F-181 Lightning (D18)

The F-181 Lightning family is a Nationalist design on Terra equipping all fighter squadrons (or Pursuit Squadrons as they are called by the National Guard). It is a large, two crew starfighter designed to be the only type the Nationalist would ever need to meet everything on the threat spectrum.

A large triangular design with cockpit forward and large turbo thrusters shouldered at the rear and mounted on each wing; the F-181 has set climb, speed and acceleration records that the other Government of Terra, the Alliance has not challenged since. The F-181 is meant to do it all and do it better than anything else. Its big size allows it to wear armour, carry a hefty fuel load that powers its powerful but thirsty engines and gives it a substantial range. It is armed with two cannons but its main weapons are an assortment of sophisticated all conditions missiles, most of which outrange what the enemy is carrying. The two crew are seated up front and work in tandem to cope with the workload of a high threat environment where two brains are necessary to make the most of the F-181s systems.

The cockpit itself is large and both the pilot and the Flight Officer are comfortably seated: each has a series of electronic displays ahead of them feeding out tactical, targetting and navigational data with pitched up 'critical flight and fight data' on the canopy and also thru-visor pilot aided picturing of the battlespace- that allows the crew to look and shoot, rather than point and shoot. Flying the Lightning requires quite a bit of training and preparation so most who get their wings and a seat in the plane are considered elites from the get-go.

Both the F-181 and the Alliance Interceptor are contemporaries but whereas the Alliance went 'low end' with their primary fighter, the Nationalists went 'high end' with the Lightning and as a result have a large, technological marvel that is one of the most costly weapons programs on Terra and is the most expensive per unit piece in either group's arsenal. Anxiety abounds over the number of F-181s the Nationalists have and whether it is too much for their budget and too little to win a hypothesised conflict with.

Traits
The F-181 is big and heavy but its large engines, reverse thrusters and reaction control system afford it incredible maneuvreabiltiy in-close where it can utilise a magazine of short range homing missiles and its guns to quickly dispatch bandits. Beyond visual range it engages the enemy with larger, longer flying attack missiles and its deep penetrating sensors give it the eyes to mount these kinds of attacks before an opposing formation gets close. But it is quite a task for the crew to handle with quite a few systems in play and a lot of hands on management needed to get the most out of the fighter. It is also a costly, costly burden for the Nationalists who have found they've had to extend the production run and train more pilots to cope with Alliance industry stamping out Interceptor after Interceptor. While the pride of the Aero National Guard units it equips it is also a highly politicised plane.