User:Masterchief46517/AF-16 Eagle Strike Fighter

"The UNSC Falcon is perfect for ground attacks. It has Scorpion missiles, General-purpose bombs and a AIE-486 Heavy Machine Gun."

- Anonymous UNSC Pilot

An evolution of the original Falcon fighter which was canceled in 2531, the AF-16 Falcon Strike Fighter was reimplemented in 2560. While externally similar to its predecessor, the AF-16 Falcon includes a number of technical innovations and upgrades.



Armament
The Falcon is a twin seater fighter aircraft used by the UNSC. It fills the role of a strike fighter, it's armament includes:
 * Missile pods attached to the base of the wing and the fuselage hold 8 "Scorpion" missiles each.
 * Hardpoints under the belly can hang either 2 two thousand pound bombs or 4 one thousand pound bombs or 8 five hundred pound bombs or 16 two hundred and fifty pound bombs.
 * A AIE-486 Heavy Machine Gun is located under the cockpit.

While not designed to go head-to-head with other aircraft, it does have 4 ASGM-10 Missiles hung on hardpoints under each wing for limited air-to-air defense.

Apperance
In terms of design, the Falcon uses forward-swept wings, giving it an appearance similar to the 20th Century Sukhoi Su-47, and used to provide stability during steep dives, indicating an emphasis in air-to-ground combat. Another, smaller set of wing flaps are attached to the ventral hull, possibly to improve stability. It also possesses two inward-angled vertical stabilizers at the rear, and at the rear of the craft are twin jet thrusters, capable of tilting to allow VTOL capability. Retractable landing gear is located at the wing tips.

Trivia

 * There is a 20th and 21st Century fighter craft, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, for which it is named.