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The ROBOTECH DEFENSE FORCES Era F-19M Falcon was developed specifically for the RDF by the International Defense Appropriations Committee (the purse-string authorities of the UN Security Council formed to
The design that this produced never impressed anyone, and all agreed that it was only really meant as a stop-gap until the RDF could finish development of the Veritech. The plane could only carry missiles, and therefore had practically NO dog-fighting ability. The Appropriations Committee felt this was the proper selection, until pilots started dying. A desperate answer that was "tried" was the UF-14, but that plane suffered the same basic problem but in reverse- Where the F-19 could not defend itself close in, the UF-14 could not defend itself at longer ranges. With the failure of that program, the F-19 "M" program was introduced, which finally installed twin M-61A1 Vulcan 20ᴍᴍ autocannons. This proved little better, as the "on target" time was not impressive (the plane would burn though it's entire payload in about 2 minutes), but was all that could be done at the time. Aboard the SDF-001, the situation proved little better; The F-19's aboard her were converted to unmanned craft and retro-fitted with a "massive physics package" (code for Reflex bombs) in case they could not be recovered (battle damage, fuel loss, etc); This would allow them to be used one last time- As a very long range missile (more T'sentraedi Warships were lost to these than to all other weapons combined until Kara Qalliph Diel'are Kah Yar turned T'sentraedi against T'sentrædi). At this point, the whole program would (and should) have been scrapped, had not Kara Qalliph Diel'are Kah Yar destroyed so many factories on Terra forcing the Falcons back into service as the United Earth government lacked any practical alternative they could legally access at the time. The Falcons flew for the next 50 years uninterrupted, though mostly in second-line and training units, and thus survived the SECOND ROBOTECH WAR by the ROBOTECH Masters arrogant (yet in this case pragmatic) dismissal and the THIRD ROBOTECH WAR by keeping a very low profile from the Invid, though many strikes using Falcons were accomplished and often did damage in excess of their numbers. The UGC keeps the Falcon in inventory, though in an upgraded version and generally for state National Guards and training commands rather than front-line service. The primary upgrades was conversion from the ancient but not quite obsolete M-61A1 Vulcan 20ᴍᴍ autocannons to a single L-08 Rail Launcher with a vastly increased magazine and addition of a force field and grav pods. Within the UGC only Garuda currently deploys the Falcon for front-line units and only in the Rhestad System proper (the REF supplies Garudan units with Hornets and Steinerian Starfighters when deploying abroad); A few unaffiliated groups (including divergent factions of the Mandalorian Collective) field second and even third had F-19's, typically with refits more appropriate to their own industrial capabilities (the Freng are particularly notorious for selling 'decommissioned' air frames, and for building new airframes for third party clients; the UGC ensures these are not sabotaged by blowing up the ships of any Freng caught cheating a client without trial). The F-19 was relieved of all combat duties stating in 2289 by the F/A-18 Hornet (the plane it was supposed to replace). Name: F-19M Falcon Fighter Model Type: Fighter/Trainer Class: Aircraft Crew: One. Passengers: None. MDC By Location: | |||||||
| Fuselage- Cockpit- Wings (2)- | 250 150 150 each | Tailerons/Ailerons (2 each)- Rail Launcher- Thruster- | 100 each 80 75 each | ||||
| Speed and Statistical Data: | |||||||
| In The Air: Mach 3.3 Service Ceiling: 60 Miles; Can be refueled in the air. Range: 1,500 miles On The Ground: 0.1 MPH Range: About 10 miles; Only for taxiing (must be trailered to go any long distance). Rate Of Climb: 75,000 ft/min. Length: 60 feet Wingspan: 40 feet. Height: 10 feet | Weight: 80 tones Cargo: Pilot supplies only. Power System: MRK-14n Hydrogen Thrusters; Output: 10,000 h/p with afterburner (8,000 h/p without). Flight Systems: Primary: Gravity Pods Secondary: Airfoil/Power plant supplied thrust. Cost and Availability: 250,000€; Regularly available. Black Market Cost and Availability: 2,500 to 1M€; Regularly available. | ||||||
| Weapons Systems: | |||||||
| 1. Fixed Forward L-08 Rail Launcher: Mini-Missiles fired from the rail launcher either quadruple their range OR triple it and gain +2 to strike. Only Plasma or Hi-Ex MM's can be used. Primary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft Secondary Purpose: Ground Attack Damage: Varies by type. Rate Of Fire: Per pilots attacks per melee. Effective Range: Varies by type used and bonus selected. Payload: 800 2. Variable Full-Force Force Field: The F-19M was recently upgraded to include VFF's into their airfame. However, these are not considered a primary system (unlike other craft so equipped), since the Falcon is considered a tertiary platform. Had they been available in the era of Roy FOLKER and other "G-1" RDF pilots (many of whom never became Veritech pilots, because they were either too old or not interested), the F-19 might still be considered a front-line fighter. Purpose: Defense. MDC: 500. Activation Time: One action. | 3. Wing Mounted Weapons Systems: The F-19M Falcon can carry 6 pods. | ||||||
| A) TM-12 Fuel Pod: Essentially a modified version of the M-11 Torpedo Pod. In this case, however, it is used as a fuel pod to double the normal range of the craft. B) Type M-7 Rocket Launcher: 24 2-inch rocket tubes in 12 rows of 4 each. Each rocket tube has 4 rockets. Purpose: Heavy Assault MD: Each rocket does 2D6 MD Rate of Fire: Volleys of 6 or 12 times pilots attacks per melee. Range: 12,000 feet Payload: 96 per pod. Up to 6 pods can be carried. C) M-11 Torpedo Pod: An ASW torpedo pod. Carries the Mk-82 Airborne Torpedo, essentially a modified version of the Mk-81 Submarine Launched Torpedo. The initial launch is by a nothing so complicated as releasing it from the latches that hold it to the pylon. The on board hydro-cell motor then takes over as soon as the torpedo splashes. Each pod hold 3 Mk-82's. Purpose: Offensive/Anti-Ship MD: 4D6×10 per torpedo Blast Radius: 40 feet Maximum Range: 80 miles Minimum Range: 5 miles Rate of Fire: 1 torpedo per pilots attacks per melee. Payload: Each pod holds 3 Mk-82's. | D) External MRM launchers (4): Mainly for shooting down hostile aircraft, though are excellent for shooting down MRM's and LRM's. Primary Purpose: Anti-Aircraft Secondary Purpose: Anti-LRM. Damage: Varies by type used. Rate Of Fire: Volleys of 1, 2, 3, or 4 per pilots attacks per melee. Effective Range: Varies by type used. Payload: 32 (4 per launcher, 6 pods per wing). E) A-11/a Anti-Radiation Pod: A radar and other detection system jammer. Effect: While active, enemy radar will have a "wash" effect, where a large, highly unstable cloud of radar paint will appear. An experienced (5ᵗʰ level and above) radar operator can SOMETIMES use the flow of the wash to narrow down the source of the jamming, but typically this does little good. NOTE: This IS a form of radar signal, and can therefore by tracked by some ESM systems (-10%). F) A-11/v Radiation Detector Pod: This pod passively detects various types of Radiation, most importantly radio signals (for eavesdropping). G) C-441 Canister Pod: Basically a hollowed out version of the M-7 pod, used to drop highly sensitive and extensive messages. A nose-mounted device using GPS or laser detection guides the pod to within ⅛ of an inch of the intended target. | ||||||
| Features: | |||||||
Optic Systems: Infrared: 20 miles, Magnification: 15 times; Ultra Violet: 22 miles, Magnification: 25 times; Night Vision: 24 miles, Magnification: 8 times; Color Filters: 19 miles, Magnification: 200 times; Thermal Imager: 10 miles, Magnification: 40 times MDC: 5 Effects: The decoy has a 98% chance of fooling ordinary non military radars and non smart guided missiles, and a 90% chance of fooling military grade radars and advanced smart missiles. Range: Towed to 328 feet (100 meters) from the fighter or released to go wherever it wants. Can fly independently for about 30 minutes. Rate of fire: One can be tether deployed at a time and requires 15 seconds to deploy another decoy. Any non-loosed decoys can be reeled in again. Payload: 16 Decoys total. | Effect: 01-50: Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud- Missiles are all destroyed 51-75: Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (may lock onto another target). 76-00: No effect, missile is still on target. Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind nearby heat sensors (and optically based sensors at night) for 1 melee. They will suffer the following penalties: Reduce melee attacks/actions, and combat bonuses by half. Duration: 1D4 melee rounds. Payload: 60 chaff/flares. Each time the system is engaged, the system fires off 04 chaff/flares. | ||||||
