Nightgaunt Fighter (Tanar'ri)

Unknown if the Tanar'ri bother to name their drones.
Ship specification
Class	Nightgaunt
Designation	Multirole deep-space combat drone
Origin	practically any carrier starship
Commander	None, controlled by a limited AI.
Affiliation	Tanar'ri Syndicacy
Alias
Warp Capabilities	Slow-than-Light only
Status	Fully operational
Weapons	twin-linked laser cannons, twin-linked 5mm depleted-uranium railguns
Previous Campaigns	Unknown.

Description

Nightgaunts are the universal fighter craft that the Tanar'ri use for their fleets. They're sleek, agile craft designed for use in deep space and within a planet's atmosphere. They're distinctive in that not only do they not require any kind of living pilot, but they're so streamlined and standardized in their design that they can be repaired with incredible ease and produced by the millions and expended just as easily.

At a Glance

Length: 10 meters

Width: 14 meters

Mass: 10 tons

Crew: None, semi-autonomous robotic intelligence

Range: 20000 miles

Capabilities

Nightgaunts are small, but well-designed drone aircraft that fulfill many of the roles other races use combat aircraft for but without the risk to a living pilot. This suits the Tanar'ri just fine since their population is low enough as it is. Used exclusively on Conquerer-class carriers and Marauder battlecruiser, Nightgaunts are meant to be expended against their enemies like an ammunition belt in a machine gun.

As with all Tanar'ri craft, Nightgaunts also incorporate numerous advanced stealth features such as passive sensor jammers, active decoys, chameleon plating, and even sound dampening when flying in an atmosphere for use in low-altitude surprise raids.

The internal design of a Nightgaunt is very different from a conventional aircraft in that there are NO amenities at all for an occupant: no life support, no cockpit, no provisions at all. All internal components are set up within easily-removable modules and sockets that can be replaced within minutes, and the structural components can be broken down, disassembled, and replaced as needed like a gigantic, interlocking Erector set. Overall, Nightgaunts are extremely unsophisticated, utilizing many construction techniques that are "outdated" given their current level of technology. Power is provided by a radiothermal generator (a.k.a a miniaturized nuclear fission reactor), propulsion consists of eight deuterium-fueled ion drives mounted in independently adjustable gimbal mounts (which give the craft excellent maneuverability), all hull plating and internal structure is built out of die-cast composite materials, and all of the technological systems were selected for reliability, cheapness, and simplicity (which means the technicians don't require a lot of specialized training or tools).

In other words, Nightgaunts are designed like Soviet MiG-23 fighters: moderately effective but ridiculously cheap. The asteroid mining and processing facilities onboard Conqueror-class carriers can literally manufacture Nightgaunts at the rate of 100 a day under optimal conditions.

Combat Abilities

The weapons on Nightgaunts consist of a pair of UV-frequency laser cannons and a pair of rapid-cycling railguns that are capable of hitting targets with the force of 40mm autocannons loaded with armor-piercing rounds. Located at the front of the craft, the weapons are housed in two separate independently targetable casemate mounts that enable the drone to fire upon two different targets at once. Nightgaunts also contain four internal hardpoints inside compartments within their wings which typically carry swarm-missile pods for ground attacks or fusion warhead torpedoes for anti-ship combat in space. Their cannons are actually primitive compared to what the Tanar'ri use in their own starships - laser cannons instead of phasers and magnetic accelerator guns instead of gravitic pulse weaponry. This is again in accordance with their drone design philosophy, using extremely cheap and simple equipment that can be very quickly and readily replaced.

//Agent #188132 to Intern - Quite a few of the Nightgaunt's systems, especially weapons, can actually be replaced using comparable alien technology. In some cases even Earth-level technology can be used with only a few modifications. The simplicity of design is nothing short of amazing...and a little scary if you think about it. In fact, the whole "Tanar'ri versatility of design" philosophy seems to be a point of contention among the Eldar.//