Mauler

The Crimson Fold's Mauler-class Starfighter

The Mauler is a fast and heavily armed and armored starfighter. It's main armament are 2 sets of twin-barreled rapid-fire pulse cannons that are designed to rip apart a Sierran Rapier in a single hit...a near miss is enough to overload a Rapier's shields. The blasters are tied directly to the engines, which are placed at the wingtips to maximize the Mauler's agility. Augmenting the cannons is a 4-round warhead launcher on top of the vertical fin. The Fold has realized that, since their ships could not compete with Sierran fighters in sheer agility, an effective counter would be to design their ships to be tough and overwhelming in firepower. The Mauler is an effective product of this philosophy. The Mauler has been nicknamed the "Butcher-bird" by Sierran pilots. The Mauler has largely replaced the older Pihrana in the massive Crimson Fold fighter fleet.

As time passed, however, it became apparent that the Mauler was at a severe disadvantage if combat persisted against the much more nimble Rapiers. Tying the guns directly to the fighter's engines, while yielding exceptional power for short bursts, proved to be technically problematic. Prolonged combat often resulted in dangerous engine surges, and the guns were prone to overheating. It was not uncommon for both the guns and the engines to short each other out, leaving the Mauler defenseless, or worse, resulting with the fighter exploding. The Mauler soon found itself totally outclassed with the advent of the powerful Rapier Mk.9. The Mauler is being replaced in the superiority role by the new and far more capable Hydra-class starfighter, but continues to be a tough and highly capable close-support fighter.