Auxin Arrow

Bullseye

The CF.5 Auxin Arrow is fighter jet that has seen service in the United Commonwealth Navy's Fleet Air Arm from 140 A.S. to the present day. Developed under the Future Fleet Aviation Programme alongside the Boxer Barrow, the Arrow would be gain a similarly legendary mythos about it as one of the finest air combat aircraft in the Commonwealth.
Intended to replace the increasingly decrepit CF.4 Boxer Brave, the Arrows were designed within the same technology obsessed philosophy that much of the rest of UC Navy's projects of the time were made. Foresight on the part of designers left the aircraft with both the ample room and the capability for modernisation and upgrades, and the Arrow would serve as the UCN's chief air superiority and interception platform for decades, until its role would be superseded by the Auxin Avenger in 173.

Origin Of Concept

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If the Blazer's were theorised to use long ranged, precision guided anti-ship missiles to deny vast swathes of ocean to enemy vessel, the Arrow's were designed to prevent such an event to be inflicted on the United Commonwealth. Platforms such as the Ocrisian Falco and Nouvoloian Faucher AA 5.60 and Gloire bombers could carry several tons worth of missiles in their weapons bays, creating the spectre of an unstoppable missile swarm whose sheer weight in numbers would overwhelm even and ironclad defence.
In the face of a task like this, an investigation was commissioned in 130 to pass judgement on the current state of the Fleet's air defence capability. From poor bordering on lax procedures in target acquisition and prosecution drills, to short ranged and unreliable missiles, the UCN was found wanting in the scathing final report. Public and Parliamentary opinion demanded changes to be made, and so the administration of Chief Minister Atanda Gbenga and Chief Commissioner Yasmin binte Ilham did so.
A key failing of the older CF.4 Braves, and most old carrier aircraft in general, was their low of fuel capacities and lack of an aerial refueling system. This left these platforms with a cripplingly low range and flight endurance, two factors deemed to be of the utmost importance in future combat. As such, another immediate concern when it came to the new array of naval aircraft was entirely ridding the Fleet of these glaring weaknesses.

Development, Production, And Procurement

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To counter this threat, the Navy requested a long ranged, high endurance aircraft which could reach out beyond the horizon and defend a UCN Carrier Task Group. creating the set of requirements that would become "Fleet Air Arm Operational Specification 25/36". At minimum, the aircraft would have to be able to mount the then highly modern RED STAG Air Search Sensor, while carrying a payload of at least six long range, self guiding air to air missiles apiece.
A tall order, but if the UCN wanted to keep its promise to go anywhere, anytime, they'd need the aircraft. The Directorate of the Navy put out FAA-OS 25/36 as a request to industry in 136 A.S., though due to the earlier selection of Boxer Aeroworks proposal for FAA-OS 24/36 that same year, eventually culminating in the Boxer Blazer, they were excluded from the bidding process to work on their aircraft. The resulting process became a two way race, between Claude General Defence and Auxin Aircraft Inc., with Auxin's proposal taking the prize in 137.

The Arrow would enter full rate serial production two years later, with the first aircraft leaving the production line and entering squadron service in 140, two years ahead of the Blazer. The production run would last from 140 to 166, seeing some fifteen thousand aircraft produced across various upgrades and blocks. They would serve entirely within the United Commonwealth Navy as its primary carrier based fighter and interceptor, fighting in every major conflict during its service life until its replacement by the Auxin Avenger in 173.

Operations

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The Arrow would gain its first taste of combat three years into its service life, in 145. Alongside its sibling Blazers, the aircraft conducted some of the first deep penetration missions into the airspace of the Kingdom of Saxe-Mecklitz, sweeping the skies free from enemy fighters and clearing the way for the dirst ground strikes and subsequent landings. The aircraft would claim ten confirmed air-to-air kills, marking the start of an illustrious career.
After almost a decade without significant action, the Arrow would again find itself on the sharp end in the Islander War. There they would start less than successfully, failing to prevent the crippling of the UCS Formidable by a concerted Nouvoloian missile strike. The Arrows would regain their reputation in subsequent engagements against the numerically superior Nouvoloian air and naval aviation forces, flying off the deck of the UCS Mystique and scoring numerous successful missions across the war, ending it with some thirty six confirmed air to air kills and granting the 214th Naval Air Squadron with three aces.

Propulsion

The Arrow was be powered by two Pragati SeaStar turbofans, giving it a top speed in excess of twice the speed of sound. To provide it with good handling in both supersonic and low speed manouevers, the Arrow was designed with variable orientation "Swing Wings", the first of their kind, which could alter their angle in mid flight, automatically.

Weapons & Armament

For special cases, a single of twenty millimetre autocannon was mounted low on the Arrow's nose, firing several thousand round a minute, though in the Arrow's case only a thousand rounds were loaded.
For missiles, the Arrow had a total of ten hardpoints on its belly and under its engine intakes, capable of carrying various combinations of the following;

• OGA Mk.4 "Sprinter". This missile locks onto the thermal signature given off by enemy aircraft, with a subsequently shorter range counterbalanced with excellent agility. This maneuverability made it the prefered weapon for close in battles with the enemy's air combat aircraft.
• OGA MK.5 "Snowfall". This missile receives guidance information from its launching aircraft's sensors, which it then uses to guide itself towards the target and destroy it. An intermediate range weapon, it was effective in most close in engagements, thoug proving slightly vulnerable to jamming.
• OGA. Mk.7 "Slapshot". This missile has its own self contained Active Wave Emission Sensor, allowing it to independently lock and track targets instead of relying on its launching aircraft. This grants the missile an extensive range, and its aircraft the ability to fire against multiple targets simultaneously, and vacate the area immediately after, all points which made it the choice weapon for intercepting bombers and their missiles from immensely long ranges.

Armor and defense

As a defensive measure, the Arrow was outfitted with the YELLOW SKY Technical Warfare Suite. This provided a potent electronic emissions jamming capability, which could throw off all but the best air search sensors. The final layer of defensive equipment on the aircraft took the form of its chaff and flare dispensers. Shedding showers of white hot magnesium and reflective aluminum respectively, they work to deter hostile sensors from achieving locks on the aircraft.