The Dimorphodon Interceptor was the second GTSR fighter craft to be identified in 2350. The Dimorphodon has been designed around an upgraded Spectre II hull. The Spectre II’s performance is exceptional for a mid-tier, affordable fighter craft on the open market, but the GTSR have designed a craft that is more suited to a military with a vastly bigger budget to get even more from the base design.
The Dimorphodon is larger and heavier than its predecessor, but thanks to a commensurate upgrade to the power core and more modern engines, the Dimorphodon retains a near-identical performance envelope; rating manoeuvrability at 605 MEUs – very nearly the Spectre II 609 MEUs and slightly improving on the Spectre II’s acceleration to 54.1mc.
The Dimorphodon’s heavier build allows it to carry significantly more weapons. The Spectre II’s forward gatlings have been removed entirely. The Dimorphodon instead mounts a quartet of 21TXq lazer cannons. The lazer cannons are tentatively identified as being cutting-edge LZ-3350 weapons, produced and exported by the Herosine Empire only since 2348. If this is correct, then this gives the Dimorphodon a killer edge, as the LZ-3350s are reputed to have an accuracy envelope of 70 000km.
The Dimorphodon carries twice the payload of the Spectre II. Each of the laser cannons mounts a double-hard point, rated to Standard Warhead Capacity of 2. The standard load is eight Vitrious Conglomerate SRASHM-1111 Viper missiles, with a 30TXq-yield warhead. The larger profile of the Dimorphodon allows it to mount more conventional warhead bays, either side of the hull. These are rated to a Standard Warhead Capacity of 7 each, allowing the Dimorphodon to comfortable manage eight 40TXq Darian Defence MRASHM-1119 Sunspot missiles or potentially four Vitrious Conglomerate ASHAS-1184 Buccaneer anti-ship missiles, with a 150TXq-yield warhead.
To protect itself while dogfighting, the Dimorphodon is fitted with 150TXq shield generators. In addition, the bulkier hull has a thick armour skin rated and Armour Integrity Capacity of 22TXq.
However, this performance comes at a cost. The amount of power all the system requires pushes the top-of-the-line power core to its very limit. It is for this reason that the Dimorphodon does not have a hyperdrive as standard, regulating it to short-ranged defence, just like the Spectre II. Provision is made for fitting a hyperdrive and with the modularity the Dimorphodon has inherited from the Spectre II, so fitting one is simple. Indeed, some Dimorphodons have been spotted with hyperdrives. However, the extra power draw on top of all the other equipment degrades performance. A pilot thus has the choice of degrading their shield strength by 33%, their lazer cannon power by 50%, or as most do, downgrading the engine power by 20%, with a corresponding loss in agility and acceleration. This problem is not one that can be addressed with current human technology as either a much larger generator or an entirely new technology would be required to produce the required output.
As intimated by the hyperdrive, the Dimorphodon shares the Spectre II’s customisability, though this is reduced by the larger amount of equipment it carries as standard. Notably, the lazer cannon housing is easily accessible, and changing the energy weapons would be as easy as changing the gatlings on the Spectre II itself. A switch to kinetic weapons like the base Spectre might be one possibility to reduce power draw, though it would come at considerable cost to the Dimorphodon’s offense capability.
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Range: Grand Terran Sovereign Republic
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