Northwind Aerospace NW-26 Squall
The Northwind Aerospace NW-26 "Squall" is a Multi-Role Light Bomber designed by Northwind Aerospace and used by the Atreian Navy, and Atreian Air Force.
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NW-26 Squall
Northwind Aerospace NW-26 Squall Light Bomber
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| Subsonic Multirole Light Bomber | |||||
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| An Atreian Navy NW-26 on a training exercise in the Tau Sea, c. 2189 | |||||
| National Origin | Atreus | ||||
| Production History | |||||
| Designed | |||||
| 2166 - 2168 | |||||
| Produced | |||||
| 2168 - N/A | |||||
| Designer | Northwind Aerospace | ||||
| Unit Cost | 28,696(√) | ||||
| Number Built | 40 | ||||
| Service History | |||||
| In Service | |||||
| 2168 - N/A | |||||
| Used By | Atreian Air Force, Atreian Navy | ||||
| Aircraft Characteristics | |||||
| Dry Mass | 17,508kg | ||||
| Length | 13.7 m | ||||
| Width | 15.4 m | ||||
| Height | 4.3 m | ||||
| Propulsion | 2 x J-28 "Tiger" Afterburning Turbofans | ||||
| Maximum Velocity | 138m/s (Dry) 196m/s (Wet) | ||||
| Crew | 2-4 | ||||
| Variants | NW-26B, NW-26C | ||||
Development
Origins
Designed for a need for a bomber smaller than the Zokesian Z-5 Naval Bomber, and larger than Fighter-Bombers such as the Z-90, or NW-25 Cheetah not requiring the supersonic speeds needed of such aircraft the Atreian Air Force initially sent out bids for a new light bomber in the mid 2160s following the outbreak of the Belkan Civil War and the deficit of aircraft. Two designs from Northwind and Odyssey Industries were submitted however due to the lack of progress on the design from Odyssey, the Atreian Air Force granted Northwind the contract for the new light bomber to Northwind's NW-26.
The NW-26 prioritized avionics and weaponry over flight performance, mounting 2 variants of the APG-77 including the v1 variant as the backbone of the sensor suite, allowing the aircraft to detect vehicles commonly outside of the range of its weapons.
Early Prototypes
With the first prototype named "P1" finished in March 2167, problems were noticed immediately including poor weight distribution causing the P1 to be nose-heavy and somewhat difficult to fly. This issue alongside the weak rear landing gear causing the first accident in the NW-26's career.
On January 26th, 2168, a test flight evaluating the NW-26's performance at high AOAs and G-Forces nearly ended in disaster as Air Force Test Pilot William Virfurt and Flight Engineer Robert Jacobson descended to land at Victory AFB in Rison, Atreus. As the aircraft landed on runway 35R the back left landing gear of the aircraft collapsed upon braking potentially caused by the winter runway conditions alongside the already weak landing gear. This caused the aircraft to enter an uncontrolled spin leading it off the runway, leading to the flight engineer ejecting causing the pilot to eject automatically, both coming out of the crash with minor injuries. The airframe of P1 is now displayed in the Air and Aerospace Museum in Kolburg.