Icaria SF-1 Kopis (Sword) Medium Fighter:

Most independent star system are not wealthy. Many are economically viable but they lack the resources of a major power or even a minor power with a handful of system. One of the exceptions to this is the Icaria star system. It is at the convergence of multiple trade routes and has profited greatly from the trade flowing through its system. Many ships stop in system to tranship cargo, refit, and as layovers for the crew.

Some systems in a similar situations might have most of the economic resources centered in the wealthy but Icaria has a thriving economy with a strong social network. In addition to a powerful economy, the system has an outstanding educational system with several excellent universities. While generally not quite at the same level as the Consortium’s best schools, they still attract some of the best students.

The system is considered so valued that it has had multiple offers from first the Human Alliance and later the Consortium to join them. The population considers themselves fiercely independent and has voted down the referendums when presented. The Trans Galactic Empire has almost made some moves indicating an interest in the system which would be less voluntary.

Most of the traffic going through the system is from Human Alliance worlds and the system is considered of vital interest to the larger power. As a result, there have been a number of defense treaties where the Human Alliance is suppose to come to the Icaria system’s aid. In return, the system allows transit rights and often Human Alliance and Consortium starships will visit the Icaria home system. As well, on occasion Icaria ships will train with Human Alliance and Consortium forces.

Even with this close relationship, Icaria has decided to keep a quite powerful navy. The reality of the Human Alliance intervening always has political aspects and the Icaria never wanted to become dependent on the Human Alliance either. As a result, they have always kept a large fleet. In fact, their fleet is actually larger than a number of minor multi-system governments.

Initially, Icaria largely followed the Human Alliance with regards to technology including operating Human Alliance fighter designs including the Osprey medium and Vixen light fighters. Has not stopped them from doing various upgrades over the years and they have also purchased a number of these older fighters as the Human Alliance has replaced them with more advanced designs.

Recently however, the Icaria military decided to develop their own advanced fighter design with the medium fighter role in mind. Initially, there was some interest in Bushido Industries Katana design but they could not get licenced production and the cost on a per fighter basis was greater than the system wanted to spend. The new medium fighter is known as the F-1 Kopis (Sword) with full production has currently only just begun. It is expected to be years before all Osprey fighters are replaced by the Kopis design. So far, no Kopis has been exported as far as is known.

Currently there are also plans to replace the Vixen light fighter. The Scorpion, which has largely been adopted by the Human Alliance, was rejected quickly. The system is currently looking at licenced production of the Bearcat design although one alternative is the Super Hyena, which is an incredibly similar design although the Bearcat has better performance.

The engines of the Kopis seem to be a development of an improved engine design for the Osprey and give equal acceleration to the Katana design. An advanced fusion reactor powers the fighter’s various systems. Some fleet officers wanted the Kopis to mount a faster than light drive but that was considered too expensive. As well, most faster than light fighters are extremely slow due to the small size of the faster than light drive. Long range scouting done by fighters in some fleets is performed by corvettes in the Icaria navy.

Shield generators are about fifty percent more powerful than those mounted on the Osprey that the Kopis is designed to replace. Armor however is slightly thinner in many areas than the Osprey however due to the use of stronger composites and alloys is actually slightly tougher. The cockpit of the Kopis is the exception and carries far better armor than the Osprey.

Missiles tend to be the fighter’s main weaponry although unlike the Osprey, the Kopis does not have main missile bays. Instead, the fighter has hard points mounted in a semi recessed fashion. There are a total of five hard points with one mounted centerline. The centerline hard point usually carries missiles but can mount a rail gun instead. Otherwise, each hard point is designed to be able to carry a single anti-ship capital missiles or a mixture of lighter ordnance. Very similar to those mounted on the Osprey, one might even say copied, the fighter also has a pair of missile bays generally reserved for medium range missiles although can also carry short range missiles. These bays can carry eight medium range missiles each.

For close range combat, the Kopis mounts a pair of particle beams. These particle beam are just as powerful and longer ranged than those mounted the Katana. Particle beams tend to be more powerful while shorter ranged than similar power lasers. When a rail gun is carried, the weapon can be linked to the particle beams for greater damage. Whatever light fighter is adopted, it is quite likely that a particle identical to that which is carried on the Kopis mounts will replace the original close range weaponry, possibly a single mount however. The same gun is also carried in some upgraded older fighters.

Even though designed to be operated by a crew of two as designed, the Icaria military normally operates Osprey medium fighters with a single crew. The Kopis however was designed with only space for the pilot and does not have space for second crew member. There is nothing exceptional in this. Some medium fighters are designed for two crew members while others are designed for a single crew. Single pilot fighters include the Bushido Industries’ Katana medium fighter.

This starfighter uses modified starship speed and weapon range rules. See Revised Starship Rules for Phase World / Three Galaxies for more details.

(Note: The power system is fusion not anti-matter because the author’s opinion is that anti-matter is to dangerous to be used in vehicles that may be used in an atmosphere. If a starship powered by anti-matter was to detonate in an atmosphere it would cause huge planetary damage. At GM option, this can also be applied to all starfighters or this fighter can be changed to anti-matter.)

Model Type: SF-1 Kopis Medium Fighter.

Vehicle Type: Multi-Role Fighter.

Crew: One.

M.D.C. By Location:

	Nose 2.5 cm Particle Beam Cannons (2):	80 each
	Light Missile Bays (2):	60 each
	Missile Hard Points (5, on the Underside):	5 each
	[1] Main Body:	640
	Cockpit:	150
	[2] Variable Force Field:	300 per side (1,800 total)

Notes:

[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will put the fighter out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck.

[2] Shields positions can be varied and all could be combined in one shield. Shields regenerate at the rate of 5% (90 M.D.C.) per melee round.

Speed:

Driving on the Ground: Not Possible.

Sublight: Has a special sublight engine that allows the ship to travel up to 40 percent of the speed of light. Fighter can accelerate/decelerate at the rate of 1.4 percent of light per melee.

Atmospheric Propulsion: Maximum normal speed is Mach 6.5 (4,947.9 mph /7,962.9 kph), can enter and leave atmosphere because flight system is using contra grav. When loaded down with ordinance, fighter’s top speed in an atmosphere is only reduced to Mach 5.8 (4,415.0 mph / 7,105.3 kph) due to the semi-recessed nature of the hard points.

Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited by drive system but only has supplies for pilots for two weeks.

Statistical Data:

Length: 45.28 feet (13.8 meters).

Height: 14.76 feet (4.5 meters).

Width: 47.24 feet (14.4 meters).

Mass/Weight: 14.88 Tons (13.5 metric tons) empty and 21.5 tons (19.5 metric tons) fully loaded.

Power System: Advanced Fusion with 30 year life span.

Cargo: Minimal Storage Space, place for a rifle, handgun, small survival kit, signal flares, and food rations. Does not include missile bays and hard points.

Market Cost: If available, would cost approximately 45 million credits. Currently unavailable outside of the Icaria military forces.

Weapon Systems:

Two (2) Nose 2.5 cm Particle Beam Cannons: Mounted in the nose of the fighter are a pair of particle beams, These particle beam cannon mounts are designed to do more damage than most laser cannons but have less range. Still, it is considered in many ways the best compromise weapon with both good range and inflicting heavy damage. Can be combined together and can be linked with a rail gun on the centerline.

Maximum Effective Range: 600 miles (960 km) in space and range is 6 miles (9.6 km) in atmosphere.

Mega Damage: 3D6x10 M.D. per cannon (6D6x10 M.D. for both.) Can be linked with a rail gun if mounted in the centerline hard point.

Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).

Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
Two (2) Light Missile Bays: Mounted on the “Wing Roots” of the fighter are a pair of missile launchers / bays which can carry medium range or short range missiles. Weapon system is used for hitting enemy robots, fighters, and long range and cruise missiles. Medium Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Short Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 10 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 4% of light per turn. Normally used for anti-fighter and point defense. Weapon system can be used on multiple targets.

Maximum Effective Range: Medium Range Missile range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space and Short Range Missiles range is 10 miles (16.1 km) in an atmosphere and 500 miles (804.7 km) in space.

Mega-Damage: Varies with medium or short range missile type (Medium range multi-warhead heavy warheads inflict 5D6x10 M.D.C. each - See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details.)

Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), or eight (8) missiles.

Payload: Eight (8) medium range missiles or Sixteen (16) short range missiles each bay (maximum of 16 medium range missiles or 32 short range missiles.)
Five (5) “Semi Recessed” Hard Points: The fighter has a total of five hard points. Each “wing” has a pair of semi recessed hard points and there is a single hard point on the fuselage. Each hard point can carry one cruise missile, two long range missiles, four medium range missiles. The centerline hard point can carry a powerful electromagnetic rail gun instead of missiles. The pylons must carry all the same type ordnance.
1. Missiles: Cruise missile are normally carried when on an anti-capital ship role and long and medium range missiles when fighting other starfighters. Cruise Missiles have a top speed of Mach 25 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 10% of light per turn (far faster than any starship.) Long Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 20 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 8% of light per turn (faster than any starship.) Medium Range Missiles have a top speed of Mach 15 in an atmosphere and in space has an acceleration of 6% of light per turn. Whether weapons can be shot down is calculated from the speed of target, launcher, and missile. When drive goes dead, missile will continue to travel in a straight line unless set to self destruct but has very low odds of hitting starships (Great for hitting bases and planets because target does not move and missile, when unpowered, is at -25% to be detected.) Cruise missiles have penalties to hit small targets but are all considered smart missiles. Missiles can be launched on multiple targets simultaneously.
  
  Maximum Effective Range: Cruise Missile range is 8,000 miles (12,875 km) in an atmosphere and 4,000,000 miles (6,437,376 km/ 21.5 light seconds) in space, Long Range Missile range is 3,400 miles (5,470 km) in an atmosphere and 1,800,000 miles (2,89700 km/9.7 light seconds) in space, and Medium Range Missile range is 160 miles (257.5 km) in an atmosphere and 80,000 miles (128,750 km/0.43 light seconds) in space.
  
  Mega-Damage & Properties: See revised Phase World / Three Galaxies missile tables for details (Cruise Anti-Matter warheads inflict 4D6x100 M.D.C. each and Long Range Fusion warheads inflict 2D4x100 M.D.C. each.)
  
  Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), three (3), or four (4) missiles.
  
  Payload: One (1) cruise missile, two (2) long range missiles, or four (4) medium range missiles per hard point.
2. 40 mm Electromagnetic Rail Gun Pod: Can only be mounted on the centerline hard point. Unlike most of the rail guns used on Phase World / Three Galaxies starships, these are standard electromagnetic rail guns. Comparatively heavy weapons, the rail guns fire a heavy 40 mm high density projectile and have excellent range. Each turret can rotate 360 and has a 180 arc of fire. Weapons are mounted around the ship for point defense. The rail gun still fires projectiles at incredible velocities compared to rail guns on Rifts Earth and projectiles are fired from rail guns at a significant fraction of the speed of light.
  
  Maximum Effective Range: Rail guns have a range of 12 miles (19.3 km) through atmosphere and 1,200 miles (1,930 km) in space.
  
  Mega-Damage: Rail Cannon inflicts 3D6x10+30 M.D.C. for a 10 round burst. If mounted, it can be linked with the nose mounted particle beams for greater damage.
  
  Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).
  
  Payload: Rail Cannon has 1,000 Rounds (100 Bursts) each cannon.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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