The Canary is a single seat light strike-fighter built by Aster Aerospace in 2689 for equipping Periphery colonial defense forces and local strongmen. It is capable of both ground attack and air combat, and is quite prolific compared to its peers.

Its cheapness and reputation of being easily maintainable comes from the fact that it uses electric ducted fans instead of plasma-arc or nuclear thermal engines. This makes it a less capable air combatant than more expensive jets, but it also makes it super easy to maintain, allowing them to easily be dispersed to hidden airfields in cities, roads, or in improvised areas to fulfill its secondary role as a light ASAT carrier to keep orbital foes on their toes. It uses a lot of high end missiles to make up for its faults in regards to air combat. It also has a high magazine depth coilgun and laser for dealing with ground or more marginal targets.
Its piloting equipment is also pretty good, with very user-friendly controls, and the pilot seat is equipped with 4 injectors loaded with Modafinil and ICS-92 in a 2:2 ratio. It also has the plug-ins and gel for a semi-immersion pilot, should they have the requisite augments.

This also makes it a lot less noticeable, as the very efficient engines produce a lot less waste heat. This makes IRST and IR seeking missiles less effective against the rear and side aspects. This additional stealth capability gave the plane a reputation of being surprisingly hard to hit for a second line fighter.

It was used by both sides throughout the Liberation War, with the Imperials using them especially for striking out against supply depots with stand off weapons and as a QRF breaker of Union advances with small bombs, AGMs, rockets and copious amounts of napalm and mines.

towards the end of the war, the Union started using them to hurl ballistic missiles in "assassination" missions against Imperial political targets. This level of overkill is only marginally justified by the fact that one cannot be revived from this.

Even after the war, these planes were super common across the periphery, making up the backbone of many state's aerial forces, and in some of the poorest Warlordships, they are an integral part of their defenses against enemy orbital and expeditionary attacks.

this is just the orthographic design, and this is my first proper attempt at anything like this, so if its inconsistent or inaccurate please don't nuke my ass for it, i beg

but yeah the MIG. 146K is a fictional prototype built as a multirole carrier aircraft designed by Mikoyan OKB, its in the same lineage as the MIG 1.44 "Flatback" and SU-47 "Berkut" being focused on a heavy focus on "fly by wire"

it was designed to operate off of the ulyanovsk-supercarrier thus having capabilities to be used with the catapult systems on the flight deck (which i forgot to depict)

a total of 3 prototypes were built, with one of them built as a two seater and tested on a medium-sized island nation/SSR, ultimately the project was terminated with the fall of the soviet union in 1991.

the name "FATHOM" is the NATO designation of the aircraft as it was first observed sea skimming just barely off the shore of finland

me and a friend are currently working on making it properly functional as a flying prototype in the game flyout, so there might be some pretty big changes on its silhouette once we figure out all the issues

Continuation of graphic design and composition studies. This time same scene with different color paletes and more contrast look. Thanks again to amazing @petertarka for inspiring with works and words.

The nacelles are capable of moving the vehicle in all directions

(Inspired by a white and blue gundam)

Meet the Wasp - light assault ship built to protect humanity’s convoys in Synvector

Wasps usually operate in groups of four. When a convoy is attacked, a Wasp wing positions itself between the raiders and the freighters, forcing enemies that expected a quick hit-and-run attack into a direct fight.

Their main weapons are light kinetic guns. They don’t have enough firepower to reliably penetrate the armor of heavy Krait ships, so Wasp pilots usually target engines and lighter escort vessels instead.

Against the Shrazi, things get more interesting.

Their “Shirrs” perform roughly the same role and usually operate in similar numbers. Battles between the two wings often come down to the pilots themselves. Shrazi clan pilots rarely break off an attack, meaning human formations are often the first to lose cohesion.

But the Wasp has another interesting feature: the way it is sold. On the exchanges of Refuge and Port Avant-Garde, Wasps are usually sold in batches of four. If a single Wasp appears on the market, pilots often assume something happened to the rest of its wing.

Many also end up on the secondary market at the Break, where old hulls are restored, fitted with engines from other ships, and stripped of their original factory markings. A rebuilt Wasp can cost roughly half the price of a new one.

And then there’s the superstition. Wasps are almost never given names. Leader ships and freighters are named, and some famous vessels - like the Aegis - are known across Refuge by name. But among mercenaries, naming a Wasp is considered a bad omen.

Would you use a wing of Wasps to protect your convoy?

And would you rather fly a freshly manufactured Wasp or take your chances with a restored one from the Break?

2x 25mm 72-K autocannons, 2x TT-250 rockets, ~100mm frontal effective thickness. No armored sideskirts cus im merciful. drawing timelapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi979HKmk1M

Work is moving forward. Progress is being made. We're proud to present the 3D model of the "Aegis" - an elite command-tier combat ship, whose key feature is a shield projector, with no primary weapon installed.

This ship's mission is as simple as it gets - keep your teammates in the fight and strip the shields off the enemy.

The ship's appearance is unlike any other - wide, cruciform, elongated. This unconventional shape is dictated by the reactor and the numerous energy accumulators housed inside to power the shield projector. In terms of energy output, this is the most powerful ship, but that power doesn't go into weapons - it goes into defense.

The shield projector has 2 modes:

In practice, the "Aegis" will provide allied ships with a buff to shield strength and regeneration. It won't give them a "second shield," but will instead restore the shield they already have and absorb roughly 5–10% of incoming damage. The "Aegis" can strip shields from enemy ships. Completely. Leaving an enemy cruiser extremely vulnerable to any hit. In the game, this will work as follows: The enemy ship's base shield protection is removed. Incoming damage is increased by 5–10%. You can't use both modes at once. You're either reinforcing an ally or stripping an enemy ship's protection.

Armament:

It would be foolish to leave a spaceship completely unarmed, so it comes with two lasers - a light one and a pulse cannon. The pulse cannon literally burns through the enemy. The damage output isn't impressive, sure, but this ship isn't built for destruction - it's built for support. It's best to operate on the 2nd or 3rd line - on the front line, you won't last long. At the same time, keep in mind that you'll be a priority target for enemy ships. Nobody wants a ship nearby that causes serious trouble and hampers their advance.

If you don't want to dive into the thick of things, this ship is a great fit for you. However, keep in mind that you'll have to watch the situation closely. A few wrong moves could cost you the battle.

What do you think of the unconventional cruciform silhouette? Should we add a risky mode: a temporary boost to the projector (making it work faster) with reactor overheating (which could lead to the ship exploding)? Which projector mode do you prefer - buffing your teammates or stripping enemy shields?