Dralthi medium fighter
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In the Wing Commander universe, "Dralthi" is the name of a family of light to medium fighters used by the Kilrathi. The first Dralthi was built in the early 2640s and derivatives of the design continued in Kilrathi service at least into the 2680s.
Dralthi variants:
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[edit] KF-100 Dralthi
Original variant of the Dralthi. The KF-100 Dralthi entered service in 2529, and was commonly encountered during the first twenty years of the war. The KF-100s unique spaceframe was smaller and lighter than any of the later three basic Dralthi designs. "KF-100" is almost certainly a Confederation designator for the Dralthi; contextually it makes little sense for the Kilrathi to label their own fighter as such.
[edit] Dralthi Mk. I
In use from the 2640s until 2655, the Dralthi I was a circular-winged fighter with two laser cannons and three Paw dumbfire missiles. The Dralthi I had slower reactions from side to side than pulling up or down, and because of this, Confederation fighter pilots could count on being presented a fairly easy target profile in most chase situations.
[edit] Dralthi Mk. II
A stopgap modification in use from 2655 until 2660, the Dralthi II was simply a slight mod of the Dralthi I with mass drivers instead of lasers. The mass drivers increased the fighter's lethality slightly but it still had the "bull's eye" problem. Missile armament and shield power was improved over the older fighter.
The Dralthi Mk. II is the only Kilrathi starfighter which Christopher Blair flew during the Kilrathi War. During the Firekka campaign a Kilrathi carrier under Ralgha nar Hhallas defected to the confederation, and some of the Dralthi on board were used as undercover fighters.
[edit] Dralthi III
A light patrol fighter primarily for reconnaissance and defensive use, deployed in 2654. The fighter had a new planform; a flattened "bat-wing" plan that would remain the ship's trademark through the seventies and into the eighties. The shorter but wider wings had the unfortunate effect of making the Terran pilots' job of assaulting these craft even easier, as the Dralthi was now nearly impossible to miss at close to medium range.
[edit] Dralthi IV
Deployed in 2668 along with the Dralthi III, and sharing the same planform, the Dralthi IV was the ultimate wartime variant of the type. It was armed with a particle cannon, two meson guns and four Claw Image Recognition missiles, making it the best-armed and most lethal Dralthi variant seen during the war. After the war, the Dralthi IV was modified further with two particle cannon and one photon gun.
A heavily modified version of the Dralthi III/IV spaceframe was used in the 2680s. This Dralthi is armed with two laser and one tachyon cannon and four Stalker Heat Seeker missiles, marking a regression in military capacity for the reduced and defeated Kilrathi. The model is faster and more maneuverable than the basic model IV in all flight regimes, making it a slightly deadlier craft; however, its basic inadequacies in the face of the threats of the early 2680s make it a deathtrap for its fanatical Kilrathi pilots.
[edit] Dralthi VII
The Dralthi VII is the fourth 'Dralthi' spaceframe. Dralthi VIIs, designed to be more self sufficient than carrier-based fighters, served as raiders and reconnaissance craft in generally uncontested border regions such as Gemini. There are two sub-variants: One armed with three laser cannon and three Paw dumbfire missiles (Dralthi VII.1) and one armed with two particle cannon, one fusion cannon and three Paw dumbfire missiles (Dralthi VII.2). The Dralthi VII is virtually identical to the Drakhri.
