F-69 HawkThe F-69 is an iron Empirian heavy fighter and interceptor used and built in the F/U war. The aircraft saw extensive use as a long range bomber escort late in the war. Federation heavy bombers began bombing USSR cities in the early years of the war. The USAF requested a design for an interceptor that could reach high altitudes and maintain a cruise speed of 300 mph, while carrying a minimum of 6 x R-50G machine guns. The F-69A was designed by Empire Aviation and was intended to hold 8 x R-50G machine guns, but proved to be unnecessary and heavy. The aircraft was also intended to hold 1500hp engines, but the development of the popular Quennel M5 2000hp engines provided a better fit for the requirements. The F-69A was shown to be unstable at low speeds and had a high stall speed. The later XF-69D, F-69E, and FB-69G variants were based off of the F-69A general design. The XF-69D was an attack variant of the F-69A, but proved unstable during testing with the added weight, slowing the aircraft to its high stall speeds. The F-69E was a successful twin variant, carrying a navigator and a pilot. The last variant, the FB-69G was a bomber design based around the F-69A, but saw little use in the F/U war, and later scrapped.The F-69B had a lengthened fuselage and an elevator in the rear of the aircraft, with the front elevator replaced by a structural wing. The improved design proved capable of carrying the intended 8 x R-50G machine guns and 2000hp engines. With extra lift from the added elevator, the unstableness at low speeds was reduced immensely. The F-69B was one of the most built aircraft in the F/U war, and had an immense kill count. The F-69C, F-69F, and FB-69H variants all incorporated designs from the F-69B. The F-69C being a worthy attack variant, the F-69F being a successful twin variant, and the FB-69H proving to be of little use as a bomber in the F/U war. The F-69I was a modernized version of the aircraft, like the F-69B, but with the forward structural