Designation: F-41 Viper (A,C,E,F) Fighter

I. Dimensions:

II. Type:

• (-41A, -41C): One seat all weather aerospace single engine fighter.
• (-41E): One seat all weather electronic warfare capable single engine fighter.
• (-41F): One seat all weather aerospace anti-radar/SEAD capable single engine fighter.

III. Service History

• F-41A: Served with the New Republican Army Air Corps from 2059 until present.
• F-41C: Served with the New Republican Army Air Corps from 2059 until present.
• F-41E: Served with the New Republican Army Air Corps from 2062 until present.
• F-41F: Served with the New Republican Army Air Corps from 2062 until present.

IV. Propulsion:

(-41A):

• Teledyne Continental 1820-TVH thrust-vectoring fusion turbine, max. unboosted output 296 kN (boosted, 348 kN).

(-41C, -41E, -41F):

• Teledyne Continental 1832-TVH thrust-vectoring fusion turbine, max. unboosted output 311 kN (boosted, 363 kN).

(All):

• Four Nakajima NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters.
• Sixteen P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters distributed around the aircraft.
• Four P&W HHW05 high-thrust vernier vents in the wings, as part of the aircraft's space roll control.
• Powerplant: 2 x RRL-2P miniaturized protoculture-cell energizer.
• Fuel Capacity:
  • 12 Standard Canisters of Protoculture.
  • 20 lit. D₂O reactant for fusion engines.

V. Performance:

• Max level speed at sea level : Mach 1.12
• Max level speed at 10 km : Mach 3.02
• Max level speed at 30+ km : Mach 5.15
• Stall speed (VTOL shift possible): 185 kph.
• Initial climb rate : over 42000m per minute.
• Unboosted service ceiling : 35 km.
• Range (space): Total Δ-v 10.1 kps on internal reaction mass. Additional Δ-v can be added by mounting drop tanks.
• Protoculture supply: 210 hours operational use.
• G limits: -4.5/+10.

VI. Electronics:

Radar tracking:

• Hughes APG-115 UWB pulse-Doppler phased array, providing spherical long-range detection and tracking of targets at all altitudes. Equipped with stealth and passive modes.

Optical tracking:

• Ricoh MOS-110X optical composite tracking system, using sensors for high-quality basic optical, UV, IR and x-ray.
• Thomson LT-9 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.

Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):

• Elettronica Supra-10 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• OlDelft 1010 Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
• Westinghouse AN/ALQ-169(K) ECM Pod
• Westinghouse ALQ-260(V) active sensor jammer

Countermeasures:

• Chaff decoy dispenser with 25 shot capacity.
• Flare decoy dispenser with 25 shot capacity.
• Smoke decoy dispenser with 25 shot capacity.

VII. Armament:

Cannons:

(Fitted new 2061-2062):

• RRG EP-4 single barrel particle cannon in the right side nose blister. This cannon can fire a particle beam with a yield of 9 MJ every .25 second.

(Fitted new post-2062):

• Worthington EP-4R single barrel particle cannon in the right side nose blister. This cannon can fire a particle beam with a yield of 11 MJ every .125 second.

Gun pods:

• 1 x Hughes GU-11M 55mm three barreled smoothbore rotary gun pod; has a 200 round capacity. Cannon fires APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot) and HESH-I (High Explosive Squash Head-Incendiary) rounds at 1200 rounds/minute. Also fires in five-round burst mode at 1600 rounds/minute.

Hardpoints:

• 4 underwing hardpoints can each carry:
  • 1 x ER-3M multiple ejector rack for three MRAAMs or QAAMs.
  • or 1 x ER-4M multiple ejector rack for four MRAAMs or QAAMs.
  • or 1 x ER-3B multiple ejector rack for three UGBSs, PGBSs or SALMs.
  • or 1 x EC-15 multiple ejector rack for fifteen SRAAMs.
  • or 1 x ER-2M multiple ejector rack for two LRAAMs.
  • or 1 x ER-2B multiple ejector rack for two UGBMs, PGBMs, MALMs, XAGMs or CLBs.
  • or 1 x UGBL, NPB, PGBL, FAEB, or LALM.

Miscellaneous:

• 1 x VR-052FT or -B Cyclone carried in the rear cockpit compartment. This is provided as an emergency vehicle for downed pilots.
• or 1 x VR-038FT or -B Cyclone carried in the rear cockpit compartment. This is provided as an emergency vehicle for downed pilots.
• 1 x CVR-3M/F personal armor.
• 1 x pilots' personal sidearm. Typical issue for Army Air Corps pilots is the ; however, junior and senior officers have their choice of sidearm which can include a number of civilian firearms.
• 1 x ASK-10 aviator survival kit carried in the rear cockpit compartment. This kit contains a twenty-day supply of emergency field rations, water purification tablets, Protoculture cells, sidearm ammunition, and four Scorpion missiles.

VIII. Armor:

The armor on the Viper is the current state-of-the-art development in low-mass composite-materials Chobham plating that became the standard for all Terran mecha after its application to the VQ-6A Vandal. Aside from the respectable protection provided against projectiles, missiles, and other kinetic weapons, this armor is also resistant to plasma globes (annihilation discs), lasers, and to a lesser extent, particle guns, owing to the fact that the armor can flake off and evaporate in layers under fire from such high-energy weapons, taking much of the weapon's energy and converting it into the latent heat of sublimation in the armor.

The armor stops all small arms fire, heavy infantry weapons fire, and light mecha-mounted weaponry; provides fair resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Valkyrie's 55mm APFSDS round, and poor resistance to heavy mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the VHT's 105mm smoothbore shells.

The Viper life support system provides full protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards, using an overpressure cockpit environment activated by radiation and hazardous chemical sensors, or manually when such warfare conditions are anticipated. The internal consumables supplies can provide atmosphere for 36 hours maximum.

IX. Development:

During the Republican Revolution, numerous Earth territories joined the fight against the Establishment, but needed arms. A steady supply of aircraft was necessary to beat back the formidable air power the Establishment could field on Earth and other colony worlds. A source for such craft was found in Japan, in the plants of the General Galaxy corporation, renowned for their civilian aircraft and spacecraft. Gendo Takemi, president of the Takemi Corporation (chief and nearly sole corporate stockholder of General Galaxy), was a fierce Republican supporter. He personally designed the Viper, anticipating formation of a guerilla air force; he designed the craft around similar principles to the Skyray. When revolution came to his country, he channeled a covert message to Republican leaders on the moon that not only was his industrial organization ready to supply the supporters of freedom worldwide, but that he had also formed a massive underground resistance waiting to be given the word to lift the Establishment yoke from the island state!

Takemi designed the Viper with many characteristics of small fighters of years previous; it was a single-tailed, single-engined craft stripped down to its most basic essentials. Wing form was modeled similar to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, but with a cockpit area heavily influenced by the VF-6 Alpha. The rest of the fuselage was entirely Takemi's inspiration, made as clean as could be; while the systems were made to simplify the workload on an irregular air force, as he (correctly) envisioned operating and maintaining the craft. Canard foreplanes were essential for maneuverability, horizontal tailplanes were deleted to forestall doubling the maintenance workload. Similar concerns mandated the single vertical tail and single turbine. An energy weapon was specified in order to eliminate the logistic constraint of ammunition; the EP-4 plans were smuggled to General Galaxy. Original avionics packages were designed at the GG plants as well, as simple and trouble-free as could be designed. The single engine was again a duplicate of an existing design; it was a clone of the turbine that equipped the Skyray.

The end result was an incredibly maneuverable and capable craft that held its own very well against Establishment forces, and remained easy enough for insurgent air units in the distant northern and southern Japanese islands to operate and maintain that the Republic would later order numerous Vipers for the burgeoning terrestrial air force. Vipers would go on to perform very well in the liberation of Alaska from both the Establishment and the resurgent Soviet state. While seeing little action in the early parts of the war against Tirol, it is expected that as actions against occupied planets increases, the Viper will get a serious workout.

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