The Nonder was a subsonic but supersonic capable fighter aircraft created in the 80s by the AARC to serve an attack role. The AARC rarely fields combat capable vessels but a push from the top asked that they keep some on hand for when the intel they collect presents them with blink and miss scenarios for eliminating targets.

The Nonder was built using first gen stealth tech to keep costs down. An added benefit of using old KBEAM era stealth tech was that advances in production processes for it allowed for a great miniaturization of the airframe. What came out of the design process was a surprisingly tiny but powerful fighter aircraft.

An advancement that came with the Nonder was the equipment of stealth munitions both in form-factor via compartmentalization alongside audio and visual stealth consideration. Because of the small size of the craft, equally puny munitions had to be loaded, however. This meant multiple missiles on target for kills, and extended barrages from the gunnery being required.

Due to the inherent flaws with first gen stealth tech, the Nonder is not aerodynamic in any great way. The craft is acrobatic, but suffers from drag imbalances that can make flying it somewhat of a chore. Over time, pilots came to love the Nonder for its small stature. Less target for the enemies to hit, and a lot of freedom of movement.

The avionics in the Nonder were on par with any of the advanced interceptors of its day, and the mission capabilities of the craft were also very versatile. In the loadout you see here, the Nonder is equipped for anti-air duty only but it is happy to field ground attack munitions. And it excels at it.

Notes about the performance are as follows. The Nonder likes to pull certain ways when being pitched. Watch your bank angle. The craft is equipped with an afterburner that engages at over 92% throttle. The craft slows down VERY quickly when at low throttle with the brake flaps in use, so be careful. Stall characteristics are great, but you're gonna be coming in for hot landings. Speaking of landings, the Nonder uses tandem gear configuration. Line up straight! Be easy! You can easily reach greater than mach 1 speeds at altitude in a dive, but the craft will putter about at much less than supersonic near sea level. At around 30k plus you'll see airspeeds nearing or exceeding 600 depending on load and AoA.

Had this one on the backburner for a while

AG1-canopy
AG2- Arm Guns (compartment open)
AG3- Hook
AG4- Detachers
AG5- Formation Lights
AG6- Running Lights
AG7- Missile Arm (compartment open)