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[Fighter Blueprint] MEC VF-13 'Variana' Advanced Interceptor

This portion of the Muthos Engineering Consortium (MEC) Signature Catalogue is restricted to business partners with at least a level CS-RA security clearance. Unauthorized access to or distribution of any materials or documents classified CS-RA is punishable under Section 17* of the Inner Rim Securities Pact (IRiSP) in applicable jurisdictions, or by what the MEC legal department considers appropriate Litigation** in other regions.

*Subsection 8, clauses 84-91.
**See documentation for the Ikeda Munitions Litigation-class fusion torpedo for more information. Ikeda Munitions is an official licensed partner of the MEC.

The advent of the 'Mandarinia' battlecruiser and its HEX-EL heavy capital ship drive brought with it new technologies that soon found other applications. One such derivative technology eventually became the HEX-ES advanced fighter drive system. Compared to the VCOIL drives of earlier MEC fighters, the HEX-ES is notable for its slightly higher output-to-mass ratio and its significantly lower waste heat production. Within a fighter chassis, this meant that bulky cooling systems could be cut down to make space for larger weapons, thicker armor, more powerful reactors, and additional subsystems.

The VF-13 'Variana' is the first fighter to be built around this new technology. Having learned a lot from the successful history of the VF-3 'Velutina', MEC engineers spared no expense while designing this fighter. The 'Variana' mounts two HEX-ES drives as well as a pair of HEX-TF side thruster pods based on the same technology. The additional power of its new, larger reactor also allowed engineers to arm it with more powerful weaponry than its predecessors. The VF-13 is the most capable interceptor ever built by the Muthos Engineering Consortium. As one of the greatest weapons in the MEC arsenal, it is only available to trusted partners.

The incredible capability of the VF-13 does, however, come at a cost. Maximum outputs of the drive and reactor systems are well beyond the normal operating limits of VCOIL-equipped fighters. Engineers found a solution to this problem early in development, but it requires several different exotic superconductors and composites. This makes the 'Variana' much more costly to produce - both in terms of material requirements and production complexity - than a standard VF-series fighter. The VF-13 'Variana' is best served by large, dedicated, well-equipped production facilities rather than production-capable carriers, which may find the VF-3 'Velutina' a more practical choice in some situations.

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The VF-13 'Variana' is exactly 200 blocks. Of all of the VF-series fighters I've done for the MEC, this is my favorite one. It is designed for use as a high-cost, late game superiority fighter. This design does not have any docking issues with the 'Vespa' hive ship. The VF-13 'Variana' is named for Vespa velutina variana, a subspecies of its predecessor's Asian hornet namesake. I may do a few more "elite" MEC fighters eventually, we'll see.

Screenshots (besides the auto-generated preview image) show fighters at true scale - when you use this blueprint to produce fighters, that's the level of detail you can expect from the final product.

This ship is intended for use as a fighter blueprint, as it lacks the critical ship components necessary for player control.

Rcommended weapons: Anti-fighter turret, point defense chaingun, chaingun