Deathstalker

Deathstalker.jpg
Deathstalker
Production information
Manufacturer Andurien AeroTech (FWDI)
Production Year 2744[1]
Model F-77
Class Heavy aerospace fighter
Tech Base Inner Sphere
Technical specifications
Mass 80 tons
Structural Integrity
Frame F-77/X
Power Plant VOX 240a
Armor StarSlab Lite/2
Fuel
Armament
Communications System Telestar F-61[2]
Tracking & Targeting System SynCom VAX[2]
Heat Sinks 25 [50] double heat sinks
BV (2.0) 1,603[3]
1,714[4]
1,276[5]
1,732[6]

Description[edit]

Originally unveiled in 2744, the Deathstalker was a visionary aerospace fighter concept with a then revolutionary forward swept wing design. However, flaws in the cutting edge fighter led to a publicized crash of a prototype and its shelving until the desperate days of the Word of Blake Jihad.

Developed by Andurien AeroTech as an experimental concept, the Deathstalker revisited the unorthodox and long forgotten concept of the forward swept wing. When properly applied, the alternate wing design produced both a remarkably stable flight profile and allowed the use of lighter and thinner materials, and led to its development as a full design. A powerful weapons array, 25 double heat sinks and 10.5 tons of armor made the Deathstalker a formidable foe in combat, but at the cost of speed. During trial flights, the Deathstalker was repeatedly outmaneuvered by comparable SLDF and member state designs, though claiming a number of kills before it was defeated. [3] [4]

However, the prototype design specs had an air frame weight imbalance between the wings and fuselage, a flaw devastatingly revealed during a much-publicized demonstration flight when the prototype crashed after one of its wings suddenly tore off. The 20 Deathstalkers constructed were permanently grounded, never seeing live combat, but Andurien AeroTech remained convinced of the forward swept wing concept, leading to a massive redesign which ultimately result in the successful F-90 Stingray. [3] [4]

It was thanks to the Stingray's centuries of service removing the stigma of the forward-swept wing, and the newly independent Duchy of Andurien attempts to bolster their indigenous production of military hardware after the collapse of the League during the Jihad, that the Deathstalker finally entered limited production in 3073. [4]

Weapons and Equipment[edit]

Intended for an air supremacy role, the Deathstalker carried a nose-mounted Imperator X AC/10 backed up by twin Hellion-a III ER large lasers in each wing. The large volume of double heat sinks carried allowed the fighter to fire its primary weapons at once, with two wing-mounted Hellion-b II medium lasers providing fallback firepower when cooling down. [3] [4]

Variants[edit]

Design Quirks[edit]

The XF-78 Deathstalker variant is subject to the following Design Quirk:[8]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. MUL online date for the Deathstalker
  2. 2.0 2.1 Technical Readout: 3075, p. 266, "F-77 Deathstalker"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Technical Readout: 3026 Revised, p. 101-101 - "F-77 Deathstalker"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Technical Readout: 3075, p. 266 - "F-77 Deathstalker"
  5. Record Sheets: 3075, p. 99
  6. Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged - Age of War, p. 178
  7. Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged - Age of War, p. 179
  8. 8.0 8.1 Experimental Technical Readout: Phantoms', p. 11

Bibliography[edit]