E27 Wraith
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E27 Wraith
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air superiority fighter | |||||
| File:E27 Wraith.png | |||||
| National Origin | Sarconia | ||||
| Production History | |||||
| Designed | |||||
| [date] - [date] | |||||
| Produced | |||||
| 2113 (Prototypes) - 2125 | |||||
| Designer | Aerfel Industries | ||||
| Unit Cost | 908,000 Sarconian Aurid(√) | ||||
| Number Built | 41 | ||||
| Service History | |||||
| In Service | |||||
| May 16th, 2114 - January 22nd, 2136 | |||||
| Used By | Sarconia | ||||
| Aircraft Characteristics | |||||
| Dry Mass | [mass] | ||||
| Length | [length] m | ||||
| Width | [width] m | ||||
| Height | [height w/gear retracted] m | ||||
| Propulsion | 2x Corain Motors J304 Afterburning Turbofan engines | ||||
| Operational Range | [range in km] km | ||||
| Crew | 1 | ||||
| Sensor Systems | [sensor types] | ||||
| Armament | [ship based arms] | ||||
| Variants | [aircraft variant names] | ||||
The Aerfel Industries E27 Wraith was an all-weather, twin-engine, single-seat 5th Generation tactical fighter aircraft in service with the Sarconian Insurgency Air Wing, and later the Sarconian Air Force. The aircraft and it’s variants were designed primarily for the role of air superiority, but could also operate in strike or electronic warfare capacities. Designed and initially produced in secret, it made its first flight in 2113.
Development
The plane was the first new design for Aerfel Industries since it’s reactivation, and though starting from a clean sheet took many cues from its direct predecessor, the E9 Spectre. From the conceptual stage to its production and deployment, the program was advised by fighter ace and the company’s chief test pilot, Arcellian Kerman.
Design
Despite the firm’s history of unconventional choices, many of the more unusual features present in its prior planes would be missing from the production Wraith, most notably the lack of a virtual cockpit and splitterless central air intake found on the E9. These concessions to normality are thought to be the result of a push to minimise manufacturing costs and difficulty in the still industrially recovering North Sarconia.
Aerodynamically, the base model had a tandem layout and leading edge wing extensions, with the MAXIwraith taking on a three surface layout with the addition of a pair of uncanted canards. Initially envisioned as a true forward swept wing aircraft, this was changed early in the program to a W-wing configuration, principally to reduce Aeroelastic flutter but also in the interests of a lower radar cross section.
The aircraft was equipped with an internal 20mm autocannon mounted on the right hand side of the cockpit, and featured twin internal bays, each with a capacity for three air to air missiles. Optionally discardable external hardpoints for bombs, larger air-to-ground missiles or drop tanks could also be fitted, though were rarely utilitised due to compromising the Wraith’s radar stealth. The MAXIwraith contained an additional internal bay of similar capacity mounted ventrally underneath the cockpit - as well as up to three hardpoints for typical missiles, this could also be filled with a 105mm howitzer cannon for tankbusting and anti-ship operations. This weapon was uniquely used in an air-to-air capacity by the pilot known as the Ghost of Esperi throughout the Fall of Aquaria.
The MAXIwraith, though representing a large increase in capability, had several limitations and compromises compared to its lighter sibling. The positioning of the frontal weapons bay resulted in the nose landing gear being relocated rearward to the base of the intakes, reportedly making landings much more fickle a result of the shorter wheelbase. Many of the included upgrades came with an accompanying weight penalty, leaving the aircraft’s manueverability hampered, and though for the most part this loss was clawed back by new canards it was still notably less agile than the base airframe. In a similar vein, the plane produced 14% more drag in the MAXI configuration while still using the same powerplant, calling pilots to make more agressive use of afterburners - all harming combat range. Partially in response to its comparative vulnerability, an expanded electronic warfare suite was fitted by default to the heavier variant, which reportedly made the aircraft much harder to accurately track. F-77 Shrike pilots who engaged with the Ghost of Esperi in the MAXIwraith’s only significant encounter with representative modern fighters found it almost impossible to maintain a continuous lock on the plane at any distance while it’s weapons bays were closed.