Fighter Design Philosophies
Each of the five major factions in Aetherstream have a design preference they gravitate towards when incorporating fighters into their fleets and awarding contracts to builders. While each squadron’s role and mission goals can effect fighter selection, this article discusses the overall strategy each faction generally employs.
Terran Commonwealth
Many of the current Commonwealth designs are reminiscent of Old Commonwealth designs, when their primary missions were escorting and patrol. For this reason, they generally are slower and depend on additional ordnance to help even the odds. More recent designs have, such as Bolt and Dart, have begun focusing on speed and maneuverability. One thing nearly all Commonwealth ships is their focus on close-range firepower, maintaining only a handful of ships for long-range support.
Callistonian Empire
Aggression from the Terran Commonwealth has forced the Callistonian Empire to focus getting the highest technology ships and focus more on defensive designs. They don’t have the sheer manufacturing power of the Terran Commonwealth and its Free Trade Directorate neighbors. Imperial designs lend to more maneuverability and shielding combined with supporting ordnance. Imperial Fighter Command does have a few ships they’ve incorporated to match the Commonwealth’s speedy Bolt.
Babylonian Union
While the Babylonian Union itself maintains its neutrality, the volunteer Free Squadrons of the Babylonian Union fight primarily alongside the Callistonian Empire and Allied Worlds, though there are several squadrons that have joined forces with the Terran Commonwealth. Of all the factions, the Union fighters are well-balanced, focusing on close-to-medium range firepower. Their fighters are solid machines, built for speed, but can be challenging for inexperienced pilots to master. If they have one downside is that they do lack some resilience and only a few are designed to equip additional mission ordnance.
Free Trade Directorate
Officially neutral, there is nothing that the Free Traders won’t sell, and their mercenary squadrons are in high demand and almost exclusively employed by the Terran Commonwealth. Like the Babylonian Union designs, the Free Traders focus on speed, but they don’t overspend on control systems or shielding. Union fighters may be challenging to master, but Directorate fighters are punishing and unforgiving to control. Most Directorate designs leave room for additional ordnance, and they prefer to use that to deter opponents. Don’t sleep on them though, they have a few fighters that can pack a serious punch if they get too close.
Allied Worlds
The Alliance of Free and Independent Worlds, commonly known as the Allied Worlds, are three independent clusters forced into a loose alliance in response to invasion by the Terran Commonwealth. Being home to some of the most advanced research centers has helped them use their technological mastery to mount a defense and produce high performance fighters designed to work together at different ranges. They make use of cutting-edge ordnance to help even the odds and their lev-tech and advanced cyberlink controls allow pilots to squeeze out every ounce of performance from their machines, a few of which can match the Commonwealth’s Bolt for speed and maneuverability.
