Imperial Dominion Over the Aerial Domain

The IF-61A Expulsor was developed for the Saltwater Air Force following lessons learnt from the War Over Bermuda, where Saltee MiG-31s demonstrated their effectiveness against numerically and technologically superior opponents by employing their significant speed advantage to rapidly disengage from combat whilst tossing their own armaments over superior ranges.

With a high service ceiling of 65,000 feet, the Expulsor includes a liquid-fuelled rocket motor that enables rapid engagement and disengagement to evade the weaponry employed by superior adversaries. These hit-and-run qualities make the aircraft well-suited to the interceptor role in service with less well-funded air forces, with a small cadre entering service with Imperial Saltwater before the Revolution of Portugal saw the nation forced into disbandment. Expulsors continued to see service with the nations of Tanggung and the Hellenic Governate of Saltwater, where they fulfilled both interceptor and ground attack missions.

A standard armament for an IF-61A includes four long-range air-to-air missiles such as the Meteor, alongside an electronic warfare pod and towed-decoy pod, plus two shorter-ranged air-to-air missiles. A gunpod is also available, though rarely used. Fuel tanks can be reconfigured internally to give greater endurance on the single turbofan engine, or alternatively greater rocket fuel for greater time spent at the fighter's maximum speed of Mach 2.8, being able to reach only Mach 1.7 without the use of the rocket motor. Large external fuel tanks are usually carried for greater endurance, often over 2,000 litres each, taking up a significant amount of the airframe's useful payload.

The Expulsor was initially considered ungainly by aircrew more used to the agility afforded by other modern combat aircraft, but appreciation for its capabilities grew following exercises that demonstrated its high-speed and high-altitude performance, able to disengage from unfavourable combat situations with near-impunity. With its rocket motor lit, heavily-laden IF-61As were frequently able to overhaul clean aircraft such as the Su-35 Flanker in a series of "drag races" off the coast of Lisbon, with one pilot reprimanded when he accidentally broke the sound barrier at 5,000 feet over the capital, breaking several windows.

Over 150 examples were built during the aircraft's production run with Portugal and Greece, with the State of Tanggung operating eight former Portuguese aircraft against political dissidents during its thirty-year civil war in the ground-attack role.

Instructions:
AG1 - Dumps external ordnance.
AG2 - Drops external drop tanks.
AG3 - Activates navigation lights.
AG4 - Deploys landing chute.
AG7 - Ignites rocket motor.
AG8 - Lowers cockpit canopy.