Super Valkyrie Class Attack Fighter
The XF-2 "Venator" is an experimental fighter-class starship, primarily designed to carry out assaults that larger vessels could not perform.
| STARSHIP | |
|---|---|
 Super Valkyrie Class Attack Fighter
| |
 | |
| Class | Super Valkyrie |
| Allegiance | United Federation of Planets |
 | |
| Specifications | |
| Type: | Fighter |
| Length: | 20 Meters |
| Beam: | 12 Meters |
| Height: | 5 Meters |
| Mass: | 35 Metric Tons |
| Decks: | 1 |
| Crew Compliment: | 2 (Pilot/Tactical Officer) Emergency: None |
| Warp Speed: | Type: 2 Type 1B Nacelles (Fighter size) Cruise Speed: 5.0 Sustainable Speed: 5.5 Emergency Speed: 6.0 (1 hour automatic shutdown) |
| Impulse Engines: | Type:2 Main Impulse Engines (Type 7X - Fighter) Speed: .9 C |
| Defensive Systems: | Type 1 Deflector |
| Armament: | Phasers: 2 banks of 2 Type G (F) Torpedoes: 2 Micro-Launchers (2F) (4 Microtorpedo compliment per fighter) |
| Other Capabilities: | External Weapon Hardpoints (2 per wing) - 1 Quantum Torpedo or 2 Microtorpedoes per Hardpoint |
| Computer System: | "Flight Guard" Computer System |
| Tractor/Repulsor: | None |
| Sensors: | "Eagle-Eye" Targeting System |
History
Designed for Star Fleet Special Operations Command, the XF-2 Fighter was meant to act not as a replacement for current Star Fleet Fighters, but to supplement them and provide Fighter Support to ships not normally equipped to carry a Squadron or to operate independently of carrier vessels for longer periods of time than the F-1 and A-1.
Designed and built to maximize combat efficiency while keeping a small profile. While officially designated a 'Strike Fighter', the XF-2 can fulfil almost any role from Reconnaissance to Interception and Escort Missions - a trait that would prove useful during the Second Romulan War, where convoys were often only guarded by smaller vessels incapable of carrying and supporting 'traditional' fighters. To facilitate the need for a vessel that could be accommodated in standard Shuttlebays, the wings were designed to fold when in the hangar, the Warp Nacelles also slide forward by almost a full meter when the ship is powered down.
Initial tests proved that the XF-2 was a very agile fighter, in atmosphere and in space. Coated in sensor-absorbent material and utilising a specially-designed low-emission reactor, the ship proved near-undetectable by most modern sensor arrays. With overcharged engines and its firepower put even the A-1 Fighter to shame, the XF-2 can rapidly approach a target, annihilate it, and retreat without being detected. The only drawback of the design was that the overcharged engines would overheat and shut down when travelling at Warp Five for longer than fifteen minutes - such an overheat would effectively neutralise the fighter's Warp Drive and require a complete overhaul on returning to base.
The XF-2 would get its trial by fire against Romulan fighters on Dhar'hyyk. A patrol led by Commander Paul Braggins and Admiral Joseph Daher (who was undergoing training to qualify on the XF-2 at the time) was ambushed by the Romulans and claimed the majority of them shot down among the mountains while both returning to base intact. The action itself, the presence of the XF-2 and indeed the role of Admiral Daher and Commander Braggins is highly classified and known only to the upper echelons of the Dhar'hyyk Defence Force and Star Fleet Command. It was after this combat that the fighter received the nickname 'Venator' - Latin for 'Hunter', though later the matte-black colour scheme of the vessel would earn it the moniker of "Phantom", which has spread to more common usage among pilots than its official name.
The type saw heavy combat in the Second Romulan War, the Krynar Crisis and in a reconnaissance role during the tensions between First and Fourth Fleets. Though it has performed admirably against Romulan Pveer Class Attack Vessels, it suffered in combat against Krynar shard-ships and was never deployed in large enough numbers to effectively counter the threat.
Currently, the XF-2's only active deployments with Star Fleet are with the Stealth Fighter Wing of Star Fleet Special Operations Command. A smaller, less-advanced and warp-incapable version of the fighter developed for widespread use exists in the Valkyrie Class which finally entered service in 2420 following the Attack on the Borg Megasphere.
This article has been listed as the Article of the Week for the week beginning 20907.05
