GX-29A Paladin II Fighter Bomber

GX-29A Paladin II Fighter-Bomber Aircraft
-------------------------------------------
Manufacturer: ANGEL Aviations, TRD Facilities (Aerodynamics), design inputs from the Autarch himself.

Armor: Tryomite-A (LL-A) Composite coated with Energy-Repellent Layers.

Power Plant: SNEC Mk5 Plasma-Fuel Thermo-Generator (Propulsion Systems and Main Power Source), Compact Etherium Generator (reserve power source).

Engine(s): Cyclonius Plasma Turbine Engine, 2 TRD Facilities Hi-P90 Side Plasma Turbine Engines provide top speeds up until Mach 7.

Armament: 40mm Minigun, 2 L90 Laser Blaster, M34D HE Bombs, 4 LYNX A23N Missile Pods and 2 120mm Rapid-fire Cannons.

Ammunition Capacity: 4000 rounds, unlimited, 15 bombs, 32 Missiles, 4000 rounds.

Crew Number: 2 (1 Pilot, 1 Co-pilot).
---------------------------------------
Background: The GX-28A was a good fighter-bomber but however it was starting to show weaknesses when facing the Alliance's new interceptors and the Seperatists' own advanced fighters in the battlefield of the 2100s. More powerful weapons and a propulsion system were needed. Thus came the proposition of the GX-29 design by TRD Facilities in the year 2099. Seeing as how the GX-29 retained much of the features of the GX-28A with addition of a sleeker airframe, more firepower and a proposed sophisticated Plasma Turbine Propulsion that can provide speeds up to Mach 7, Central Command's Air Force Marshall approved of the design and requested immediate prototype production. Autarch Ayman, who was present at the time of the presentation, made extensive modifications to the design and renamed it to the GX-29A to signify the difference between the original and the new design. A prototype completed construction six months later and underwent testing at various locations on Earth. It passed the stringent trials of weather and combat simulation and was approved for mass production by various war factories as well as industries such as ANGEL Aviations and the Aerodynamic department of TRD Facilities. By 2101, an adequate number of GX-29As were constructed and ready for combat operations. After countless successful flights during the Skirmish of Vegan III and the Seperatist Conflicts, more GX-29As were requested to be produced and the pilots that operated them gave it a moniker of 'Paladin II' for its similarity in operation and design to the GX-28A but yet having more improvements over the latter. The older GX-28A was officially phased out from combat, with the exception for certain fleets that have not received their GX-29As to replace the older Paladins. Digital schematics of the GX-29A Paladin II has been sent to the IRS colonies in the Ancerious Galactic alongside a batch of operationally ready GX-29As for use in the light of the Immortal Empire's attacks on Tenebrae.

Armament: The Paladin II sports enormous amounts of firepower, even more than the infamous GX-28A. It's primary weapon is the LYNX A23N Missile which can fit a variety of purposes with its versatile locking-on system, capable of targeting hostiles in air as well as on ground. Each missile has enough packed explosives to set enemy tanks and vehicles to smoking wreck, tear a hole in a building and blow an enemy aircraft from the sky. Additionally, the Paladin II carries a good number of 32 missiles in total and this enables the GX-29A to remain in the battle for longer periods of time to clear the skies of enemy aircraft and dominate it for the IRS's advantage over the enemy in combat. Missiles may not be enough, and thus for flushing out or eliminating entire battalions, the Paladin II may utilize its bomb launchers to drop hell onto the enemy. It has the M34D High Explosive as a standard and these bad boys can level blocks of buildings whole and bring destruction straight into the heart of an enemy force, destroying them entirely with no mercy. Other bombs can be used for other mission scenarios and such examples include Napalm, Thermobaric, Cluster Bomb and exotic payloads such as nukes, biological/chemical canisters and plasma rods. Laser-guided variations of stated bombs are also known to have been used in the battlefield before against the Monarch, Chasan and Nagron forces. Rapid-fire firepower is not forgotten here and the Paladin II has the 40mm Minigun and the 120mm Rapid-fire cannons for either engaging enemy aircraft and tearing them apart at close ranges or for urban combat where they can unleash hails of projectiles onto enemy infantry and shred them to bloody bits. Their calibres are very well-known to penetrate through cover with great ease and this can be seen in the several war-torn cities during the recent conflicts against the Seperatists. However the GX-29A has something its predecessor does not have and that is the pair of laser blasters mounted on the front of the aircraft. It can be set on rapid-fire for close-range engagements or on high-power settings for sniping targets from afar. These laser sport intense energy levels, and can melt through armor and reduce shields. The Paladin II has tremendous firepower to offer and makes an excellent choice for air and ground dominance.

Armor: The Tryomite-A (Double Aircraft Grade Armor) platings allows the Paladin II to ignore small arms fire, shrug off large caliber weaponry and withstand projectile and shaped explosive attacks. The Energy-Repellent layers can defend the aircraft from laser, plasma and microwave beams and decent amounts of anti-matter weaponry. The Tryomite-A is lightweight and keeps the Paladin II flying in the air with ease.

Mobility: With a maximum speed of Mach 7, the Paladin II quickly get from one point to another and execute surprising ambushes on the enemy and their great speed also allows them to retreat from the battle for repairs, rearmament and refueling without worrying about enemies trailing them, only to return and fight again. They can go faster in the vacuum of space as their is no air friction and gravity to reduce their efforts, and this also makes them very ideal for space combat. They also can execute mid-stops and other air manoeuvres with not much difficulty and can also hover, adding to their combat capabilities in engaging enemies in a dense urban environment.

Sensory Equipment: Being an integral part of the IRS's air dominance strategies, the Paladin II cannot afford to screw up the mission due to miscommunication and inefficient equipment. Thus various advanced and sophisticated software and hardware are installed to help the pilots in their work as well as improving their performance. The Paladin has an array of detection equipment, most notable is the ATMOS Etherium Pulse Sensor which not only can detect allies and foes, but can also selectively reveal enemy units on-screen. Standard of all IRS units, the Paladin is connected to the Integrated Intelligence Network (IIN) where the pilots can access a database containing vital battlefield information such as GPS locations of allies, enemies and objective markers as well as terrain detail and the global map the Paladin II pilots are stationed in. With a high-band frequency communications array module installed in the Paladin II, the pilots can maintain constant contact with their superiors and their allies via radio or otherwise and can receive updates on their current mission objectives. They can be tasked to reinforce another air squadron or to provide air support immediately with their system. Two Artificial Intelligence programs are installed in the Paladin II's systems; a General Military-use A.I and a cyber-defence A.I.. The GM A.I is tasked with almost much of maintaining the aircraft itself as well as helping out the pilots. It can manage and display important battlefield data, alert the pilots of incoming potential threats and most importantly, synchronize the pilots' abilities to the weapon systems. Upon request, the A.I can track the pilot's retinal movement and translate it as data and instructions for the weapon controls. Aside from locking-on onto enemy aircraft with the missiles and bombs, the pilot(s) can also aim the rapid-firing weapons such as the 40mm Minigun and 120mm Cannons at the enemy much more effectively without executing complex and lengthy controls. For example, if the pilot is looking at the enemy aircraft beside him/her, the A.I will track the retinal movement and position the Minigun turret at the direction of the enemy. Same goes for the missiles with exception of the laser Blaster as it is a fixed weapon. The Cyber-defence A.I protects the Paladin's systems from foreign takeover and ensures that the encryption of the database and the communication networks are present and unhacked by the enemy. It can also do the opposite to enemy systems, damaging or taking over them and render them useless while siphoning their top-secret data.

Defensive Measures: The Paladin II sports improved decoys mimicking radio and infrared signatures. It can also unleash flak screens to eliminate unguided projectiles and some Divisionates have replaced these flak screens with Brightlance Laser Munitions and Morningstar Plasma Capsules though these are still in experimental phases and are not in widespread use.

The Paladin II has many weapon loadouts and variations for many various mission objectives and mission scenarios.

One of the most famous variation of the Paladin II is the GX-29A-TBWP, which is fitted with a large thermonuclear bomb launcher underneath for the nuking of the Herian Districts of Vegan III as the IRS offensive in that city began to wear out due to the never-ending stalemate with the Alliance forces. The GX-29A-TBWPs' LYNX missile pods were also replaced with Thermobaric Rocket pods for the utter destruction of the enemy further on in the Vegan III skirmish.