One of the most common "Knock Off" designs in the Three Galaxies is the Hyena light Starfighter which is based on the Consortium Bobcat light starfighter. In general, the Hyena is slightly inferior to the Bobcat. It is slightly larger but is less heavily armored. It also does not have the same acceleration as the Consortium design. Overall though, the Hyena is considered to be a reasonably decent light fighter design.

A group of designers decided to see if they could improve on the Hyena design. Originally their company manufactured the standard Hyena. There is the "Super Hyena" which is basically just an enlarged design. Instead, the designers decided to keep the fighter the same size with a number of basic improvements. The resulting fighter became the "ICE" Hyena light fighter with the "ICE" standing for "Improved Combat Efficiency." As one might expect, the ICE Hyena is a bit more expensive than the standard Hyena although still less than the Bobcat which the Hyena is based off of.

The light fighter is slowly becoming popular such that the small facility manufacturing the fighter currently cannot keep up with demands. As a result, the manufacturers are looking towards expanding production. The facilities are on a fringe world although fairly advanced for such a world. Production of the light fighter has been a huge boom to the planet's economy. The company is building a large facility to increase production but is also looking towards licencing production.

There are two basic improvements in the fighter which stand out. The first is the addition of an auxiliary thruster. A similar thruster was carried on the old Human Alliance Tiger IV medium fighter although the thruster is far more powerful on the ICE Hyena. With the thruster active, the ICE Hyena can reach the same acceleration as the Consortium Scorpion fighter although far more limited in fuel supply. Thrust is limited to around fifteen minutes total. Without the thruster, maximum acceleration is limited to the same as the standard Hyena. The thruster adds just a bit of weight to the fighter although does not effect combat performance in a measurable way when the booster is not active.

The second improvement are a number of small armor upgrades. Better alloys and composites allow the fighter to withstand a bit more damage than a standard Hyena and is about as tough as a standard Bobcat light fighter. Virtually all ICE Hyena light fighters are fitted with a defensive variable force field although can be ordered without one.

A less notable upgrade is a general improvement in the fighter's electronics. While a large portion of the components are civilian in origin, this is reduced to some extent. The cockpit layout is also changed to some extent. Otherwise the ICE Hyena is virtually identical to a standard Hyena. Weaponry is the same as a standard model. As with the standard Hyena, the improved version of the light fighter is easy to maintain.

This fighter uses modified starship speeds and weapon ranges. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World for more details.

(Note: The power system is fusion not anti-matter because the author's opinion is that anti-matter is too dangerous to be used in vehicles that may be used in an atmosphere. If a starship powered by anti-matter was to detonate in an atmosphere it would cause huge planetary damage. At GM option, this can also be applied to all starfighters or this "fighter" can be changed to anti-matter.)

Model Type: MSX-128-ICE
Vehicle Type: Light Starfighter
Crew: One.

M.D.C. By Location:

	Wing Laser Cannons (2):	30 each
	Missile Hard Points (4, on the Underside):	10 each
	[1] Wings (2):	240 each
	[2] Main Body:	420
	Cockpit:	120
	[3] Variable Force Field:	200 per side (1,200 total)

Notes:
[1] Destroying a Wing will cause the light fighter to crash if it is flying within an atmosphere. Destruction of a wing has no effect in space.
[2] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the trainer out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.
[3] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (60 M.D.C.) per melee round (Shields are optional).

Speed:
Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.
Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Fighter can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.4 percent of light per melee. Fighter has auxiliary thrusters which can be used a maximum of 15 minutes before fuel is exhausted. On auxiliary thrusters, the fighter has a maximum acceleration of 1.8 percent of light per melee maximum.
Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum normal speed is Mach 7 (5,190.2 mph / 8,352.8 kph), can enter an atmosphere because flight system is by contra grav. When loaded down with ordinance, fighters top speed in an atmosphere is Mach 3 (2,224.4 mph / 3,579.8 kph)
Maximum Range: Effectively unlimited by internal fuel (4 year duration) although auxiliary thruster range is limited to approximately 15 minutes. Fighter uses a fusion cell system for power systems. The fighter carries four days of consumables for fighter's crew.

Statistical Data:
Length: 30.2 feet (9.20 meters)
Height: 10.2 feet (3.11 meters)
Width: 28.5 feet (8.69 meters)
Weight: 7.6 tons (6.53 metric tons) empty and 9.5 tons (8.26 metric tons) fully loaded with cruise missiles
Power System: Advanced Fusion with 4 year life span.
Cargo: Minimal Storage Space, place for a rifle, handgun, small survival kit, signal flares, and food rations.
Market Cost: 24.5 million credits. Without variable shields, reduce fighters cost by 3 million.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. Two (2) Light Laser Cannons: On each wing of the starfighter is a laser cannon mount. They are not as efficient as modern laser cannons beams but are more massive than most modern laser mounts. This means that they are actual slightly more powerful and slightly longer ranged than those carried by the CAF Black Eagle. However, they are not as powerful as the rail gun mounted on the Black Eagle. The gun pods are controlled by the fighters pilot.
   Maximum Effective Range: 6 miles (9.7 km) through atmosphere and 600 miles (966 km) in space.
   Mega-Damage: 2D4x10+10 per single blast, or 4D4x10+20 per double blast
   Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).
   Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
2. Four (4) Hard Points: The fighter has a total of four hard points which can mount missiles or mini-missile pods. Each wing has one hard point and there are two hard points on the fuselage. Each hard point can carry one cruise missile, two long range missiles, four medium range missiles, or a mini-missile pod with a capcity for sixteen mini-missiles. The pylon must carry all the same type ordnance with generally only the outer hard points carrying mini-missile pods.
   1. Missiles: Cruise missile are normally carried when on an anti-capital ship role and long and medium range missiles when fighting other starfighters. Cruise Missiles has a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship). Long Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship). Medium Range Missiles has a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will still cruise unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting starships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile when dead at -25% to detect.) Cruise missiles have minuses to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Missiles can be launched on multiple targets simultaneously.
      Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missiles range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds), Long Range Missiles range is 3,400 miles (5470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,897,000 km/9.7 light seconds) in space, and Medium Range Missiles range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds).
      Mega-Damage & Properties: See Phase World Missile table (Cruise Anti-Matter inflicts 4D6x100 MDC and Long Range Fusion inflicts 2D4x100 MDC).
      Rate of Fire: One at a time or in volleys of two (2).
      Payload: One (1) Cruise Missile, Two (2) Long Range Missiles, or Four (4) Medium Range Missiles per hard point.
   2. Mini-Missile Pod: While all hard points can carry mini-missile pods, generally these are only carried on the "wings" of the starfighter that can be used against ground targets, infantry, and against starships. Missile has a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 2% of light per turn (slightly faster than any starship except if it is exceeding it maximum safe acceleration). Mini-Missile in the Phase World setting are normally guided.
      Maximum Effective Range: Missile range is 2 miles (3.2 km) in an atmosphere and 100 miles (161 km) in space
      Mega Damage: Varies with mini-missile types (See Phase World Missile table.)
      Rate of Fire: Each pod can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), eight (8) and can be linked with other mini missile pods for greater number of missiles (Counts as one attack no matter how many missiles in a volley)
      Payload: Each pod carries 16 mini-missiles.

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright © 2011, Kitsune. All rights reserved.