F-404 "Drakon" Transatmospheric Fighter produced by NovTech

Never open Afterburner under altitude 5000
Must abandon RPD before open Afterburner

AG1 = Afterburner (engine overload)

AG2 = Space Mode

AG3 = Micro Anti-Ground Rocket

AG4 = "Karman Line Leaper" Rocket Propelled Device (RPD)

AG5 = Detach RPD

Trim Down = Open weapon bays

Weapon Systems:

1. Laser Cannon
2. 22 * High-Maneuverability Micro Missiles
3. 6 * Jump transition Destructed Anti-ship Missile (JDAM)
4. Anti-Ground Rocket Nest

As the first fighter with transatmospheric combat capability in a strict sense, after one year of bidding, seven years of research and development, the ninth-generation heavy dual fighter F-404 "Type-Drakon" was officially put into mass production in 2252.

It has become the standard single combat unit of the United Fleet Navy. The fighter has excellent nose directivity, instantaneous hovering ability, and minimal flight firing envelope. The mass-produced Drakon fighter is equipped with the F290-PW-GE4500 developed by General Dynamics Space Corporation (formerly General Dynamics Corporation of the United States).

Fusion-type non-working propellant propulsion engine, a single-engine with a maximum thrust of 47 tons, a thrust-weight ratio of about 37, afterburner can provide 1.28 seconds of jump transition ability after opening, the maximum range can only jump from the Earth's atmosphere to the lunar orbit (in fact, "afterburner" is a term passed down from the old times, the ancient jet pilots said. If we divide it according to the working principle, it should be called "engine overload".)

Because the traditional aerodynamic control surface is useless in space, the drakon fighter has installed several sets of RCS nozzles far from the center of gravity of the fuselage for attitude control in the gravity-free environment. Jet fighters can use cold air to cool down, nuclear submarines can use seawater to cool down, but the space environment tends to vacuum, there is no medium for heat transfer, so heat dissipation has become a very big problem, only through the form of thermal radiation. Large warships use radiators and place them away from the hull. Small fighters use a highly efficient liquid-cooled circulating device to transfer waste heat from all parts of the fuselage to the heat storage device, and collect heat in the lithium-carbon high-density polymer storage panels. When enough heat is absorbed, the storage panels are automatically thrown away from the fuselage, and a large amount of waste heat is taken away by the way. The Drakon fighter generates amazing heat when it operates (80% of which comes from the avionics system, even far more than the combined propulsion system and weapon system), so two heat storage devices are installed on the back of the aircraft. Storage board consumption is also astonishing, even faster than fuel consumption, so expeditionary forces'drakon fighters usually carry additional storage board expansion modules on the back to improve their range.

Conventional over-the-horizon space air combat is too far away, "drakon" fighters are mainly to deal with enemy warships that enter the battlefield on the instant of transition. The on-board single-person life support system can only work for two days, and although it has complete transition capability, fuel greatly limits the range. Therefore, the "drakon" fighter is still highly dependent on space carriers, unable to independently enter the deep space to carry out missions. Drakon fighters are often used in conjunction with the "Autumn Moon II" low-orbit heavy warship "Yukikaze" in the vicinity of the planetary atmosphere. When entering the atmosphere of a gravitational planet, the Drakon fighter will receive modular modifications in advance, plus the "Karman Line Leaper" Rocket Propelled Device (RPD), providing additional thrust to return to space.

The drakon fighter still retains the ability to fight in the atmosphere. Aerodynamics plays a key role. When the short wing returns to the atmosphere from space, it automatically retracts into the fuselage, reduces drag and avoids the influence of aerodynamic heating. The wide fuselage is also a very efficient wave rider, generating additional lift at high speeds. Due to the highly developed material engineering, the main fuselage frame will not fail to withstand 90G overload for a long time. Because F290-PW-GE4500 engine is inefficient in the atmosphere, the main thrust comes from AVIC-WS-500 dual-rotor adaptive variable-cycle turbofan engine designed by Shenyang Advanced Aeronautical Design Bureau (formerly Shenyang Aircraft Industry Group). Catalytic methane is used as fuel and the first cycle is used at low speed. When the gas efficiency is higher than that of the compressor, the second cycle is used to directly introduce the airflow from the outer duct into the combustion chamber through the compressor and the core engine, so the higher the speed in theory, the higher the efficiency of the engine. The back air intake is designed based on the complex external compression surface, which has a very high total pressure recovery capability, can completely offset the influence of the boundary layer, and can pre-compress and reduce the speed of high-speed airflow to meet the intake demand of each speed range. The auxiliary air intake on both sides of the ventral and nose can offset the intake loss of the back air intake when maneuvering at a high AOA.

Just as jet pilots are not allowed to make sonic booms over urban buildings, drakon fighter pilots are prohibited from jumping below the thermosphere ("Lightning Rod IV" warships of 500 tons or more are not allowed to jump transition in the atmosphere). One year ago, in order to verify the environmental impact of small vehicle jump transition in the atmosphere, the Joint Air Administration conducted an experiment over the New Pacific Ocean. All the pilots of the Drakon fighter aircraft were invited to visit. Chief test pilot Zykin-Shimo drove a computer-controlled "drakon" fighter flew to a low altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level and headed for space at a 30-degree angle. After hovering for 5 seconds, it opened the afterburner and accelerated to 99% of the speed of light in 0.042 seconds. The result was a huge explosion, the atmosphere burned through, and the fighter was torn apart in an instant. At high speeds, the air ahead is compressed, producing hypersonic shock waves. Water in the air even fuses. Without telescopes, residents of the entire West Coast can see that the sky is completely covered by bright blue light. Most of the debris fly out of the atmosphere, leaving a fan-shaped wake in the air, extending straight to outer space. Empty. That's the residual high-temperature plasma. After a few seconds, the water began to boil, and all the signals of the surrounding beacons were interrupted for 2.7 seconds, and five beacons were destroyed directly. 27 beacons were severely damaged. High-temperature and high-pressure airflow spread to the nearest coastline in 27 seconds, but no casualties were caused. The entire New Pacific was designated a no-fly zone until five months later when the radioactive material completely dissipated. "It's a $270 million firework," a spokesman for the Joint Air Traffic Administration said afterward. Few month later, the Jump transition Destructed Anti-ship Missile (JDAM) developed on the basis of the experimental results was invented.

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