VALKYRIE CLASS ATTACK FIGHTER

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "VALKYRIE CLASS ATTACK FIGHTER"

Marianna Byrd
5 years ago
Views:

VALKYRIE CLASS ATTACK FIGHTER Developed in 2338 to fulfill a requirement for a powerful, agile and easy to produce attack fighter, the Valkyrie class would go on to become one of the unsung heroes of

At this point in time, the famed Class V starfighter family (Wasp Hornet Yellowjacket) had been in service for over 60 years.

1 VALKYRIE CLASS ATTACK FIGHTER Developed in 2338 to fulfill a requirement for a powerful, agile and easy to produce attack fighter, the Valkyrie class would go on to become one of the unsung heroes of the Lost Era as well as become the longest serving type of small craft in Starfleet service still produced to this day. At this point in time, the famed Class V starfighter family (Wasp Hornet Yellowjacket) had been in service for over 60 years. Tested in combat against aggressors from the major powers of the day (Klingons, Romulans, Kzinti) and improved continuously since entering service, the family of craft had evolved into an extremely potent, effective weapons system. By the turn of the century however, the technology underpinning these craft was safely outdated. The introduction of the Renaissance and Ambassador classes brought with them incredible advances in nearly every area of spacecraft design and engineering. Despite the Class V s battlefield prowess, all three fighters were over-engineered to such a degree that extensive refitting was not only unfeasible, in some cases it was actually impossible and thus, Starfighter Command directed the ASDB to design and construct an entirely new fighter. Dynamics. Keeping the speed requirement strictly sub-light not only lended to the simplicity of the fighter s engineering, but also allowed engineers more flexibility in the design and integration processes. Once finalized design blueprints were delivered from Starfleet s ASDB, Leeding engineers and technicians began an exhaustive process of specially calibrating and optimizing the engines for this new fighter, codenamed Valkyrie. The engines themselves, among the most powerful sub-light units in use at that time, combined with the Valkyrie s sleek, low profile design resulted in one of the fastest, most agile small craft in Starfleet service. Valkyrie was also an exercise in simplicity, tactically speaking. A pair of Type V Phaser Emitters was carried, mounted ventrally, one on either side of the engines along with a pair of micro torpedo launchers that were dorsally mounted, one each atop the ramscoop housings. The strict standards governing speed and agility however, precluded the option of carrying full-size ordinance, such as the ubiquitous Photon Torpedo. Equipped with an enhanced deflector shield system along with a standard ECM suite, the class entered service late in 2338 to much fanfare, gradually replacing the Wasp class in While tactical prowess and maneuverability were very important aspects of the new fighter s Starfighter Command s various Interceptor Squadrons (being the only such fighter type still design, Starfighter Command was absolutely adamant that the craft be simple to maintain produced and classed as an Interceptor). and easy to build in large numbers, especially in critical situations when time was of the essence. To that end, the primary computer system was taken from the Type 5 Shuttlecraft Embarked aboard the Curry and Midway class Carriers, Exeter class Battlecruiser and later and with light modifications to handle the targeting and countermeasure systems, was the Korolev class Heavy Cruiser, Valkyrie squadrons were heavily utilized during the installed with no trouble. The engines, an important component of any fighter, were Federation s protracted conflict with the Cardassian Union the Cardassian Guard s Hideki designed and engineered by the Leeding Engines Ltd. Subsidiary of Cochrane Warp class Corvettes no match for the smaller, faster Starfleet fighters.

2 While a great number of Valkyrie class craft were embarked aboard starships, the majority of Starfighter Commands assets were organized into wings and squadrons stationed aboard space stations, starbases and outposts throughout Federation Space. Interceptor wings and squadrons comprised of these fighters often formed the first line of defense for many stations and outposts in far off frontier regions that saw little, if any, starship traffic. The introduction of the heavier Peregrine fighter class in 2357 saw the Valkyrie removed from many front line postings and redeployed in a more defensive posture around key planets and throughout systems closer to the Federation s core, including Sector 001. In 2367, subsequent to the annihilation of Starfleet forces at Wolf 359, Starfighter Command s 1 st Interceptor Wing assigned to the Mars Defense Perimeter engaged the Borg Cube in a futile attempt to prevent the leviathan from reaching Earth, however all 72 fighters were soon destroyed with no survivors. The 1 st IW was soon reconstituted and fared much better in 2375 during the Dominion War when forces of the Breen Confederacy launched an assault on Starfleet Headquarters the Valkyrie s speed and agility helping to drive off the Breen aggressors. Throughout the war, Valkyrie played a supporting role to the slightly larger, heavier armed Peregrine, but participated in many battles. A squadron, comprising craft from the battlecruiser Atlantis (CB 2227) and other Starfleet vessels, participated in the destruction of the Cardassian space station Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed during the battle to retake that planet in Valkyrie finally found itself on equal footing with Peregrine in 2385 when the Federation Alliance went to war against the Typhon Pact. As Starfleet was the only interstellar naval force to field starfighters, the navies of the Typhon Pact particular those of the Gorn & Kinshaya were extremely hard pressed to defend against these small attackers, which inflicted considerable damage on the enemy forces. During many engagements, many a friendly wager were made between pilots of both fighter types over who could inflict the most damage. The success of the Valkyrie during this conflict (which ended in 2387) not only spurred a major Starfleet ally (the Klingon Defense Force) to begin fighter development of its own, but heavily influenced the design and development of the Raptor class space superiority fighter the most advanced fighter class fielded by Starfleet. Still serving faithfully and reliably to the present day, these fighters can be found in a multitude of roles, from participating in convoy escort missions (as part of larger Federation reconstruction/re-development operations), to patrol, reconnaissance and fleet escort in unexplored regions such as the Delta and Gamma quadrants.

Class Classification Service Length Beam Height Decks

Compliment 73 metric tons 1 Armament Defense Systems 2

Deflector Shield System total capacity 94,500 TerraJoules

3 Class Classification Service Length Beam Height Decks Valkyrie Attack Fighter/Interceptor m 11m 4m 1 Mass Compliment 73 metric tons 1 Armament Defense Systems 2 Type V Phaser Emitters 2 Micro-Torpedo Launchers Standard Deflector Shield System total capacity 94,500 TerraJoules Light Duranium/Tritianium Single Hull plus 5cm High Density Armor

4 Editor s Annotations Derived from the original PlayStation title Star Trek: Invasion, the Valkyrie class Attack Fighter is one that I didn t really plan on doing. The blueprints I found at the Starship Schematic Database were of low quality and there were really no good visuals to go replace/compliment them that is, until I hit up Bridge Commander resource BCFiles. While looking through the selection of small craft models up for download, I came across one of the Valkyrie, done by WileyCoyote and arguably one of the best of this particular craft. So, with visuals secured, I began the process of developing a backstory. I had a consistent linear progression already set for Starfleet s fighters: the D-18 and Federation classes, followed by the Class V family in the 23 rd Century, but then a gap existed between the Class V and the Peregrine (of DS9 fame) which I had entering service in Generally, most fanon sources have the Valkyrie entering service sometime after the end of the Dominion War, which I could see, given its sleek lines. However in order to fill the aforementioned gap, as well as flesh out the Lost Era, I have the Valkyrie entering service in 2338 well after the Ambassador (2320) and just before the Korolev (2345) classes. The relative simplicity of the design doesn t lend Valkyrie to more intense attack, assault or bombing operations which is why I have it pegged as an interceptor roughly analogous to the F/A-18 Hornet family (whereas the Peregrine would be more along the lines of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Raptor obviously correlates to the F-22 Raptor).

5 Bibliography Logo Kristian Reverend Trigwell Star Trek Minutiae) Design Warthog Studios/Activision Visuals Unknown/ WileyCoyote BCFiles)

VOR CHA CLASS ATTACK CRUISER

VOR CHA CLASS ATTACK CRUISER Designed to supplant the venerable K Tinga class Battlecruiser in KDF service, the Vor Cha class would go on to become one of the most recognizable Klingon warship designs