G'kiik Class Fighter

Mc'to'kohl'ix Aerospace G'kiik('Hawk") light fighter
Crew: Pilot ( advanced autopilot assist)
Engines: One spatial compression drive
two Hybrid Plasma turbo/ram jets.
Weapons: twin rapid fire plasma guns
4 Short range dogfight Missiles
1 Long range anti-ship missile optional
Gravitic assist: Advanced acceleration cancelation system 18 gees maximum acceleration
Advanced Mass cancelation system ( effective mass reduction 40%)
Speed:
Atmospheric: Mach 1.8
Hyperspace: Mach 2.1 ( sustained )
Operational Limit 8hrs full life support
Range: 2000km
Payload: 2400kg
Sensors: high definition line scanning imaging radar, thermal, enhanced optics.

The G'kiik is the export version of the Qetzal front line light fighter escort used by Qetzal forces for local defense, convoy escort, and point defense duties. It is an exteremely maneuverable craft with a decent weapons load making it a dangerous opponent against light and medium fighters.

Despite it's high speed, and neck snapping agility the fighter suffers due to it's light armor, and limited electronics warfare systems. Quetzl doctrine maintains that fighters should operate with dedicated electronic warfare and command and control vessels. Only heavier combat craft and strike craft are fitted with more than basic countermeasures, and long range navigational/sensor systems.

Whie fighter craft are considered expendable the pilots of the craft are not, for this reason the G;kiik has considerable pilot protection and ejection capsule hardware standard on all variants. An experience Quetzl pilot may have ejected from a dozen craft before his front line combat assignment ends and he is rotated to training, and secondary force assignments for rest and retraining.

The Quetzl do not sell these nimble craft to large governments instead selling them to independent worlds, at a considerable discount, providing extensive technical and training support at below market prices. they also sell small numbers of G'kii to commercial transport lines; under the stipulations they are used to escort passenger and humanitarian relief vessels through combat zones only.

Thunderhead colony maintains six squadrons of G'kiik for system defense and point defense of civilian colonies, and habitat centers. The T.A.E Colonial Assistance Special Action and Response ( CASAR) Group. maintains a full wing of G'kiik scattered between a dozen emergency response vessels operating in frontier regions of both Imperial, and TAE /Valkiir alliance Space.

As a result the G'kiik has a fearsome anti pirate, anti-raider reputation. a flight of Hawks in CASAR Red and Brown tiger strips is enough to scatter even a large force of raider craft, and break a blockade without capital ship assistance.

Quetzl tactics employ G'kiik as skirmishers striking at enemy perimeter screens, and establishing an anti-missile/torpedo cordon around Qutzl capital ships harassing and blunting any fighter, or strike craft assaults on the heavily armed Quetzl battlewagons, and "Temple" mobile platforms.