SJ-162 Starfighter

The SJ-162 Sternadler is a multirole starfighter used primarily by the Fourth German Reich Navy. The SJ-162 project was unprecedented in that the three top German aerospace design companies collaborated to create a multirole starfighter that will fill all Imperial Navy starfighter roles for the next several decades. As of 2219, the SJ-162 is the only operational starfighter in the GGRN.

Design and Construction
The SJ-162 was first envisioned in 2184 by Rear Admiral Alfred Schulhoff who was the Chief of Stellar Aviation at the time. Schulhoff envisioned a universal multirole starfighter that would be the only starfighter that would be needed by all GGR armed forces for several decades. Schulhoff spent several years consulting and refining his idea before finally bringing it directly to the Kaiser in 2189. The Kaiser approved Schulhoff's idea and ordered the design and simulation phase of the project to officially begin in 2190. The SJ-162 project spent the next 16 years in the design phase as engineers worked meticulously to correct the many problems they encountered. The entire project was nearly scrapped when Kaiser Ferdinand von Wilhelm came to power due to cost concerns. However, the project was finally completed in 2206 and was approved for construction. Unfortunately Schulhoff was unable to see his project through to the end as he had passed away only months before the project was completed.

Propulsion Systems
The SJ-162 uses a miniature fusion reactor to power its engine systems. The SJ-162 is capable of reaching 70% of the speed of light in ideal conditions. It was decided that the SJ-162 would not have FTL capabilities partly because of cost issues, but also because German doctrine does not call for starfighters to travel great distances.

Weapons Systems
The SJ-162 is equipped with 2 forward mounted laser cannons and 16 weapons hardpoints. The SJ-162 typically carries air-to-air missiles on all 16 hardpoints as its missions are primarily defensive in nature. On the rare occasion an SJ-162 is called on for an offensive mission it is typically outfitted with 10 air-to-air missiles and 6 anti-ship missiles.

A revolutionary feature of the SJ-162 is its regenerative plasma torpedo. When activated, excess heat created by the star fighter's mini fusion reactor is used to superheat neon gas to create plasma. When fired, the mass of plasma is guided through a tube where it assumes a spherical shape and is launched at a target. While not a torpedo in the traditional sense, its tube-guided nature caused engineers designing the weapon to dub it a torpedo. In the simulation phase, the "torpedo" was shown to inflict significant damage on lighter ships and was even able to severely damage the shield on heavier ships. After being fired, it takes several minutes for enough heat to be generated by the fusion reactor to create another torpedo.

Countermeasure Systems
The SJ-162 has several built in countermeasures designed to eliminate the threat of enemy weapons. The SJ-162 is equipped with a laser refraction system, and it was one of the first German vehicles to be equipped with such a system. It is also equipped with an EM dampener that hides the craft's electromagnetic signature from EM detecting weapons. The ship's fusion reactor is again used ingeniously this time to fool heat-seeking weapons. Excess heat from the reactor can be condensed and quickly discharged at an empty area of space to fool heat-seeking weaponry. The ships on-board computer also has a small suite of electronic countermeasures to disrupt enemy weaponry.

Combat Network
The combat network is probably the most important aspect of the SJ-162. Each ship is outfitted with a combat network node that allows the ship's computer to connect to the advanced combat network with other SJ-162s. Important information such as sensory data is transmitted to all ships on the network allowing data to be shared at a much higher speeds. The network can be controlled at a central point to streamline orders but can also operate in a decentralized mode to avoid critical points of failure. The combat network allows the starfighter's computers to operate with a hive mind intelligence causing them to get smarter as more ships are connected to the network.