Lancer

Description
One of the products of the post-Clan Invasion trillion M-Bill naval technology renaissance in the Free Worlds League, the Lancer is an advanced Aerospace Fighter design that sees most use as a carrier DropShip and WarShip-based reconnaissance craft.

Gutierrez Aerospace put their decade of experience with producing the stopgap F-94 Stingray to good use in designing the test bed LX-1 to validate the design and new technology, with the production model LX-2 entering service after a four year development period in 3064. Though not as "cutting-edge" as the Shiva OmniFighter, the Lancer is a formidable aircraft, hailed as a "dream to fly" by pilots and "simplicity to maintain" by ground crews.

A light and agile fighter with integrated flight and weapon systems, the heart of the aircraft is the 250-rated fusion engine and five tons of fuel, capable of driving the Lancer at high speeds at low level. Advanced terrain-avoidance sensors allow the Lancer to fly at NOE altitudes, a highly successful if uncomfortable way to sneak under enemy radar cover.

Weapons and Equipment
A nose-mounted Irian Weapons Works Class 10b LRM launcher provides the Lancers principal long-range firepower, the same weapon carried by the Stingray with the addition of an Artemis IV FCS to improve missile accuracy, with a Tronel PPL-22 Large Pulse Laser mounted in each wing providing medium-range firepower. While carrying an advanced and well rounded weapons array for its size, the Lancer is hampered by carrying only a single ton of LRM reloads, and bombs or external pods greatly degrade the fighter's performance in its signature NOE role.

Variants

 * LX-2A : A 3066 variant used on the FWLS Santorini replaces the LRM launcher with an ER Large Laser, an extra heat sink, as well as an extra ton of fuel. BV (1.0) = 970 BV(2.0)=1,131


 * LX-3 : This 3074 Lancer variant removes the standard weaponry and replaces it with a Large Variable Speed Pulse Laser in each wing. It also carries a Guardian ECM Suite in the nose. BV(2.0)=1,037