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A-81b Raider
- Heavy Attack Fighter/Bomber
In a galaxy where
large scale wars between star systems is a thing of
the past, naval battle groups complete with massive
bombers and fighter escorts is becoming a rarity. Though
the ConFederation requires most star systems to keep
a standing military ready should the call arise, most
systems do little beyond what the ConFederation has
agreed for their system to contribute. However, some
star systems still take considerable pride in the strength
of their military, and have used this strength as a
deterrent for other local systems that might be considering
defying the ConFederation over some dispute or grievance.
This is where the Omicron ScoLock consortium has found
its success.
It is these star systems that seek advantages beyond
what the standard Confederate military hardware can
provide. Though the GCDF military consortium builds
hardware for all Confederal star systems, some systems
include manufacturers that share their loyalty with
the OSL consortium to build highly specialized equipment
for star systems willing to pay the price. While the
GCDF pushes standardization and multi-role natured ships
and equipment, the OSL has seen the demand for specialized,
role-specific equipment that can out-perform similar
multi-role equipment in certain tasks.
The Corsair carries with it both the reputation as a
remarkable attack craft, and the stigma of a poor performing
vulnerable dog fighter. To address the concerns of the
Corsair's weapon deficiencies, OSL designed the Raider
as a heavy fighter bomber and dedicated attack craft.
The Raider is built around it's two huge, overpowered
Mortiman-Keelan FTL fusion engines, that provide more
than enough speed and power to accommodate both the
heavy standard weapons and the massive payloads the
fighter was designed to carry. The Raider includes two
heavy repeating blaster cannons as well as two Daetrexx-designed
heavy torpedo bays. The airframe also includes pylon
and power configurations for a huge array of hard-point
weapons making it one of the most heavily armed ships
of its size when fully loaded.
However, no starfighter-scale ship can accommodate such
a variety of power systems without compromises. Though
fast and able to fill the same roles as the Corsair,
the drawbacks to the Raider's agility and defensive
shielding have left it with a similar reputation as
the ship it was designed to replace. A fast, powerful
attack craft that still finds itself in dedicated attack
support roles, as pilots do not trust it's dog fighting
abilities any more than the Corsair. Though to a trooper
on the ground, the sight of a friendly Raider spells
certain doom for opposing forces.
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