Alright, so, I'm going to propose something that, at first glance, seems unnecessary.
In Discord, Sensei said, directly, that we have, in all non-naval theaters, a minor air advantage. In other words, our general is propping us up. By changing that, we gain the following:
Extreme ground support. Without any hostile air competition, Haasts will run amok, pretty much destroying anything that pokes it's head into a jungle clearing. Also, good luck landing on Mt. Konstantin with aircraft everywhere. Basically, this does everything Turbohaast, the rocket proposals, the artillery proposals, and tanks do: It gives us an advantage to armored warfare.
The naval theater: If we steal the Vic, refit BOTH our carriers with steam catapults, and develop this fighter, we'll destroy Cannala's naval advantage, allowing us to land on the mountain-island lane, something I don't think we've yet been able to do.
Also: Whatever the Cannalans build, barring the Death Star itself, can be countered if we have complete air dominance.
So, my design. I propose an aircraft that is lightweight, basically built around a tremendously powerful engine and given just enough wings and tail to turn on a dime. The goal, of course, is to make the ultimate dogfighter.
The specs (Minus fluff) are basically:
Faster than any other aircraft yet built in our archipelago, by a HUGE margin.
Highly maneuverable, as maneuverable as it can be made.
Can take off from a Wasp Nest or Zheleznogorod, assuming catapult assist (By the way: Revise steam catapults onto all our carriers this turn).
Named after the greatest fear of all Canners, it's the newly remade
UFAF-F-41 Lightning Streak
True to it's namesake, the Lightning Streak promises to be a terrifyingly fast creature. Built purely for maneuverability and speed, the Sobriety is based around a brand-new "turbofan" type engine, a revolutionary new development from al-Tawrbinat Engine Technologies. This new engine promises greater acceleration and much better fuel consumption (Less is more), at the cost of some power. The plane is built around a single one of the new aT-J20 series turbofans. These turbofans are built to a much higher spec that the previous aT-J00-series turbojets, having incredibly better thrust and acceleration, and utilizing a fuel reinjection system at the end of the engine, called an "afterburner", for greater thrust, at higher fuel costs, for short periods of time. The rest of the plane is designed solely for maneuverability, using every trick we've learned and some we've invented just now, including an almost completely aluminum frame with steel, mangalloy if necessary (Or helpful), reinforcements in the wings, to increase g-stress tolerances. In the nose are three 25mm "Deinonychus" autocannon, basically a slightly larger version of the Velociraptor 20mm. The pilot has a wraparound ballistics glass canopy with minimal framing, giving excellent visibility. There is a stabilized gunsight and the controls are designed to be smooth and responsive, capitalizing on the maneuverability of the aircraft. The wings and tailplanes are swept to increase speed, balanced with maneuverability. The plane must be capable of taking off from a Z or Wasp Nest with a catapult assist. The design aims to be Expensive.
And yes, that IS assuming a revision for the Wasp Nest that gives it steam-catapult capability. But let's face it, both it and the Z need that revision to continue being worthwhile.
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Topic: Intercontinental Arms Race: Finale (Read 603445 times)