The Avenger is a lightweight aerospace multirole craft featured in the universe of Star Citizen. Produced by Aegis Dynamics initially to a United Empire of Earth Navy (UEEN) requirement in late 28th Century, its service as a combat craft within UEEN was brief though impressive, but it instead found much use with training outfits as well as various government and civilian law enforcement entities, including more famously the Advocacy, the inter-planetary police force of the UEE. One such interceptor ship was operated by Advocacy Special Agent-in-Charge Rebecca Trejo while aiding pilots from UEES Stanton in 2945, when the frigate engaged in what was initially taken to be an anti-piracy operation in Odin system.
History[]
The Avenger was meant to be the premier front-line carrier plane of the late 28th century for the UEE Navy- this role it did serve dutifully and even admirably, having scored a number of impressive victories against hostile spacecraft. The Navy starfighter doctrinal evolution ultimately favors the heavier and more-robust F7A Hornet, however, and the Avenger soon found itself supplanted altogether as a fighter craft. Nowadays only its two-seater N6G variant ("N" means trainer in UEE Navy small spacecraft designation) remains in service with the Navy as a trainer, a function its benign handing quality lends itself well to.
Despite a short service on the frontline with the Navy, it found a new lease of life once made available to other government agencies and the public. Its blend of cargo space, a feature inspired by the original requirement for replenishing its own ordnances between engagements, and tried-and-true combat capability not only makes it greatly appreciated by civilians and citizens seeking to fly for a living but also facilitates fulfillment of requirements issued by law enforcement communities. Three variants have since been devised to cater to the newfound civilian/paramilitary markets- the light freighter Avenger Titan with civilian-spec. cargo handling equipment, the interceptor Avenger Stalker with holding cells for captured criminals, and the Avenger Warlock with an EMP generator. No Avenger is known to remain in its original military single-seater guise, and its military pursuit craft designation is thus now defunct.
With the UEE Advocacy it remains the standard interceptor ship issued to agents well into the 30th Century, only recently starting to be superseded in Imperial core worlds such as Sol by the M50 from Origin Jumpworks.
Description[]
The Avenger is a single-seat aerospace craft featuring twin tailfins as well as shoulder-mounted, tailless anhedral delta-wing incorporating blended wing body and up-turned wingtips. The cockpit is at the front of the fuselage and provided with bubble canopy. Behind the cockpit a bed is provided for a single person (typically meant for use by the pilot) during long trips, and further behind there is a cargo hold. In the Avenger's original form as a pursuit craft this cargo hold has hoist and cart for handling replenishment munitions; these equipment are replaced in all police and civilian models in favor of general freight stowage (Titan), detention cells (Stalker), or EMP generator arrays (Warlock). On Titan and Stalker, the cargo hold is assessible both via a rear ramp and via cockpit; on Warlock and Trainer variants, it can be accessed only via the rear ramp. The ship's two main thrusters are located above the rear ramp access.
It is designed to supplement Aegis Dynamics' previous fighter entry, the P5G Gladius, and in many ways a continuation of the idea behind the Gladius- it's agile and easy to maintain, and its flight characteristics have been known to be forgiving. To overcome the tougher and more-rugged Vanduul spacecraft encountered since late 27th Century, however, it is capable of mounting a heavier gun under its nose than the Gladius can, and extra munitions can be carried internally so that the ship can be rearmed between engagements without having to return to its carrier. This feature is not repeated in any subsequent fighter design due to developments of various UEEN support craft capable of efficiently servicing navy fighters in the field.
The Avenger's extra features compared to the Gladius did result in a reduced clearance for underwing stores.
It's noteworthy that although the two-seater trainer is not the primary production variant, it is the basis for the entire Avenger family. This is in reverse of usual aerospacecraft design practices and bypasses the hurdles of compromising an optimized single-place design for an instructor's seat necessary for a trainer. This also makes conversion of single-seaters into trainers and vice-versa a relatively simple affair, thus helping prolonging its career.
The Avenger is equipped with three hardpoints for guns and two underwing hardpoints for disposable stores. Currently most Avenger variants carry a mix of cannons for general purpose use and one Gatling gun when extra punch is required, all on trainable gimbal mounts with limited traverse so as to be able to aim at targets within the fighter's frontal arc. The cannons would vary dependent on the purpose a specific craft is to be used for: Advocacy and bounty hunter ships, for example, often use Suckerpunch-XL distortion cannons for disabling rather than destroying targets.
For disposable stores, a variety of regular and heavy air-to-air missiles, the former on multiple ejector racks, can be optionally carried for patrol or combat missions.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
- 1 x Apocalypse Arms "Revenant" Gatling Cannon, under the nose on limited-traverse mount
- 2 x Amon & Reese Co. Omnisky IX Laser Cannons, one under each wing on limited-traverse mount
- 2 x Hardpoints for disposable stores, one under each wing
Others[]
- Standard Cargo Handling Equipment (Avenger Titan)
- 8 x Prison Pods (Avenger Stalker)
- 1 x Behring REP-8 EMP Generator (Avenger Warlock)
Gallery[]
