Heavy Fighter

Heavy Fighter
Size	Very Small
Top Speed	2,800 KM/H
Acceleration	600 KM/H/S
Turn Rate	9 Deg./Sec.
Hitpoints	350 HP
Armour	0
Can do Evasive Roll?	yes
Weapons	2?
Beam Damage	70
Beam Range	5,500 Units
Missile Damage	200
MissileRange	5,000 Units
Ticker Appearance	300

The Heavy Fighter is a more powerful variant of the Fighter which is deployed to fulfill the same roles. It is also one of the more versatile UFO's due to it appearing on every Alien mission soon after it is called into service, with this craft initially appearing in Alien air superiority roles before expanding into other escort roles with most other Alien missions. In all cases the Heavy Fighter is eventually replaced by the Interceptor.

Xenopedia

The Heavy Fighter is a small alien air superiority craft. It is much tougher than the Fighter UFO and possesses weapons systems capable of shredding a conventional interceptor such as the Condor in moments.

The wings of the vessel house most of the vital systems (avionics, thrusters, weapons), with surviving fragments suggesting that all of these are significantly more advanced than their equivalents on the basic Fighter. It seems that the craft houses a reactor in each wing, making significantly more power available to the various components - this is probably what makes the Heavy Fighter so much more formidable than its predecessor.

Dismantling the central saucer reveals the identity of the pilots. A Harridan lies sealed inside the craft's saucer, curled into the foetal position and plugged directly into the UFO's sensors and control systems. The creature's armour draws power from the craft reactor and provides all required life support functions, making it likely that the pilots are permanently incarcerated within their craft when built.

Air Performance

A quirk of Heavy Fighters is that they turn extremely slowly (9 degrees/sec), far slower than their predecessors. This means that they become almost a non-factor if the craft they are escorting is tailed first; two Foxtrots can use afterburners to swiftly close to torpedo range, shoot down the craft they are escorting, and then escape before the Heavy Fighters have turned around.

This atrocious turn rate also means that a Corsair using afterburners can literally fly circles around a Heavy Fighter while staying out of its cannon range, meaning that said Corsair can defeat a head-on attack from a Heavy Fighter without taking any damage.

Ground Recovery

Fighters all invariably explode in spectacular fashion once shot down and as such leave very little to recover. Being larger and more powerful the wreckage will have some more recoverable materials:

• 2x Alien Alloys
• 1x Alenium

Mission Roles

• Alien Air Superiority (Main craft and Escort)
• Alien Base Attack (Escort)
• Alien Terror (Escort)
• Alien Ground Attack (Escort)
• Alien Construction (Escort)
• Alien Bombing Run (Escort)
• Alien Supply Run (Escort)