A quintessential Maritime Patrol Aircraft designed for long on-site loiter times, redundant defenses, and the ability to attack hardened naval targets.

Credits:
The KRAKEN Maritime Patrol Craft utilizes an original design that remains in harmony with the other warplanes of the ARCHON CHANCELLERY. Of course, all the modifications are the products of you terrific folk here on SimplePlanes. I would specifically like to thank Seme4ka for the wonderful micro-missiles that are the basis of my Fang, Houndstooth, Claw and Talon missiles batteries, dfsjoe for the weightless mega-fuel tank that I have reinterpreted as the Umbra Reactor, FGW2014 for the Hail Storm shard laser that became the Meteor Storm and Meteor Swarm air defense laser systems, and Spefyjerbf for many amazing weapons systems, along with many others whose names are not known to me, but whose talents are greatly appreciated.

Background Story:
During the fourth cycle of the XIX Dynasty the High Command commissioned the Archon Chancellery to develop a medium sized airplane to be used as a dedicated Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The requirements for this plane included stability, good defense, extended loiter times, and a wide range of offensive weapons directed toward anti-ship warfare. The Chancellery responded to this challenge by offering a flying wing concept that incorporated the Chancellery's signature SERAPHIM multi-wing architecture into a naturally stable, swept wing design. One of the most unique features of this design is its underslung, downward-looking cockpit, a practical design that acknowledges the nature of the KRAKEN's main opponents. In consideration of this unusual feature the designers also included a dorsal mounted periscopic camera, insuring that blind spots would not be a problem. The Chancellery powered the new craft with the UMBRA dark energy reactor, giving the plane virtually unlimited range. They utilized a variation on their very successful CONSTELLATION integrated power system, that included a single AURORA high performance / low observability boost engine along with a GRAVITON VTOL motor. Remarkably, the plane's main armament is neither a missile system nor a laser cannon, but is instead a spinal mounted AQUARIUS 15-inch naval cannon supplied with 15 armor piercing shells. In the surface attack role, the KRAKEN has twelve long range TALON cruise missiles as well as a METEOR STORM downward firing shard laser. Air defense is provided by eight FANG Interceptor missiles along with two STAR FIRE pulse-beam laser cannons and two STAR BURST burst-pulse stern-chasers. The aircraft is also equipped with two fuselage mounted STAR LIGHT needle-lasers for close air defense. Finally, in common with all ARCHON CHANCELLERY aircraft--though of particular concern for this plane--the KRAKEN is naturally buoyant, enabling all variety of waterborne operations.

Activation Groups:
1 - Engages the single AURORA engine (VTOL up) that can be used in conjunction with the plane's four regular engines as a performance booster, or used alone for missions that might require a longer loiter time. The same group also can activate the GRAVITON VTOL motor (VTOL down) as well as an enhanced gyro-stabilization unit that is active whenever AG-1 is engaged.
2 - Engages the forward AQUARIUS spinal mount, a 15-inch naval gun equipped with fifteen 50-ton armor piercing shells.
3 - Activates the aircraft's six ventrally mounted torpedoes.
4 - Activates the eight FANG long-range Air-to-Air missiles (Interceptor based).
5 - Activates the twelve TALON long-range Air-to-Surface cruise missiles (Cleaver based).
6 - Activates the main weapons pods containing the STAR FIRE pulse-beam laser cannons and the STAR BURST stern-chaser burst-pulse cannons.
7 - Activates the ventral mounted METEOR STORM surface staffing shard laser.
8 - disconnects the main UMBRA integrated power reactor, deactivating all active sensors (shown by extinguishing the various engine and running lights), cutting off the plane's back-up stabilization gyro, and disarming the plane's default fuselage mounted STAR LIGHT needle-laser guns.