Eagle (Aerospace Fighter class)

The first Heavy aerospace fighter developed by the Free Worlds League, the simple and rugged Eagle continues to serve as a yardstick for modern fighter designs.

First developed in 2324, the modern Eagle first appeared in 2601 featuring fourteen tons of BattleMech grade armor, a Vlar 300 rating Fusion Engine and a whopping twenty- five heat sinks. While not of the same class as Star League Defense Force designs of the same weight, the Eagle compares very favorably to those of the other Great Houses.

Unfortunately, while in widespread use across the Free Worlds League Military and militia forces, the destruction of Imstar's assembly line for the fighter 2811 during the First Succession War has resulted in a steady decline of the design in Marik space. The Eagle lives on in both halves of the Federated Commonwealth thanks to the theft of the plans by spies in the employ of House Davion prior to the Imstar plant's destruction. Produced since the Second Succession War, the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth most commonly used it as a second-line fighter, a role continued in the AFFS with the design specs shared with Lockheed-CBM.

Weapons and Equipment
Intended for roles far from established lines of supply, the Eagle carries a mix of Magna lasers, three Mk III Large Lasers for primary ranged fire, one per wing, and four Mk II Medium Lasers mounted forward for short-ranged combat, and one aft-mounted to discourage pursuit. The large volume of heat sinks carried allows the fighter to fire most of these weapons nearly constantly, and gives the Eagle excellent endurance. The fighter is built in several sites which explains its wide use.

Variants

 * EGL-R1 : The first Eagle produced in 2324 used a primitive cockpit, armor, and engine. Though it had the same fuel capacity and weaponry as the R6, it offered much less protection to its pilot and was slower. BV (2.0)=1,255


 * EGL-R4 : A common example of the earlier, more primitive Eagles developed in 2492 and still in use thanks to the tech decline of the Succession Wars, the R4 features five medium lasers, two large lasers and mounts Industrial Armor . BV (2.0) = 1,294


 * EGL-R6b : Constructed in 2765 for and exclusively distributed to Star League Defense Force Royal Divisions, this Eagle mounts a Large Pulse Laser in the nose and each wing, along with four Medium Pulse Lasers: Two in the nose and one in each wing. To discourage pursuit, a pair of Medium Lasers cover the rear. BV (2.0) = 1,677


 * EGL-R9 : Intended as an anti-DropShip variant, the 2601 R9 replaces the large lasers with a pair of wing mounted Magna Hellstar PPCs and an additional heat sink . BV (2.0) = 1,458


 * EGL-R10 : Developed in 2684 for the ground attack role, the R10 removes the wing-mounted large lasers, replacing each with three additional medium lasers and two extra heat sinks . BV (2.0) = 1,512


 * EGL-R11 : A Jihad era retrofit produced in 3071, this upgrade drops the aft medium laser and ten heat sinks, but upgrades the remaining to sinks double strength models and replaces the large lasers with a Large Pulse Laser in each wing and a ER PPC mounted it the nose . BV (2.0) = 1,527