F-104 Bearcat

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F-104 Bearcat
WC4 bearcat4.png
Type Heavy Fighter
Manufacturer Douglas Aerospace
Primary User Terran Confederation
Additional Users Black Lance
General Characteristics
Length 27 meters
Mass 14 tonnes
Crew 1
Performance
Velocity
Maximum 550 kps
Afterburner
Maximum Afterburner 1400 kps
Max Acceleration 1200 k/s^2 k/s2
Armament
Guns
Light Tachyon Cannon (4)
Default Missile Loadout
4x2 (2HS/2IR/2IR/2HS)
Components
Modules
None
Decoys 24
Cloaking Device None
Jump Drive None
Defense
Shields
Fore 280 cm equivalent
Aft 280 cm equivalent
Right 280 cm equivalent
Left 280 cm equivalent
Armor
Front 150 cm
Rear 150 cm
Right 150 cm
Left 150 cm
Wc4bearcat.png
F-104 Bearcat Target Designation, circa 2673.]]


The F-104 Bearcat was a heavy fighter in the service of the Terran Confederation.

Overview

Designed and manufactured in the aftermath of the Terran-Kilrathi War, the Bearcat was to be the next top-of-the-line heavy fighter in the Terran Confederation Space Force. A peacetime design, it was to defend the Confederation against future enemies and against Kilrathi raiders who were still intent on continuing the war with the Confederation. With a standard armament and fair speed, it had potential as a formidable dogfighter on the frontlines.

History

The Bearcat was one of many new Terran innovations to come forth during the peacetime era. By 2673, several combat-ready prototypes of the Bearcat were in testing. A number of them fell into the hands of the Black Lance, who used them in an attempt to provoke war between the Confederation and the newly-independent Union of Border Worlds.

One notable action undertaken by the Bearcats was their role in the Black Lance assault on the Peleus System, where they were charged with defending a jamming ship that was creating a communications blackout across the system. They also were present at the BWS Intrepid's assault on Ella.

In Speradon, a trio of Confederation pilots sympathetic to the Border Worlds defected to the Union after hijacking a squadron of Bearcats. The Union, in desperate need of fighter pilots, acted quickly to rescue the defectors before the Black Lance could intercept them.