Fighter of the Week Special Issue #006 pt.2 (repost) - Overview, Clans

[Trace Coburn]

FIGHTER FORCE OVERVIEW: CLANS, PART TWO

Originally posted 10 May 2006.


  My CBT library really isn’t what it could be, so the following analysis draws mainly on FM:U, HM:A, and various fan-compiled sources like MadCapellan’s Objective Raids 3067, as well as my own meandering experience, previous columns, and quiet updates from fellow posters.  :D  When I cite fixes, I’ll do it only for the front-line force - whatever leaves will either be sold off to other clans or (in the case of older materials like SFE fighters) pensioned off to the second-line units.

  So we all know where we are, let’s look at the various speeds/roles the Clan have, and what an ‘ideal’ Clan would field in each.  (Bracketed entries) are nice-to-have supplements or alternatives (if your budget permits the acquisition of such); slashes show ‘pick one and it’ll do’.

  Interceptor (10/15 or better): Chaeronea, (Bashkir, Avar)
  Light utility (9/14 or 8/12): Issus, (Batu/Sulla)
  Fast utility (7/11): Turk, (Visigoth)
  Dogfighter/utility (6/9): Ammon (Xerxes)
  Attack (5/8): Hydaspes/Kirghiz

CLAN BLOOD SPIRIT:

  One of the most notoriously hardscrabble propositions amongst the Clans, the Blood Spirits’ meagre resources are fiercely tasked not only by the usual trials, but by the Star Adders’ invasion of York itself.  The crippling of the Lola-III destroyer CBS Blood Fury and her subsequent scuttling to deny her to the Star Adders underscored the savage potency of the Hydaspes starfighter newly acquired by the Adders from their Cloud Cobra allies, but being so on the back foot economically and militarily, the Blood Spirits have a distinctly hard task ahead of them if they want to drive off the invaders.

  Facilities: Presumably the Blood Spirits build their own starfighters, as what little they had to trade to other Clans for military hardware has already been handed over (for example, the Snow Ravens bought most of their WarShips with ’Mechs and other systems in 2977, likely robbing them blind in the process).  However, I can locate no references to any such factory in my canon tomes; MadCapellan’s Objective Raids 3067 project had access to more resources and could only turn up one ASF facility that may be in CBS hands, on York itself, and all it makes are... Vandals.  #P

  According to the FM:U tables, these are the types most prominent in their ranks, or which at least give a force a representative ‘Blood Spirit’ feel:
    Light fighters:
      FRONT-LINE: Chaeronea, Sulla, Issus, Vandal, Batu, Bashkir
      SECOND-LINE: Chaeronea, THK-63 Tomahawk, SWF-606 Swift, RGU-133E Rogue, TRN-3T Trident, SPD-502 Spad, ZRO-114 Zero.
    Medium fighters:
      FRONT-LINE: Visigoth, Sulla(!?), Tyre, Turk, Jagatai
      SECOND-LINE: HCT-213B Hellcat II, IRN-SD1 Ironsides, Tyre, GTHA-500 Gotha
    Heavy fighters:
      FRONT-LINE: Kirghiz, Sabutai, Hydaspes
      SECOND-LINE: Hydaspes, RPR-100 Rapier, HMR-HD Hammerhead, AHB-443 Ahab.

  Sheesh - even considering the front-line craft alone, the above makes baby Jesus cry: too much ‘mix’, not enough ‘match’, a number of fighters that simply should not be there, and others that are conspicuous in their absence.  The Spirits have been cash-poor for centuries, so you’d think their TO&E would feature large numbers of the older, cheaper SFE fighters from TRO3067 like the Xerxes, right?  Wrong.  No sign of the fairly capable Xerxes for the 6/9 slot; instead, it’s filled with the new and moderately sucky Sabutai, the new-ish and underwhelming Jagatai and the SLDF-era IRN-SD1 (which they presumably made-do with until the OmniFighters came along).  God alone knows how the Hydaspes came to feature so prominently in their line-up - they can’t have captured that many of them on York, surely!  :o  All those XLFE-powered, poorly-designed fighters instead of decently-crafted SFE ones?  Good frakking grief - these people are throwing their money away with this scattershot approach to acquisitions.  >:(
  [sigh]  We really, really need to consolidate this lot on fewer, cheaper types, so they can build up numbers (and replace losses) faster and perhaps stave off complete defeat and Absorption.  That'll mean less-prestigious SFE designs, but which would you rather be - proud and dead, or humble and thriving?  ???

    Lights:
  Jettison the Batu and get more Sullas - they have better endurance and warloads.  You might want to lose the Bashkirs, too - your indigenously-made Vandal has ’em beat for agility and the Chaeronea significantly outguns ’em.
    Mediums:
  Ditch the Visigoths for more Turks (which the FM:U tables show as being far more abundant amongst the Spirits anyway, and offer 80% of the ’Goth’s performance for two-thirds the price).  Shift the Tyres to dedicated attack units, preferably WarShip-based so they can start whittling away at the Adder navy/blockade.  Hit the Sharks up for Ammons to replace the Jagatais as dogfighter utility birds - you can afford a full Trinary of Ammons for what a single Star of Jags would cost you (or net you on the open market), and quantity is a quality all of its own when you’re up against a foe as dominant as the Star Adders.
    Heavies:
  Deep-six the Sabutais ASAFP - sell ’em and take the cash to the Hell’s Horses for a few runs of Xerxes (either series) from the former Jaguar plant at Orbital SJ-3.  Form dedicated attack units of those Hydaspes (however the frell you got ’em to start with!) and/or your long-standing Kirghiz force, shield ’em with 6/9s or 7/11s from above, and cut the Adders off from their supplies, so that their invasion of York ‘dies on the vine’.


  The releases of TRO3050U, TRO3075 and Historical: Operation KLONDIKE have done a little to add background to this listing... but unfortunately, for all that canon marching on has shone new light on matters, it has left us with just as many new shadows we need to probe.  The new fighter-variants revealed in these books might do a great deal of good for the Blood Spirits’ aerospace wing - if they have access to them.
  For instance, Operation KLONDIKE has all the Clans rolling on a single table for their fighter-forces, and that table is crammed with Royal ASF variants - the SB-27b, TRN-3Tb, ZRO-116, RGU-133Eb, THK-63b, CSR-V12b, LTN-G15b, GTHA-500b, IRN-SD1b, EGL-R6b, HMR-HDb, RPR-100b, AHB-443b, CHP-W5b, STU-K5b, and THB-D36b; some of these were described in TRO’75 (and are awaiting record sheets), others are brand-new in KLONDIKE (and its RS compilation).  Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean all that much: the forces committed to Operation KLONDIKE were the best Nutty Nicky K could get from his new society, and accordingly were lavished with the best equipment available, which means we can’t draw any conclusions about the state of the gear the Clans picked up when they started to expand their toumans.  It doesn’t prove, nor even imply, that all of the Clans’ ex-SLDF fighters had been upgraded to Royal standards and remain so more than two centuries later.  Indeed, I’d be inclined to take the opposite position: that they hadn’t had the time or resources to conduct that many upgrades before (or during) KLONDIKE, simply taking their pick of the best killware in the Kerensky Cluster’s sundry Brian caches.  If any ex-SLDF machines were going to be retained in service, the Royals would be the logical choice, but their final forms post-date the RATs that might have told us how many survive to the current day, so here we are: SOL.  (Story of my life, folks.  :D)
  Likewise, a couple of ex-SLDF fighters, the Swift and Tomahawk, got ClanTech updates in ’50U, but they’re limited to swapping the armour and lasers over to Clan standards, probably just for the sake of simplifying logistics.  On one hand, one could postulate that these machines do appear in the Blood Spirits’ order of battle; on the other hand, this Clan’s fluff about a perennial shortage of resources makes it just as valid to speculate that they were too strapped to perform such upgrades on their ‘reserve’ machines, leaving them at SLDF-specs so they devote their resources to the front-line ones.  Without more data from TPTB, we can only speculate - and the current state of the Clan Homeworlds (to whit: out of contact since the start of the Jihad, and forever after according to what little I’ve heard from former MWDA sites) means that we’re not too likely to get such hard data.  :(  I may not have any formal training in logic, but I do know that conclusions drawn from equivocal data can’t be anything better than ‘questionable’.  :'(
  Meh, same old story: you do the best you can, and the rest is out of your hands.  [shrug]

  And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce our very special FotW guest stars: Iron Mongoose, Jellico and MerkavaMK4, YAAAAAAAYYYYY! [applause]

[Trace Coburn]

Fighter Force Overview: Clan Fire Mandrill

A while back, Trace did an excellent and extensive overview of the Clan aerospace fighter corps as a whole.  This week, I’ve been invited to share an assessment of one clan’s fighter force, Clan Fire Mandrill’s.  One of the more often over looked clans, and the owner of the worst canon navy, this promises to be a revealing insight.  Before I begin, I’d like to say what an honor is it to be writing this, and I hope to live up to the high standard Trace has set.

Front Line Fighters:

In the Mandrill’s case, it’s easier to say what they lack; of the front line fighters, only the Sabutai is absent from FM:U’s RATs, though it makes an appearance as a second line fighter.  Also present are the non-omni Ammon, Tyre, Xerxes, and Hydaspes.  So, we see that the Mandrills can do every thing the Generic Clan can do, but with out the baggage of the Sabutai holding them back.  Gee, that was quick.

Fortunately, that’s not the whole story.  We also have to look at frequency of use. 

With light fighters, we see a lack of older designs, unlike the other two weight classes.  That tells us that the Mandrills either use very few and can afford to buy only omnis, or they specialize in that class, and reject second line designs.  Knowing that the only canon Mandrill fighter is a Scytha, and also knowing that the second line designs are not likely there for bargain value, I suspect that light fighters make up a small part of the Mandrill air force.  Those they do have canter on the Sulla and Batu, the two heavies and most capable designs, reinforcing the notion of a top heavy air force.  Unfortunately, the Batu and Sulla are also the slowest of the light fighters, leaving them lacking against swifter opponents that can employ designs like the Avar and Bashkar.  The popular configurations suggest that the Mandrills prefer to use their light fighters in supporting roles and with their lack of lightning fast designs, that may be a wise decision.

In the medium weight class, we see the Turk, Visigoth and Jagatai joined by the Ammon and Tyre.  Distribution of the three omnis is roughly even, with the Turk lagging some what.  The labeling of the Turk only in the A configuration suggests it is used as a space superiority fighter, stationed on warships.  The Tyre likely complements it in that role, escorting the tiny Mandrill navy.  The Visigoth, being the king of fighters, and the Jegatai likely serve in all roles, from dog fighting to ship killing to strafing, and they likely do it with much aplomb.  Because of the versatility and utility of these medium fighters, they likely comprise much of Mandrills aero forces. 

Lastly, we have the heavies.  Led by a healthy selection of Scythas and backed by Kirghiz and Jengiz in roughly equal numbers, the heavies appear to serve two functions.  The Kirghiz and Jengiz, along with the Hydaspes and Xerxes, are the hammers.  Because of the poor Warship fleet of the Mandrills, these fighters are the force that is responsible for bringing down Warships and drop ships.  Many Kindraa have no warships at all, and likely have large numbers of these killer heavies.  The Scytha seems to serve a different roll.  Dora Beyl leads by example, flying her Scytha into the thick of battle, and this is where the Mandrills make up for their lack of light fighters.  By using such a brute at a fighter killer, Mandrills are able to smash lighter interceptors the way a horse swats a fly, while still able to keep up in the turns with any heavy and many medium fighters.  Backed by Visigoths, the Scythas of the Fire Mandrills likely form the spear head of an attack, breaking enemy formations and crushing them like bugs.  Though they are vulnerable if the enemies survive the merge and enter the furball in good shape, the immense power and armor of the heavy Scythas means it’s not over till it’s over.

So, as a clan we see the Mandrills are not a perfectly balanced force, but they can get by well enough.

In terms of the Ideal Force: Clan Fire Mandrill

Interceptor            Not so much
Fast Dogfighter         Yes
Dogfighter            Yes
Fire Support            Yes
Attack               Very Much Yes


As mentioned, Attack must be a corner stone of Mandrill combat thinking, as fighters must do all the work.  Interception can be over looked as the enemy will not often be going where the Mandrills do not want them.  With no warships to protect, an enemy will be encroaching on Mandrill land, in which case the attack birds can blow them from the sky, or they will be seeking to engage Mandrill drop ships as they burn for a planet.  In this case, the Mandrills must wait and engage the enemy closer in, using their weight of fire power to turn the tide.

Now, because of the Mandrill nature, it is necessary to take a quick look, Kindraa by Kindraa.

Sainze:

Once the largest Kindraa, the Sainzes have recently fallen behind in the wake of two mergers of other Kindraa.  Never in position of a Warship, the Sainzes must rely purely on fighters.  To make matters worse, their old enemies recently merged with the strongest aerospace Kindraa, and they now control three warships.  The resource rich Sainzes likely have the heaviest fighter corps to combat this threat.  They deploy in trinary strength to each cluster.

Faraday-Tanaga:

A well established neutral Kindraa, the Faraday-Tanagas are also one of the richer Kindraa, and have the best political connections.  They too deploy in trinary size to their clusters, though they also possess a Vincent class warship.  With this frail asset to protect, they likely field a more balanced force.

Payne-Beyl-Grant:

The self proclaimed IlKindraa, these guys are Wardens in a Clan of crusaders (sort of) and so must be constantly on their guard.  They also have the best fleet, with a Soyuz leading a Lola and a Carrack.  On top of that, the Beyl-Grant pilots are some of the Clan’s best, and they deploy clusters dedicated to fighters.  Though the Paynes never had more than a trinary of fighters, this Kindraa is the most potent threat in the air.  Because of the Payne’s resources and elitism, this Kindraa likely deploys almost exclusively omni-fighters, even in their second line forces.

Mattila-Carrol:

Owner of a Lola class ship, the Mattia-Carrols deploy by binary, and so likely have one of the smallest air forces in the Clan.  As they do not share holdings with other Kindraa, they will see invasions from the sky most often of the Clan, and so likely have a disproportionately large force of interceptors.  They favor faster mechs, and this may carry over in their fighter choices. 

Mick-Kreese-Kline:

The largest Kindraa, they formed when one of the two aero Kindraa absorbed a ground based Kindraa, Kindraa Kline.  This gives them two warships, a Potemkin and a Lola, and a strong air force.  However, the Klines did not have a strong fighter corps, and worse, they may not have had many omni fighters.  They could produce only three omni mechs, and there is every reason to believe they had similar limitations in the sky.  They may therefore make up most of the non-omnis on the front line tables, though that would also indicate a lack of light fighters.

A note on second line forces:

Mandrill nature means that the second line forces see little action, as each Kindraa has it’s own front line units.  There for, an exhaustive study of second line force is not needed.  They are centered on Star League fighters, with a strong complement of omni fighters.  I suspect this varies greatly by Kindraa, with some using SL birds and some using omnis, but it is hard to say.

Faults in the Mandrill Force:

The only problem is a lack of swift fighters.  A few Avars and Vandals would work well.  Aside form that, they are well rounded, and able to hold their own.


I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you all now have a better appreciation of the Fire Mandrill Aerospace Force.

[Trace Coburn]

Clan Hell's Horses

Man over machine. Such is the way of Clan Hell’s Horses. Combined arms are how they choose to fight and the role of their aerospace assets is to support their ground assets. Deploying in full trinaries the aerospace of Clan Hell’s Horses secures the ground based formations into positions that are all but impossible to shift. Their aerospace is formidable but the coming years will stretch it to the limit.

Facilities
Clan Hell’s Horses have recently acquired the Xerxes factory at Kirin. This provides the only known Horse built fighter, the Xerxes and its gauss rifle equipped variant. Everything else in the Clan is either imported, cached or from unknown factories. This is largely not a problem given the mainly Homeworld status of Clan Hell’s Horses.

Pilots
Clan Hell’s Horses’ aerospace pilots are fairly standard Clan pilots. As such they make use of the aerospace phenotype. Lacking any real distinguishing features it is enough that they are competent in combat against other Clans. Failed pilots are able to re-trial to lower ranked roles such a Protomechs or VTOLs and given the recent rise in importance and numbers of Protomechs it would not be surprising if efforts were being made to increase the total number of pilots being produced to accommodate this rise.

Organisation
Clan Hell’s Horses primarily operates its fighters in trinaries spread over each of its 38 Clusters. This offers massive air support for its large Clusters. However this becomes a liability in off world operations. Primarily operating ancient Titan class dropships in limited numbers the Clan has serious problems transporting its fighters to distant battlefields. The second major problem is that equipping this large force stretches the resources of Clan Hell’s Horses to its limits. This results in a high percentage of SLDF fighters in the second line ranks. This is not so bad in the Homeworlds where combat is limited but if ever serious losses are taken it will be difficult to recover. Finally additional assets are available in the Warship fleet adding a further two clusters. This is generally inline with the small, transport oriented navy of Clan Hell’s Horses.

Light Fighters
   Frontline:   Sulla, Batu, Bashkir
   Second line:   Issus, Zero ZRO-114, Chaeronea

Medium Fighters
   Frontline:   Jagatai, Visigoth, Turk
   Second line:   Ammon, Visigoth, Hellcat II HCT0231B

Heavy Fighters
   Frontline:   Kirghiz, Scytha, Jengiz
   Second line:   Hydaspes, Xerxes

Doctrine
As always with Clan Hell’s Horses the primary focus is to support their extensive ground forces on their way to their objective. Air to air vies with missile support platforms and with the occasional close combat fighter. This promises heavy firepower but also serious ammo issues.

Light Fighters
   Clan Hell’s Horses mainly operates the three modern light omnifighters. The Bashkir is usually equipped as light fire support, most commonly the LRM carrying B variant. Likewise the Sulla is only used in it’s A variant which combines missiles and lasers. Oddly the primary variant of the Batu is the gauss rifle carrying C with the B only appearing occasionally.
   As usual the second line lights are a mix of left overs. Ranged firepower is a notable feature and dominates at the expense of dog fighting capability.

Medium Fighters
   Clan Hell’s Horses operate similar numbers of the three major medium omnifighters. While the Jagatai provides raw firepower the Horses rely on the Visigoth to provide dog fighting ability. Interestingly the Prime is prominent with it s ground attack abilities as is the pulse based C. Finally the Turk C and Prime offer alternative ground attack options. 
   The most fascinating part of Clan Hell’s Horses’ second line mediums is the significant number of Ammons. They certainly did not get these from the Ghost Bears. The most likely source is the mercenary Clan Diamond Shark supplying both rivals. Left overs make up the remainder. Visigoths are prominent as are older craft like Hellcat IIs. Though lacking firepower this craft is certainly able to keep up with its compatriots.

Heavy Fighters
   Clan Hell’s Horses operate the three super heavy fighters. The most common of these fighters is the Kirghiz as transport, missile support and gunboat. Strangely the next most common fighter is the Jengiz across both front and second line units, primarily ground attack variants or high powered gunboats. Where Clan Hell’s Horses is getting these fighters from is a mystery seeing the fighter is only produced by the Ghost Bears. There is certainly too many to be salvage.  Finally the Scytha provides a high powered gunboats and missile fire support.
   Second line units are pretty much the preserve of the remaining Hydaspes. But more important is the Xerxes. Large numbers of these fighters must have existed already but since acquiring Kirin numbers of this heavy fighter have risen to the point where they represent more than a quarter of second line heavies.

In conclusion Clan Hells Horses aerospace support is a formidable threat. Large numbers of fighters, heavily armed and able to put out large amounts of damage quickly. While there is certainly a bias towards air to ground combat, the numbers of fighters allow Clan Hell’s Horses to still maintain an adequate air to air umbrella.
The weaknesses of the Hells’ Horses are structural. Firstly they lack the transport assets their aerospace needs. With their large number of units of all types this is a problem common across the board and limits their offensive capabilities. Secondly they lack construction facilities. While most Clans lack major fighter construction capability the desire of Clan Hell’s Horses to maintain full trinaries places a strain on their limited resources. Glimpsing into the future their push into the Inner Sphere will put a severe strain on their aerospace assets as they lose what facilities they have and their already stretched second line units start taking losses.
However while they remain on the defensive the combined arms doctrine of Clans Hell’s Horses works well in providing a deep defensive grid of which airpower is a vital part. Clan Hell’s Horses aerospace assets are more than capable of providing this role.

[Trace Coburn]

Clan Ghost Bear

   â€œSmall but efficient,” are the words of the Loremaster Laurie Tseng in describing Clan Ghost Bear’s aerospace forces. But small for a Ghost Bear is not what others deem small. The sheer size of the Touman means that the aerospace forces of the Ghost Bears are larger than one expects. There are even Clusters devoted to aerospace units. At the same time the introduction of the Leviathan-class battleships demands an expansion of the aerospace forces by up to 50% requiring both pilots and fighters, as seen by the sales of Ammon and Issus to the Ghost Bears. Finally the Ghost Bears are on the verge of absorbing the Kungsarme and their aerospace forces. These are smaller than one might expect, representing between 10% and 15% of the total Touman but are a professional force and have great cache with the Rasalhagian natives. Something the Ghost Bears have already used to great effect.

Facilities
Clan Ghost Bear currently builds two aerospace fighters, the Jengiz on Strana Mechty and the Ammon on Alshain. All other fighters are salvaged, old, cached or imported from other Clans. As Loremaster Tseng said the aerospace forces are efficient and unlike with their ‘mechs the Ghost Bears field many of the most conventionally effective aerospace units available. The result is Clan Ghost Bear has very well balanced frontline forces and their second line units while still solid operate a mix of frontline left-overs, salvage, second line imports like Issus and Ammon, and Star League relics. Finally reference has to be made to the Kungsarme. While they operate a modern home made omnifighter, the Huscarl, the majority of their fighters are decidedly old and will generally have to be replaced.

Pilots
Clan Ghost Bear famously has chosen not to adopt the aerospace phenotype for their aerospace blood lines considering the gains to be not worth the physical cost. They are also famous for pointing out how this decision has been vindicated in the comparable performance of their pilots. In addition senior Ghost Bear pilots have been known to receive training with the Clan Snow Raven with generally good results. Finally there is no doubt that the pilots of Clan Ghost Bear are culturally inferior to both Elementals and Mechwarriors. Their physical limitations prevent them from taking a fully active part in the normal rituals of this oh so physical Clan. However as their current, and very successful Khan is an aerospace pilot it goes to show that opportunities exist for pilots if they are able to grab them.
Clan Ghost Bear has begun tapping the local Rasalhagian population for pilots. Most notable has been the formation of the Gunzberg Eagles Cluster in a fairly transparent, yet still successful propaganda attempt. The Kungsarme with its dedicated core of professional pilots living to follow the inspiration of Tyra Miraborg now has to be considered in any evaluation of the Ghost Bear’s aerospace assets.

Organisation
Clan Ghost Bear primarily operates its fighters in binaries with trinaries in larger units. This is clear in the texts and also in the way the Ghost Bears primarily use the larger carrier dropships. Also typically the Ghost Bears tend to run heavier fighters than normal as can be seen in their being the origin of two of the four major heavy fighters.
The Ghost Bears operate four aerospace clusters: the 140th Striker Cluster, 55th PGC, 69th PGC and Gunzberg Eagles in addition to their 58 regular units and Keshiks. The warship navy includes another Galaxy. The Kungsarme adds three double strength Wings as well as a further Wing and two Companies representing a 15% increase in numbers.

Light Fighters
   Frontline:   Sulla, Batu, Bashkir
   Secondline:   Issus, Batu, Chaeronea
   Kungsarme:   Sholagar S-21L, Centurion CNT-1D, Seydlitz Various
Medium Fighters
   Frontline:   Visigoth, Turk
   Secondline:   Visigoth, Ammon, Tyre
   Kungsarme:   Shilone Various, Lucifer II Various
Heavy Fighters
   Frontline:   Kirghiz, Scytha, Jengiz
   Secondline:   Hydaspes, Xerxes, Hammerhead HMR-HD, Ahab AHB-443
   Kungsarme:   Slayer Various, Huscarl HCSL-1

Docterine
The basic theme to Clan Ghost Bear’s aerospace forces is to take a fast dogfighter and pair it with fire support. Of course with the firepower and mobility offered by Clan tech these goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Another common theme is the Ghost Bears operate a surprising number of fighters with large fuel tanks. The benefits are obvious. Finally Clan Ghost Bear generally operates the conventionally best variants available. For example they usually prefer to operate the pulse or laser variants with their massed arrays of long range fire. The exception is when they are trying to achieve an effect, for example with the Kirghiz as will be seen below. Kungsarme doctrine is essentially that of the Draconis Combine with Lyran fighters added to the mix.

Light Fighters
   Clan Ghost Bear operates three primary frontline light fighters in roughly equal numbers. The Bashkir is used for fast strikes, the Batu for dogfighting and the Sulla in more of a stand off role. Sullas are also been used for ground support and general escort.
   Secondline lights are more mixed with no types really dominating. However they all either fall into fast, dogfighting or stand off groups.
   The Kungsarme operates mainly older craft. All are built for dog fighting with only the Seydlitz having any range or flexibility.

Medium Fighters
   Clan Ghost Bear’s medium fighters are dominated by the Visigoth to the point that this fighter represents a full quarter of their Touman usually configured as either the close range Prime or the flexible pulse based B or C variants.  Turks are operated in support, normally with ranged weapons and have been used mainly for ground attack.
   Secondline units are still dominated by the Visigoth though it is supported by the long ranged Ammon and the close fire support of the Tyre.
   Refitted Shilones and Lucifer IIs offer the Kungsarme good mobile medium weight punch at all ranges. Unfortunately they are low in number and are supplemented by older models.

Heavy Fighters
   The three big heavies share the top of the Ghost Bear’s aerospace food chain. Most common is the Scytha, usually configured for long range dog fighting to make use of its superior thrust. The Kirghiz comes next, usually configured as a transport or missile support. The Jengiz follows in its strafing A variant.
   The secondline forces are an eclectic mix of craft, usually left overs. However the mix of fighter and fire support remain a constant theme.
   The Kungsarme primarily uses the Slayer which offers good mobility but lacks range. Huscarl will go a long way to fixing this but they are still low in numbers.

In conclusion Clan Ghost Bear does not do much wrong. It uses solid fighters with effective variants. Its pilots are skilled professionals who are a match for any opponent and its technicians have made sure that the very best equipment is available though trade and local construction.
The great weakness of the Ghost Bear’s aerospace assets is their size. While adequate in the pre-Invasion days, spread over the giant Touman their numbers are just too few as air power becomes an increasingly important feature of the battlefield. Steps have been taken but it will be decades until the results are felt.

[Trace Coburn]

Fighter Clan Force Overview: Clan Star Adder.


Clan Star Adder has always considered a total-force warfare option when it came to its Touman's military operations.  Thus fighters have always been included on ground level and for aerospace operations as well.  With their immense Clan Homeworld territories, Adders have and had to defend a vast expanse of space and the skies over its colony planets. 

Judging from two main sources on Adder force composition, Field Manual Crusader Clans & Field Manual Updates, we can see the rough composition of Adder aerospace fighter arm.
As per FM Crusader Clans,  Adders have an excess of such venerable fighters as Turk and Jagatai.  Information in FM Crusader Clans also reveals the capture of Jaguar Aerospace Factory CM-T72673 that infused the Adder Touman with hundreds of Kirghiz and Jagatai Omnifighters.
Smoke Jaguars took the factory back in 3040. but as of currently it is unknown who holds the complex or if complex even exists after infighting between Clans after Smoke Jaguar collapse.
Also unknown is the operable state of hundreds of those fighters.  Some may have been destroyed or scrapped or simply phased out of service.  Due to this, the paper strength of Adders seems immense, but there is no hard and conclusive evidence of aftermath from which strength was abtained.

With knowledge found in FM Crusader Clans and FM Updates, we can construct a rough picture of Adder aerospace arm.

Heavy fighter designs clearly dominate. Such designs like Scytha, Jagatai and Sabutai, have clearly been shown to be the largest contingent of Adder aerospace forces.  Despite this, Adders have a surprising number of Turk and Sulla fighters which most likely be used in hunting wolf-pack formations.  Fighter like Kirghiz, also prominently shows up on the heavy fighter list where it most likely serves a role of a heavy attack craft that needs to be supported by lighter and faster Sulla or Jagatai.

Easily the three most common fighters; the Jagtatai, Sabutai and Scytha make up roughly 70% of fighter front-line force.  I can only assume that the rest of space is shared by various configurations of Sulla and Kirghiz, as Turk seems to be less prevalent in FM Updates Table.

Second-line formations base heavily on what seems to be decommisioned front-line Omnifighters, but the operable state of these machines remains unknown.  It is unknown how much maintanance they receive and if their pilots have the option of weapon-swapping.  It is to be noted that most of second-line Adder fighter force is composed of older front-line omnifighters such as Visigoth, signifying that Adders are among the first Clans to begin phasing that design out of active front-line service.

Second-line fighters inside Adder touman are usually divided into two groups.  Fast and small Issus, evidently acquired from Snow Ravens, and bigger and relatively slower Hydaspes.

Personally I see very little to be improved in Adder fighter force.  Heavier and multi-role designs provide the backbone, while lighter and faster chassis serve in their own dedicated roles.