F-270 Bold Eagle

> "[...] ***The need for truly effective air support became more demanding as the Commonwealth and her allies entered the 24th. Century. Whilst the Republican [A-17] was a good ground support craft for many decades in the past, the need for a newer exclusive army based fighter became the focus of the high officers of the Commonwealth command. Especially as, with so many foes imploding around the developed nation, it would be a matter of time before another ground invasion was to occur involving human resources and interests throughout the Galaxy."***
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> -**Historical notes on the Commonwealth‘s need for a definitive army fighter craft, Khaela Liia, National library of Yalcha-**
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## **Overview**

The **F-270 Bold Eagle** is a Commonwealth fighter aircraft designed and implemented by the Ilmarinen Foundation, at the turn of the 23rd. Century. The aircraft, unlike other modern human designs, was drawn to only operate on areas controlled by the army, instead of the navy or air force entirely. Faster and nimbler than its predecessors, the Bold Eagle became an important functioning instrument for the ground armies of the Commonwealth's Armed Forces. The F-270 was designed in 2298, but with technological advancements, it only began streamline production in 2300.

Unlike more iconic small-crafts, like the A-17 'Republican', the Bold Eagle only saw limited service in two other nations differing from the Commonwealth; those being the Sondrithans and the Jir republics. The aircraft became popular by its old-fashioned wing and fuselage design, which would later be related, as Commonwealth Pilots harshly learnt, to similarly shaped curvatures and silhouettes of the 12th. Generation Imperial fighter named Meteor, an unintended response to external affairs coming directly from the Eternal Empire, right before the Ancestral War, in 2320.

As newer crafts arrived at the passing of the decades, the F-270 began losing ground to other more flexible designs carrying more advanced technologies. It's last official battle for the Commonwealth took part in the skies above the Imperial homeworld, in the famed Battle of New Earth, where it proved to be somewhat ineffective against Imperial Submerged Command Groups - operating like underwater strongholds for Imperial troops -, but continued deadly nevertheless to anything daring to show itself in the air of the planet. It was upgraded several times during its lifetime, before finally being replaced by the much more sturdy and advanced A-53 'Liberator', in 2332.

## **Design**

The Bold Eagle - Nicknamed so because of its capabilities behind enemy lines - was primarily designed to achieve total air superiority in atmospheric regions, rendering it completely useless in void warfare and other unique battlefields, like submerged battlegrounds and so on. Ilmarinen scientists, knowing the increased casualty rates of pilots when studying recent flights, knew that their newest design needed an improvement cheap enough to be incorporated in entire planetary assembling units. Using a somewhat rare artificial material, the craft was titled "invisible" to almost any detection machinery provided in the Commonwealth. This advantage, however, came at a cost. The aircraft became quite heavy in comparison to other designs, and it's speed in the atmosphere decreased severely due to the unchangeable nature of the stealth material. It was, nevertheless, a deadly aircraft by nature, and the element of surprise became key in several engagements where the Bold Eagle prevailed.

To maintain stealth capabilities, the aircraft was striped of any kind of electrical shielding technology (Including cockpit, which increased mortality rates, despite the initial design goals), thus further decreasing weight complications. From 2322 and beyond, a vast array of the craft's conventional weaponry was replaced to Unbidden reversed engineered extradimensional ones, and with the arrival of the newer A-53 'Liberator' into the Armed Forces, the Bold Eagle was reallocated to EMP & support missions until the end of its active career in the army. Control reports vary from pilot to pilot, but, in general, the F-270 is considered a very stable flier and glider at lower altitudes, especially with wing additions to variants of windy planets.

The aircraft presented little more than a targeting computer when referring to any A.I. capabilities. Since it's silhouette was so similar to Imperial ones, however, it became common seeing cases of friendly fire from ground troops down below from both sides during the Battle of New Earth. With even its own stealth capabilities on use, many aircraft were lost due to a lack of proper shielding.

## **Specifications**

**Designed In:** 2298 (Entered production in 2300)

**Designed By:** Ilmarinen Foundation

**Manufacturer:** Ortus & Curacao Naval Yards

**Number Constructed:** +56,000 (Not including foreign production)

**Weight:** 7 Tonnes

**Length:** 14M

**Height:** 5M

**Width:** 11.5M

**Crew:** 1

**Propulsion:***Type 34 'Reiter'* Fusion Engine

**Armour:** 35mm Durantium Armour Plating

**Shielding:** [Non Shielded]

**Armaments:** 2x 45mm Laser Cannon, 2x EMP Multirole Missiles, 2x Dark Matter AA Missiles. (Extradimensional weaponry incorporated into later variants)

**Speed (In Space):** 0km/s (Incapable of Void travel)

**Speed (In Atmosphere):** 18km/s

**Main Role:** Air Superiority / Stealth Fighter