The Ballistic II!

Say, erm... what happened to Ba-

No. Ballistic I = Bruno; we don't talk about them.

What we do, however talk about, is this delta-wing aircraft I've constructed! Meet an FA-31A Ballistic II.

Now, I know what you're thinking: this is either a PEA or an MDA aircraft, right?
Well, the case for both of those, inadvertently yes, but on intention no.
I'm gonna say it now since I don't know if it'll be relevant and flow later; it's inadvertently a PEA, or more accurately an LPA, because it's literally 125 parts WITH weapons. Without weapons, it easily falls into the threshold of both, the Ballistic II's only disqualifier for PEA being that the FA-31A is entirely fictional.

For my veterans out there, the "FA-31A" designation probably reminds you of the (loosely) famous FA-32A Striker. This is where the lore actually begins.

As the Red V Green War was coming to close, Green feared that the steady decline in Red Team's attacks was actually just a result of preparing for one massive strike. Eager to catch them off-guard, though, Green told its best aircraft makers to build something capable of air-to-air combat while still being a formidable attack aircraft, with one of the leaders of the program saying "I want you to build a P-47, but perfect it with modern technology." This birthed the FA-31A Ballistic II and FA-32A Striker. But here's the catch that took even the builders by surprise- they weren't competitors. Instead, the two were supposed to work together in combat, with the lighter-armed but faster and more agile FA-31 being more air-to-air based although still strong against ground targets, while the more armored, stable, and payload-capable FA-32 would be normally intended to fight ground targets but still holding its own in a dogfight. The FA-31A was also much less expensive, being easier to both build and maintain. Essentially speaking, the FA-31A and FA-32A are the Red V Green variants of the F-16 and F-15 respectively. But wait, if they're equal to American multirole aircraft... more confirmation that Red Team = Russia?? Makes ya wonder who the heck Blue and Purple are, and this is just the four "world powers" of RvG...

Although export variants of the FA-31 and FA-32 would see much use- and success- throughout regions of the Combined SimpleVerse, the Ballistic II and Striker would never actually fight in the Red V Green War, due to Green wanting to keep them top secret until they were sure their worst fears had either been confirmed or denied. Ultimately, it was the latter that happened, with the war ending relatively peacefully.

However, the FA-31A would sorta get slept on. Unlike the FA-32A which became an absolute beast in the M-War, the FA-31 wasn't picked up by the MGLA (now MDA) and has yet to see major combat. However, rumor has it the MDA might intend to use the FA-31A in the future, but only time will tell.

As always...

What does it do?

Activation Group 1: Deploys the arresting hook. I forgot to mention; another strength the FA-31A had over the FA-32A was the former's ability to make carrier landings, meaning the Ballistic II could be used by the Air Force and Navy alike, while the Striker was strictly an air force plane.

Activation Group 2-4: Activates the pylons as to drop their payload. Specifically...
2- Center Pylon/Fuel Tank
3- Inner and Middle Wing Pylons/Guided Missiles (FRCM S-25M)
4- Outer Wing Pylons/Unguided Air-to-Ground Rockets (Strafe IV)

Activation Group 5-7: Literally nothing. Not sure why they're even here but I don't like to be too vague when it comes to instructions XD

Activation Group 8: Toggles the lights as usual. Nothing particularly special otherwise.

Armaments:

-30mm Rotary Cannon (2x)
-50mm Autocannon (2x)
-Customizable Hardpoints (7x)
-Note: The hardpoints can be equipped with virtually any weapon you like, the current preset is simply an example of weapons you can use (and a slightly inaccurate one at that; a real Green Air Force FA-31 would probably use Targeteer missiles or similar like the ones on the FA-32. Then again, this is an MDA version, provided that they adopt it into their Air Force, so...)

Other Notes Worth Mentioning:

-The FA-31 has no decorated/VR cockpit, but the fuselage under the canopy is hollow so feel free to make your own

-In all honesty, I didn't set out to specifically make an FA-31. I just wanted to make a true delta-wing aircraft, but saw its performance and said "you know what, this thing kinda rocks," and now it's an FA-31.

-I was originally gonna name it Triad or some kinda blade, but the former didn't sound proper for neither a fighter jet nor a counterpart to the FA-32 "Striker," and I was too tired to even open Google so I could get a good one for the latter

-As the teaser hinted, the FA-31A likes cookies. Surprisingly, though, he will often try to get them by peaceful means, and will usually just give up on one person if they reject him enough (or give him the cookies). The FA-32A on the other hand likes biscuits

-The FA-31A touches grass, meaning he singlehandedly defeats basically every gamer out there

And some extras

That I doubt anyone will truly look at and admire but here they are anyways

Flying towards the sunset.

The water glows... why is celestial nature so majestic? No clue, but if it's of beauty, I shall photograph it.

It wasn't easy, but here I tried to align the triangular shape of the FA-31 with an ever fleeting strip of sun sparkling on the water.

After a safe landing, even the plane wants to watch the sunset.

'Tis all, my good friends

Enjoy and happy hunting, boys and girls