"There's just to many of them, we can't take all of them down before they reach firing range."
Admiral Raddick, battle of Cape Hytea

The Vysohh AF 817 Mantis is a light, single-engine, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft designed and built for the arsenian Navy and airforce. The Aircraft has a delta wing and canard configuration controlled by a fly-by-wire system. It is built to carry out a wide range of missions and be produced in high quantity.

Development
In 1973, fears about the Ursea's new 4th generation fighter, the YF 16 and YF 18, caused panic among the top brass of the Navy and airforce. Almost immediately a new fighter program was initiated to develop a counter to create a light 4th gen fighter of their own. The new program named AGF (Advanced General Fighter) was a joint venture between the airforce and the navy with the goal of developing an aircraft that would be able to match the capabilities of other 4th gen fighter. With several other aircraft programs in the works, the Vysohh Aircraft Corporation was immediately chosen to develop the aircraft. In November 1974, the design was finalized, and the construction of the 1st prototype began. By January 1975, the first prototype had taken its first flight, and development continued until 1976 when the first production batch rolled out of the factory. In 1977, the aircraft was delivered to the first few squadrons and aircraft carriers. The plane proved to be quite the capable workhorse, its small size allowed the Arsenian carrier to carry more squadrons than the Ursean carrier. The plane also proved to be a very capable ground attack aircraft. The plane would be used by many other nations due to the cheap cost and availability. The plane continued to be developed throughout its service history, with the most capable carrier version being the AF 817 D and the AF 817 E being the Air Force's best mantis. Production would be carried out by the highlielan, therika, and the westeriks aircraft factory. By 2022, over 8000 airframes had been built, with orders still coming in from the military.

Service History
The mantis would experience its first taste of combat in the 1978 Druida war, where the plane would perform ground attacks and close air support missions over Druida supporting the army. The mantis proved excellent at wild weasel operation, being able to suppress druida sam batteries, replacing the task previously carried out by the jackals and wendigo. In this conflict, no mantis were shot down, proving the viability of the airframe. It wouldn't take long for the mantis to be truly tested against the Ursean fighter it was built to fight against as in 1984, war broke out between Arsenia and Ursea. There the mantis proved to be more than a match for Ursea's fighter. With a large number of aircraft in service, the war progress into a stalemate with both side unable to hold air superiority. The plane would prove crucial to the survival of the navy's fleet against large numbers of air attack.
The plane would be used in conjunction with the AF 825 Breaker to conduct strike against Ursean island stronghold and amphibious landing forces. The viability of the mantis would be questioned due to the excessive loss that were taken in the conflict, this would later conclude to the development of the AE 817 Disruptior electric warfare aircraft. After 1985 the plane became the primary strike assets of the airforce and navy carrier even to the 2020s. It would see many other conflicts such as the Gretanican-Arsenian Conflict, Three Way War, Kastorel Sea Conflict, and Antarusea War.

The plane perform admirably in defending the fleet against the carrier borne aircraft of the Ursean navy. Allowing Arsenian naval assets to close the distance with a enemy carrier group. The plane is primarily used by the Avastasia Class of carrier with a single carrier air wing usually consists of

72x AF 817 Mantis multirole fighter
6x airborne early warning aircraft
6x AE 817 Disruptor EW aircraft

Design
The aircraft feature a ssmall and light airframe capable of handling high Gs maneuver. The plane uses a delta wing and canard configuration allowing a slower landing speed for carrier operation. The plane has a large amount of hard point capable of carrying up to 10 air to air missile including the AAM-24 Raven short range missile, AAM-48 Jinx medium range missile, and the AAM-102 Harold long range missile. The plane is also able to carry air to ground munition such as dumb bomb, rockets, smart bombs, AGM-55 Moxie air to ground missile, ARM-67 Lance anti radiation missile, as well as anti ship missile ASM-20 Hive.

Loadout
Long Range Air to Air
https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/0IA1JS/AF-817-D-Mantis-LR
6x AAM-102 Harold
4x AAM-24 Raven
1x External Fuel Tank

Strike Loadout
https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/vFQ04p/A-817-D-Mantis-Strike
6x AGM-55 Moxie
4x AAM-24 Raven
1x External Fuel Tank

Anti Ship
https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/177E4s/A-817-D-Mantis-ASM
2x ASM-20 Hive
2x AAM-48 Jinx
4x AAM-24 Raven

Control
Stick : Normal
Throttle : Normal
Trim : Flaps
AG1 : Drop Tank
AG2 : Open Canopy
AG3 : Arrestor Hook
AG4 : Fuel Probe
AG7 : Fold Wing

Feature
Usable cockpit
Refueling probe
Carrier capabilities
A rotary cannon

Notes
Flaps Are quite powerful
I can't properly test the fuel probe due to lack of skill
Engine may be a bit too powerful
Missile kinda too OP for now