Viper MkIII
Light Fighter

Description

The Viper MkIII is the most recent development of the most successful fighter classes ever built. The original Viper Defence Craft was designed by Faulcon Manspace in 2762 in the Reorte shipyards. The basic model was beefed up with the Viper II by Faulcon deLacy. The new Viper III is a revitalised model with a new more armoured look. It is a top class fighter found in many well-equipped police and naval forces.

The Viper MkIII is a light fighter craft designed for agile ship-to-ship combat. Its minimal design combined with excellent modularity make it a popular choice for security units and bounty hunters. At a relatively low cost of just over 140,000 credits, it is also a great combat ship for entry-level Commanders. The Viper has a delta-shaped hull which tapers to form two prongs at the front. The cockpit is situated just behind the bow, slightly raised. This gives the pilot an excellent view without exposing the canopy to potential damage.

The Viper lands on two small rear struts and one large front strut which doubles as a boarding ramp to the cockpit.

The Viper, like all modern ships, is powered by a nuclear fusion reactor. It is propelled by two primary fusion/plasma engines which provide forward thrust and are capable of reverse thrust. Smaller thrusters act as stabilizers and provide force for pitch, roll, and yaw manoeuvres.

Heat is dissipated through radiators at the rear of the ship. The Viper is also capable of using heat sink launchers to expel heat.

The Viper MkIII made its first appearance in Standard Beta 1. It is a vessel used by Station security forces and law enforcement, and is currently one of the fastest ships available to purchase. It is primarily intended for combat; compared to the multi-role Cobra MkIII, it has the same weapons capacity, slightly stronger shields per shield class, slightly weaker hull, marginally slower turn rate, much faster strafe speed, faster speed under normal thrust and slower speed under boost.

Its main drawbacks are that its heat dissipation, power generation and hyperspace capacity do not equal that of the Cobra, which limits the value of having the same hardpoint capacity; mounting the ship's full weapon weight makes it very short-ranged, and an energy-heavy armament causes it to either overheat or use all available power very quickly. Fuel is also an issue as the ship comes with capacity of only four tons.

In addition to its official police/security role, the Viper's speed, range, and combat capability make it ideal for bounty hunters, small-load couriers, mercenaries or smugglers, while its small cargo capacity makes it a very poor choice for traders, and a survivable but inadequately profitable platform for pirates.

With proper fitting, the Viper is an excellent fighter capable of standing its ground against more expensive ships.