Mitchell-Hyundyne's SA series is the basis of Earth Alliance's most versatile line of military hardware. Its simplistic and effective design is easily modified to fit a variety of mission profiles. Early designs, like the SA-10 Aries (introduced in 2170), had more in common with the current Zephyr fighter. It was not until 2203 when the Tiger Starfury was introduced that they began to take on the shape of starfuries today. What the Starfury lacks in advanced technology is made up for in efficiency of design. Propulsion units are situated far from the fighter's center of gravity, allowing maneuvers to be performed with a minimum of power usage. Pilots "stand" in the cockpit to help them cope with the high g-forces they must withstand during combat. Weapons, situated above and below the cockpit, are directed by a Duffy-1018MJS smart targeting computer. Should the Starfury be critically hit, the cockpit can be ejected and serves as a temporary lifeboat. A grappling arm, situated beneath the cockpit, allows the Starfury to latch on to other vessels or debris. The Starfury's gun camera contains an ejectable memory core containing dual crystalline memory boards and a recovery signal beacon. Because of its modular construction, maintenance is reduced to a minimum. Most starfury squadrons can trace their histories back to Earth's World War II (Flying Tigers, etc). This has caused some "recreational disputes" between the Historical Squadrons and those formed more recently. |
