Source: Technical Readout 3025
Mass: 25 tons
Frame: Mujika Aerospace Type 12
Engine: Rawlings 250
Armament:
3 Kajuka Type 2 "Bright Blossom" Medium LasersCommunications System: Endicott Type 22 Maser
Targeting and Tracking System: Dwyerson Mark XI
Overview:
The TR-7 Thrush is deployed extensively among DropShip detachments in House Liao regiments, as well as with defensive garrisons through out the Capellan Confederation. The fighter is popular with many newer pilots, who consider its speed and maneuverability an excellent tradeoff for its limited weapons systems and armor protection. With its round wings and circular shape, the Thrush has been christened "the Frisbee" by Capellan pilots.
Capabilities:
The Thrush is one of the fastest and most agile fighters in any aerospace force in the Successor States. Its Mujika Type 12 frame can withstand the gravitational forces and stress of most of the maneuvers it must perform in combat. Powered by a Rawlings 250 fusion engine, it has all the energy it needs for movement and to fire its three wing- and belly-mounted Kajuka Type 2 "Bright Blossom" medium lasers. These lasers must be fired sparingly to avoid unnecessary heat buildup, however.
The armor on the Thrush is minimal at best, though this limitation gives the fighter its speed and maneuverability. This tradeoff has proven successful when the Thrush is scouting, or screening friendly DropShips or planetside BattleMech forces. However, the light armor becomes a real drawback when the Thrush must engage heavier or more numerous aerospace fighters. In such situations, the pilot has no alternative but to activate his overthrusters and withdraw toward friendly supporting units.
Another major drawback in the Thrush design is its tendency to lurch into uncontrolled spins when entering planetary atmospheres. Though pilots can usually bring their craft out of these spins before they become dangerous, doing so costs precious seconds that could prove critical in a dogfight. The spins are thought to be caused by a flaw in the fighter's circular wing arrangement. In support of that theory is evidence that House Kurita's SL-21 Sholagar, which also has a circular wing arrangement, experiences the same problem when entering atmospheres.