The X-02B Wyvern is a highly feared multirole fighter that is although expensive more than makes up for its high cost with its combat performance. It is a vast improvement over the original X-02 Wyvern.
Development (2021-2030)
Aquirement (2021)
Following the Leasath-Aurelia War, Neucom Incorporated, the owner of the Erusian Air and Space Administration and producer of the much-wanted X-02 Wyvern, the corporation began to shift its efforts away from military technology and moving into the field of artificial intelligence; however, the cost of research was very high, and so they decided to sell off some of their designs to other companies. Some of these designs, such as the MiG-31R Foxhound-C, were sold to Okchabursk Technologies in Yuktobania, who began to produce the interceptor for the Yuktobanian Air Force; others, such as the XF-22C Raptor II, were sold to General Resources Limited in the former nation of Belka, and would later become the F-22C Raptor II.
However, one of their fighter projects was still closely guarded: the X-02 Wyvern. Although it was no secret that it existed; they had used data from the aircraft to develop planes such as the YR-99 Forneus and XR-45 Cariburn, and they weren't done with it yet. However, when it was discovered that not only did Neucom sell weapons to the Democratic Republic of Leasath during the last war, but that they had also assisted in developing the Fenrir, the Aurelian government filed a lawsuit, costing the company billions of zollars. Facing a financial crisis, they announced their intent to sell the X-02 and all production rights for an incredibly low price of 100 million zollars (rediculously cheap compared to the cost it took to develop the original); smelling a golden opportunity, the small company Chimera Technologies Limited placed an offer and ultimately recieved the production rights, the prototypes and all finished and unfinished airframes and avionics from the factories.
Improvements (2022-2026)
Chimera immediately set to work on reverse-engineering the plane and designing an improved model. However, development at the time was prioritized with an upgrade expansion of the Advanced Light Fighter Project, specifically the F-16G (This lead to the development of the F-16G-2, nicknamed 'Lance Falcon' by pilots due to their fast acceleration in a straight line). Despite this, development proceeded steadily; they decided to equip the plane with two FL-90B afterburning turbofans: an upgraded version of the engine used in the F-16G only with a 50% greater power yield, which would vastly improve the aircraft's performance, yet were more fuel efficient. This along with a version 2.0 COFFIN system augmented by the Z.O.E. flight computer used in the X-02's UCAV variant would turn an already lethal fighter into a serious threat to any nation's military even in small numbers, and yet the aircraft's existence remained top secret.
Problems and Solutions (2027-2030)
On May 2nd, 2027, the X-02B prototype took to the air for the first time with Chimera Technologies Limited test pilot Manuel Epperson. At first, the results proved promising until suddenly one of the engines exploded, blasting away the left wing and vertical stabilizer, but the experienced pilot managed to stabilize the aircraft and brought it in for a relatively smooth crash landing in a nearby grain field. As the airframe was mostly intact, it could be determined what had happened; the fuel lines for the afterburner were declared to be the source of the problem, as the engine exploded when Manuel tried to use the afterburner (the plane didn't need an afterburner to take off). One year and eighteen million zollars later, the problems with the engine were rectified along with a strengthening of the structure as the modified engines (now designated FL-91) were slightly heavier than before.
The second test flight, on June 8th, 2028, went without any major problems until the COFFIN system somehow failed, leaving Epperson completely blind to the outside. Again, he crash-landed in a nearby grain field (as opposed to hitting a house thanks to assistance from the ground), ironically in almost the same spot as the first time. As Chimera had no experience working with COFFIN systems, they hired engineers from Neucom Incorporated to assist in debugging the software; this took another eighteen months and cost over 20 million zollars, but by April 11th, 2030, the problems were completely rectified just in time for the annual Apito International Aviation Expo the following week.
The Wyvern Spreads its Wings (2030-)
At the annual Apito International Aviation Expo on April 16th, 2030, many different planes from different countries were brought in for demonstrations of the latest and greatest in aviation technology in the private, civil, military and experimental sectors of the field. The following companies participated with rather note-worthy aircraft:
- General Resource Limited - ADF-02A Super Falken
- Neucom Incorporated - R-101 Delphinus (First Prototype)
- Okchabursk Technologies - MiG-44 Falcon (Upgraded with v2.0 COFFIN)
- Winter Tactical Systems - F/A-51 Kilij-A
- Chimera Technologies Limited - F-16G-2 Lance Falcon, X-02B Wyvern
The X-02B was one of the later performances, and despite being upstaged halfway through its flight by the General Resource Super Falken, but proved its worth when terrorists hijacked a passenger airliner headed for Oured International Airport. The Super Falken and the Wyvern were both fully armed at the time, and so took off to intercept the terrorists when they were attacked a flight of MiG-35 Super Fulcrums. Both aircraft shot down four of those before the hijacked plane was forced to land by a flight of Osean F-22s. The performance of both aircraft was jaw-dropping, but the X-02B, with a cheaper price tag, became a clear favorite. The Osean Air Defense Force ordered 300 of them alone, while a private group later revealed to be Ouroboros ordered nearly 500 (the surviving Ouroboros Wyverns were requisitioned and became part of the Belkan Waldreich's Stahlerne Luft).
Ace Pilots/Squadrons
- Koroso (Mercenary-Stahlerne Luft/ACX3)
- 9th TJS "Ritter" (Knight) (Stahlerne Luft/ACX3)
Stats
Performance Specifications
- Type: Multirole Fighter
- Powerplant: Two Chimera Technologies Limited FL-91 Afterburning Turbofans totalling 57,000 lbs of thrust
- Top speed: Mach 4.2 (3,028 miles per hour) at 15,000 feet
- Maximum G-Load: 22 Gs
- Rate of Climb: 12,000 feet per minute at top speed
- Range: 1600 miles (2200 with drop tanks, but as these are stored in the weapons bay to maintain stealth, this reduces the weapons capacity when used)
- Armament: 1 x Okchabursk Technologies GSh-37-2 30mm chaingun, 6 x AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, and any of the following:
8 x AIM-54Z Pheonix II XLAAs
8 x AGM-64 Maverick XAGMs
2 x ADMM pods with eight salvos of eight missiles each
- Speed: 96
- Maneuverability: 100
- Stability: 80
- Defense: 80
- Air-to-Air: 95
- Air-to-Ground: 95
- Missile Count: 86
Special Weapons
- ADMM x 8
- XLAA x 16
- XAGM x 16