Q-103 Swift: Difference between revisions
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The '''Q-107 Swift''' is a single-engine multirole fighter jet designed during the [[Auroran Imperial War]] by the Aerial Warfare Division of Axdel. Originally built to serve primarily as an air superiority fighter, the Q-103 evolved over subsequent variants into a capable multirole aircraft, with the improved 'Super Swift' built in 1992 set to remain in Axdelian Aerospace Force service until 2026. Post-War it was exported to several countries, such as [[Quariin]].
Development of the Q-103 began in 1968 due to perceived shortcomings of the new but hastily assembled Q-101 fighter-interceptor derived from the Cerdani [[Wikipedia:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|DF-21]], as well as concerning reports that [[Great Morstaybishlia|Morstaybishlia]] was developing high-manoeuvrability fighters with advanced avionics that would render it obsolete. Progress was slow until the with the outbreak of the Auroran Imperial war in early 1970, when its priority was ramped up significantly. Design work was aided significantly by an agreements with the [[Federation of the Southern Coast]], [[Ethalria (Grand Matriarchy)|Ethalria]] and [[Quariin]] which among other things provided the AWDoA with access to foreign material science and avionics research. Axdelian assets embedded in Morstaybishlia are also known to have provided information on technology being developed by Morstaybishlian defence companies. Whilst it first flew in early 1971, prototypes suffered from a large number of problems that resulted in fatal crashes, often tied to its flight control system, ultimately requiring all new domestically developed systems to address. This combined with evidence the MBE was far behind its equivalent program meant the fighter took almost two years of further development to reach combat readiness, reaching full production in January 1973. Issues with control persisted however, and its successful combat performance and pilot satisfaction was hampered by reports of sudden losses of control during routine manoeuvres; issues that couldn't be dealt with in-flight due to the lack of a mechanical backup.
The Swift is an extremely agile aircraft, being entirely reliant on a digital fly-by-wire system and integrated circuit based flight computer to regulate the flight envelope of its low wing-loading three-surface design and featuring an enormously powerful Yk138 Koriba-3HI turbofan. Its bubble cockpit allowed pilots a much large field of view than previous fighters, and it could carry a large payload of IR and radar-homing missiles with look-down shoot-down ability as well as bombs and air-to-surface missiles. Later developments which enhanceed its ground-attack abilities saw it gain mountings on the lower fuselage for targeting and ECM pods for use with a wider variety of guided munitions, as well as two seat cockpit variants for more effective workload distribution.
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