Bluehawk (Conventional Fighter)
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| MSF-42 Bluehawk Combat Support Fighter | |
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Majesty Metals and Manufacturing |
| Equipment Rating | |
| Use | Combat Support |
| Tech Base | Inner Sphere |
| Cost | ??? |
| Introduced | 3019 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 50 tons |
| Engine (Type) | 250 Turbine |
| Fuel | 160 - 3 ton |
| Armament | 2x LRM-10
3x Machine Gun |
| Armor | Standard |
| Crew | 1 |
| BV (1.0) | ??? |
| BV (2.0) | 441 |
The MSF-42 Blue Hawk and the ASF-23 Protector conventional support fighters are a curiosity in the Periphery. Though produced by two diferent companies in two diferent realms, using two diferent manufacturing philosophies, both craft are virtually indistinguishable in performance - their diferences apparently beign only skin deep.It is thus hard to say wich one of the two producing realms - The Magistracy of Canpus for the Bluehawk and the Outworlds Alliance for the Protector - actually originated the design, or if they shared specifications at some point. Even the introduction dates yield little clue, as both fighters entered service in 3019. Officials in both producing companies (Majestracy Metals and United Outworlders Corporation, respectively) aren`t talking, though some have suggested that a secret backroom deal was made as the groundwork for a corporate alliance, if not a political one. Bluehawk and Protectors are both designed for atmospheric fire support, and thus are not built so much for speed as they are for weapons. Wing-mounted LRM-10s enabled these craft to saturate the battlefield with missiles, while close-in passes with the nose-mounted trio of machine guns can devastate conventional infantry in seconds. Bomb-laden fighters can bring havoc to the battlefield in short order, freeing up aerospace fighters for more dogfighting and DropShip interceptions. Since their debut, both the Bluehawk and the Protector have appeared in planetary air forces of the Magistracy of Canpus, Outworlds Alliance, Taurian Concordat and even some fringe regions of the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine. In many cases - particularly in the Concordat and Alliance, squadrons compromised of both fighters flying in tandem have been employed, taking advantage of their distinctly different appearance to confound enemy identification.
References
- Handbook: Major Periphery States, pp 200-201