Grand Admiral, First Order Central Command
Affiliation: Shadowline
Manufacturer: Shadowline
Model: SF/A-40 'Aries' Strike Fighter
Modularity: N/A
Production: Minor
Material: Durasteel Airframe, Neutronium Armor Plating, Duranium Reinforcement, Transparisteel and other starfighter materials.
Classification: Multirole Fighter/Bomber
Length: 22.35m
Height: 6.45m
Width: 18.0m
Armament: Rating 14
The following in four retractable weapon bays.
- HT-12 Fire-Linked Heavy Laser Cannon
- Warhead Launcher (magazine size of 5)
- 30mm 'Grinder' Electromagnetic Chaingun (max of 1 Grinder in any configuration)
- Javelin Anti-Armor Rocket Pod (10 laser guided missiles)
- Heavy Shields
- Heavy Armor
- Basic Countermeasures
- Fast in bursts, but poor maneuverability
Special Features:
- Holonet Transceiver
- SubLight Acceleration Motor
- Communications Array
- Encryption Network
- Long Range Sensor System
- Standard Life Support Systems
- Heavy Shielding
- Repulsorlifts and other equipment necessary for atmospheric operations,
- Standard Countermeasure Suite (Chaff, Flares, ECM, ECCM, etc.)
- Advanced Sensor/Targeting Suite (with A-HUDT)
Speed Rating: 4
Hyperdrive Class: 1.0
Strengths:
- Heavily armored and very tough
- Very fast, in short bursts
- Heavy Firepower, while munitions last
- Jack of all trades, master of none (except Close Air Support)
- Poor turning ability
- Expensive and high-maintenance
- Large target
As is so often the case in military development, the execution was the tricky part.
The 'Grinder' chaingun and 'Javelin' missile pods are specialized for atmospheric work (though both function in space) and deserve further explanation. The 'Grinder' is a 30mm seven-barreled chaingun that fires high velocity rounds at almost 4000 rounds per minute. The rounds are are made with a Turanthium/Desh Jacket and a Turadium Penetrator, and are loaded at a 5 to 1 ratio of Armor-Piercing Incendiary to High-Explosive Incendiary (HEI). The gun must be fired in short bursts, or else there is a very serious risk of overheating the barrels (especially in space).
The Javelin missile pod contains a set of 10 anti-armor missiles (arranged in rows in a 3-4-3 configuration) that can be fired either with conventional or laser-guidance. Javelin missiles have a somewhat better anti-armor capability over a conventional concussion missile, but are much shorter ranged (around 15 miles max effective) and have comparatively simplistic guidance packages. To round things off, a conventional flex tube warhead launcher was added to give the 'Aries' some long range versatility.
The armament is rounded out by a single Twin-Linked HT-12 Heavy Laser Cannon, which provides both significant firepower and a respectable rate of fire (thanks to the dual cannon mount).
The second problem discovered was with the capability of the airframe. The engineers imagined a craft that could dogfight as well as it could conduct strafing runs on enemy emplacements. Reality proved otherwise, and while the Aries is rather fast (thanks to the added SLAM), it is also heavy for its size, and not particularly maneuverable. In fact as a dedicated fighter is does rather poorly for its size and cost.
As a partial trade off, some of that mass is a result of the impressive defensive capabilities of the vessel. The Aries is durable, with a shield generator significantly more powerful that those normally present on fighter aircraft, a thoroughly reinforced hull, and neutronium armor. The sheer size of the craft also enabled some versatile features of dubious use to a normal military, but potentially valuable to the Helldivers.
The cockpit is roomy, designed for a pilot and copilot/gunner. While most of the rest of the internal space is taken up by the large shield generators, SLAM Drive, and armor, there remained room to add a sizable pressurized cargo bay, which can hold around 6-10 fully armored soldiers or several tons of equipment. While the Aries is something of a poor choice for a dropship it does give it utility beyond simply close air support.
The end result is a fighter that perhaps performs better as a gunship or support craft than a dedicated interceptor, but is durable enough to make it count in most mission areas. A foreseen cost of this was that the craft is very expensive to produce and is unbelievably maintenance intensive. Shadowline estimates that an Aries can except to spend 1/3 of its lifetime undergoing corrective or preventative maintenance.
As with all Helldiver and Shadowline equipment, the Aries are not sold on the open market, and are restricted to Shadowline personnel. In addition, in the classic Helldiver style, the fighters are heavily customizable in cosmetic ways, and typically every fighter has a unique paintjob.
Development Thread: The Hard Lessons (Helldiver op goes poorly due to lack of air support, driving development of this sub).
Intent: I want a cool fighter that does the Viper Mk III pic justice, and can fill a role that the Helldivers can actually expect to need.
Who Can Use This: Shadowline associates, Helldiver mercenaries, and other select patrons of House Tregessar.
