Starfleet Ranger Series: Short Range Fighter

[K'riq Sa]

As some of you know I am doing a Starfleet Ranger fanflick. Here are pics of one of the ships that just got meshed.....



Here is the original artwork....

and here is the 3D interpretations, as done by Marshall Huffman.

So I guess that my question is I need to come up with a "class" for this style of fighter and info break-down similar to this....







Starfleet Rangers: Mars Alpha Base - Space Recon Fighter

Production Base: Mojave Fleet Yards, Earth.

Mission: Tactical Short Range Recon/Fighter

Incept Date: 2105

Crew: 1 pilot

Power Plant:

warp engines, micro-Fusion RCS thrusters & impulse engines

Dimensions:

Length: 7.5m

Beam: 7.2m (5.1m docked)

Height: 2.7m.

Mass: 6.7m tonnes.

Performance: Warp 1.5 for 3 hours.

Armament:

Two forward facing ____ cannons.

(stern) Two wing-mounted torpedo.

Shields:


Sensors:
Standard shuttle sensor package with "GAC-LINK" secure channel to host-starship (can accept tactical and other data from host Starship's CIC on a secure subspace short-range channel).

Space Frame:

Utilizing cutting edge technology in spaceframe design the ________ is capable of high velocity turns up to and exceeding a massive __g without compromising the strengthened Structural Integrity Field. Making it one of the best Federation dog-fighters ever. It incorporates folding wing design for easier launch and docking with smaller vessels.



Nothing is sacred or written in stone, if you got knowledge go for it, and help fill in the blanks



perfectly,

K'riq Sa
Minister of the Church of Silky Smooth

 

[RyanLevy]

not to nitpick, but if it is a short-range fighter, what use would it have for a warp core unless just for power?

 

[prometheuspan]

Thats not a federation ship, its a futurized jet fighter.

As for why warp? I know its hard to imagine, but FTL speeds actually
more or less create a whole new level of combat. If such fighters encountered hostiles with FTL drive and did not have it, they would simply be outflown
and their weapons would never make target. The enemy could pick them off
at their convenience using tactics such as the "picard manuever" etc.

Think of the difference between a world war 2 biplane and a fighter jet in the modern era. Now multiply that by 10.

 

[Timo]

Yeah, I'd support an impulse-only design for the 2105 date.

Also, at that time, large Earth starships were credited with warp 1.8 performance. Warp 1.5 sounds perhaps a bit excessive, unless the low endurance somehow allows for this through a tradeoff of some sort.

Since this design has very aerodynamic wings, I'd keep it as a solely planet-based interceptor, not seeing shipboard use at all - all the more so since the known Earth starships from the era don't seem to include types large enough to credibly have fightercraft aboard. OTOH, the stubby, thick wings wouldn't be of any real use in Mars, so this would more probably be an Earth-based interceptor.

If this deviates too far from what you had planned, I'd recommend replacing the wings with some other kind of pylon structure, one that is more angular and lacks the flap-and-slat structures. The single impulse-engine-thingy that replaces the vertical stabilizer looks mucho cool, sort of like one-half of the tail structure of those DS9 fighters, and the blue glow is consistent with other 22nd century stuff, and of course the rounded nose and cockpit bubble look nicely similar to the ENT shuttlepod ones while retaining the hawkish "fighter look". But the wings are a bit much...

As for the weapons, the plasma cannon of ENT fame might be a consistent choice, but good old dart- or grenade-firing, gunpowder or electromagnetic-acceleration cannon are of course possible as well. I'd avoid lasers, particle beams, phasers and other exotic stuff, but that's just IMHO.

Acceleration with inertial damping is something I'd not be stingy with. Let's say 300 gee at a minimum, allowing the craft to accelerate from one planet in our system to another within hours. Starships would have to accelerate at a thousand gees or more to meet the onscreen travel time criteria, and we indeed see something like that in the TMP Earth departure scene.

I see you left even the name of the craft open. Perhaps something that deviates from today's standard aggressive names like Raptor or Intruder or Corsair or Avenger, in the name of the newfound peace on Earth at that time and age - but not that somewhat worn and cliched bird thing, either, no Peregrine or Eagle or Falcon or Kestrel. Perhaps something nautical-ichtyological for a change? Orca, Akula, Marlin, Moray... And plenty of other fish (or marine mammals) in the sea.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[trekker670]

I like the design, but it doesnt really have the starfleet feel to it.

 

[K'riq Sa]

What would you suggest?....



K'riq