with power management, especially because of the draw from the Assault Laser Cannons. While this is partially mitigated by a hard-coded fire limiter, a careless pilot is still liable to have his weapons shut down at the most inconvenient times. This problem is exacerbated by having more than two Aux Pods, so such a configuration is rarely fielded. More than four makes the fighter basically unmanageable, and is never flown.
Among the other innovations is the presence of a high power Deep Scan Sensor Array, an Integrated Tactical and Astromech Droid Brain, and the presence of the IFCDEN (Integrated Fleet Command Data Exchange Network). As one might expect with all this high-end equipment on board, the fighter is rather expensive, and only produced in limited numbers for elite squadrons.
With a nod towards the 'patrol' mission requirement, the Nightshrike features a good hyperdrive and most significantly, an unusually capable sensor system. The Deep Scan Sensor Array allows for much longer range and higher-definition sensor sweeps than is normally possible on a fighter, but requires a huge power draw, noticeably slowing the craft and all but disabling the laser cannons while it is active. Typically only one fighter in a squadron will run the Deep Scan active at a time, and it is not uncommon for this unit to be sporting an EWAR Pod as well, to further aid in target acquisition and help assist the squadron in evading enemy fire.
The IFCDEN is a system that is gradually becoming standard on First Order capital ships and allows for the near real time exchange of tactical information on specific hyperwave frequencies, essentially allowing any linked vessels in a unit to see what other vessels can observe on their sensors. The addition of the integrated droid brain allows for Shrikes to fire on that data, potentially giving them a long-range target acquisition, and limiting the feedback the targeted vessel receives. This is fairly useless in a close-range turning dogfight, but can allow for a first strike attack if set up properly, and most significantly allows a squadron to feed other members target data during a short-ranged warhead duel.
An interesting side effect of having a permanently installed droid brain is that individual fighters tend to develop a personality of sorts after long operations periods without a data wipe. While typically mostly benign in nature, this could be problematic if left unchecked in extreme cases, or could end up just odd. The most typical personality type is something akin to a bird of prey, with the fighter eager to get in on the hunt as a partner, but not really a servant. The best Nightshrike pilots encourage this, and understand that perfect flying has always been a partnership between man and machine.
This is the fighter that keeps Alliance pilots awake at night, and for good reason.
Strengths
- Versatility in hardpoints.
- Overall capable fighter with a serious punch.
- Deep Scan mode makes for excellent long-range reconnaissance and target acquisition.
- Combat Networking situationally provides for off-axis and beyond-visual-range strikes.
- Vulnerable hardpoints.
- Low squadron count.
- Demanding to pilot.
- Power distribution issues.
Classification: Elite Strike Fighter
Role: Multi-Role Fighter
Length: 15m
Width: 4.4m
Height: 3m
Hyperdrive Rating: 1.0
Crew: 1
Passenger Capacity: 2
Squadron Count: 8
Sublight Speed: Moderate
Maneuverability: Moderate
ARMAMENT
Armament Rating: High
- 2 x Spitfire Rapid-Fire Laser Cannon
- 2 x VT38D Assault Laser Cannons
- 8 x External Hardpoints (4 per wing)
Disruptor Torpedo (Anti-Ship) - Advanced Concussion Missile (Anti-Air)
- Proton Bomb (Anti-Ship)
- Proton Rocket (Anti-Ship, max 2)
- Cluster Missile (Anti-Air)
- Gun Pods - Burst Fire Blaster Cannon (max 2)
- Shield Pod (max 2)
- Electronic Warfare Pod (max 1)
- Surveillance Pod (max 1)
Defense Rating: Average
NON-COMBAT ATTACHMENTS
- Standard Combat Ray Shielding
- Standard Combat Particle Shielding
- Standard Starfighter Sensor Package
- Standard Communications Package
- Advanced TAT and BAC Combat System Package
Integrated Tactical/Astromech Droid Brain
[*]Deep Scan Multi-Sensor Array
[*]Integrated Fleet Command Data Exchange Network
[*]Standard Navigation Systems
[*]Ionic Shielding Package
[*]Standard Electronics Warfare/Countermeasure Package
SPECIAL FEATURES
- External Hardpoints
- Optional Auxiliary Pods
- Deep Scan Mode
