Vulcan (Aerospace Fighter class)

Description
The Vulcan was the mainstay aerospace fighter of the Rim Worlds Republic and perhaps the Republic's most famous design. Prior to the Amaris Coup, the Republic built up its conventional armor and aerospace forces, as their leadership had realized they could not match the numbers of BattleMechs fielded (or being built) by the other major states. The Vulcan was produced at several factories throughout the Republic, although the main facility was on Apollo. As a component of his engineering the downfall of the Cameron dynasty, Stefan Amaris secretly supplied Vulcan fighters to other Periphery powers, including 'rebels' in the Taurian Concordat. Production of the arrow-shaped, rudderless fighter continued until 2767, when Kerensky's force seized the Rim Worlds Republic.

After the war, many former Rim World Republic Vulcan pilots took their fighters and became mercenaries. Even in the modern era, Vulcans have been sighted in the forces of Deep Periphery nations like the Hanseatic League.

By 3075, a student project at the Greenock Flight Academy on Firgrove had created a modern variant of the Vulcan, which prompted some small manufacturers to put the fighter back into production.

Weapons and Equipment
The Vulcan has a pair of powerful wing mounted Class 10 Republic Mk VII Autocannons with a ton of ammunition dedicated to each gun. These autocannons are backed by a nose-mounted array of weapons including two Firefly lasers (a Type III Large and a Type II Medium) and a six-tube Short Range Missile launcher with a ton of ammunition. A single medium laser protects the Vulcan's rear-arc.

Variants

 * VLC-3N : The original Vulcan introduced in Introduction Year::2525 was protected by seventeen tons of Primitive Armor and used a primitive cockpit and engine. It carried an Autocannon/10 with a ton of ammunition in each wing and a nose mounted Medium Laser and SRM-6 with a ton of ammunition. Another Medium Laser was mounted to cover the aft arc of the fighter. BV (2.0) = 1,067


 * VLC-6N : A field upgrade during the Amaris Coup developed in Introduction Year::2767, the wing-mounted autocannons were replaced by two Gauss Rifles with 4 tons of ammunition. The fighter's heat sinks were reduced to 12. BV (2.0) = 2,117 , 2,096


 * VLC-8N : Restoration project turned upgrade in Introduction Year::3074 . The fighter mounts two Light Gauss Rifles in place of the VLC-5N's autocannons, two Large Pulse Lasers, and two Extend-Range Medium Lasers with one mounted forward and one aft. The six-tube Short Range Missile launcher is given a Artemis IV FCS enhancement, and the fighter's powerplant is upgraded to an XL model coupled to sixteen double heat-sinks. While the mass it devotes to armor is reduced slightly, the use of Ferro-Aluminum armor offsets any loss in protection. BV (2.0)= 1,766