{"data":{"id":19462,"title":"Whitley's Guide - San\u2019tok.y\u0101i","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/19462-Whitleys-Guide-San-toky-i","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/19462","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/19462","channel":"Feedback","category":"Undefined","series":"None","images":[{"id":31605,"name":"alienweek-wide-banners-santokyai-concept-min.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/i\/fba1ffe5ca6ba22b55e013d8190820453eff9123\/ADdPNihJzmPbNuTnFsH1DqUeqBRpXdSXVVtgJTyDDgscGKrzJuoFjReseGyuPVfD5CMwP3rVRw2VW75M3umFCYF1g\/alienweek-wide-banners-santokyai-concept-min.jpg","alt":"g-illustration","size":347669,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2023-09-12T23:31:09+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/31605","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/31605\/similar"}],"images_count":3,"translations":{"en_EN":"09\/12\/2023 - 2:09 PMSAN\u2019TOK.Y\u0100I\n\n\n\nMEDIUM-CLASS FIGHTER\n\n\n\nINTELLIGENCE HISTORY\n\n\n\nOn 2948-11-28, the Aopoa Council sent shockwaves through industry watchers with the announcement that their San\u2019tok.y\u0101i medium-class fighter was available for purchase in an export model. This decision took the Human civilian and military authorities by surprise, undercutting years of effort to learn more about the Xi\u2019an\u2019s notoriously secret aerospace program. While it is not possible for a Human publication to properly catalog the Xi\u2019an medium fighter development due to the limited amount of information available, it is possible to track the United Empire of Earth\u2019s efforts to gather their own intelligence on the spacecraft and its precursors.\n\n\n\n\nAnalysts agree that the current generation of Xi\u2019an medium fighter was introduced to replace an aging prior design around 2934, although it is believed that off-production-line military conversions began significantly earlier. Under this theory, Xi\u2019an home guard units could have a new medium fighter design as early as 2915, with the Empire only choosing to reveal the design to Earth in 2934 in response to the previous summer\u2019s minor trade dispute. Human signal intelligence began noting unexpected movement among Xi\u2019an units stationed along the old Perry Line, with many existing medium fighter squadrons that were previously believed to have been on permanent assignment leaving after years on station. In December, secondhand reports began to filter back suggesting that sightings of older-style Xi\u2019an dogfighters had dropped sharply and that a new design had begun to appear. This was in line with what was known about the highly regimented manner in which the Xi\u2019an Empire had deployed new spacecraft in the past. Unlike Human units, which typically slowly transition to new designs, the Xi\u2019an has always taken an all-or-nothing approach, manufacturing spacecraft to a long-term schedule and replacing designs en masse in a given theater so as to reduce the need to continue providing duplicate service and support processes.\n\n\n\n\nThe UEE military was immediately concerned with both the overall political meaning of upgraded mainline dogfighters along their border and the potential threat offered by this unfamiliar fighter. The Navy, concerned about the development of its next generation of \u2018space superiority fighter\u2019, was especially keen to gather intelligence on the new Xi\u2019an ship. The fighter was given the intelligence reporting name ARES and assets in the Xi\u2019an sphere of influence were issued a memo instructing them to gather information wherever possible.\n\n\n\n\nThe first reliable military accounts of the Xi\u2019an medium fighter in service came in 2937, when a Hornet on a training mission came within scanner range of a group of six on patrol. Information gathered in this encounter regarding the speed and maneuverability of the medium fighter confirmed existing theories that it operated an upgraded version of the dual-vector maneuvering thrusters found on the earlier Khartu-al. In April 2938, a remote sensing outpost recorded a pair of Xi\u2019an medium fighters coming to the rescue of a transport besieged by raiders outside of visual range. The sensor recording confirmed secondhand reports about the improved dual thrust array and, most importantly, spectrum analysis revealed for the first time that the ship\u2019s centerline energy weapon was a model of laser repeater not yet encountered. Additional encounters with the Xi\u2019an medium fighter were recorded throughout the late 2930s, each providing small clues as to its overall capabilities, with other unspecified intelligence assets filling out the picture. Recently declassified military reviews from this period believe that the ship was a rough parity with the F7A Hornet or the civilian-model Super Hornet.\n\n\n\n\nIn 2941, the military had their closest encounter to date with enigmatic medium fighter. On the morning of September 24th, a manned reconnaissance outpost in the Y\u0101\u2019mon (Hadur) system detected a major explosion which was quickly traced back to the orbit of one of the system\u2019s dwarf planets. Sensors indicated that a debris field had formed at the site of the explosion, with metallurgical analysis revealing that it most likely consisted of metals processed by the Xi\u2019an. Further observation revealed that in addition to the debris field, now believed to have originated from an explosion aboard a larger Xi\u2019an packet ship, there were four tracks on the snowy planet itself consistent with soft-landings by fighter-sized ships. The outpost\u2019s crew concluded that an accident aboard a Xi\u2019an transport had stranded several short-range escort fighters, forcing them to crash land on the planet as onboard oxygen supplies diminished.\n\n\n\n\nThe planet in question was particularly distant from both Human and Xi\u2019an settlements. No distress call had been received from the packet ship or her escorts. Analysis suggested that even if Xi\u2019an authorities knew the rough location of the crash, it would take some time for the ships to be declared overdue and for a capable rescue party to be deployed. Meanwhile, elements of a UEEN escort squadron were conducting space trials within communication range of the covert reconnaissance outpost that performed the initial study and analysis. The base commander made the decision that the possibility of rescuing survivors from the crashed spacecraft was valuable enough to risk revealing the location of his outpost. He dispatched all available information to the destroyer group, prompting them to move into range of the crash sites.\n\n\n\n\nA pair of Argo spacecraft dispatched from the UEES Eagle\u2019s Talon found that the ships in question were indeed Xi\u2019an medium dogfighters. Two of the four escorts had not made controlled descents at all; they had suffered heavy damage in the initial explosion and had been completely destroyed in the crash. Survey teams transmitted scans of the wreckage and moved to locate the other ships. The third fighter was found in better condition: the ship had skidded to a stop on an icy plain. Crew from the escort began de-icing the wreck site to quickly reach the pilot. The work ended in tragedy when the industrial heating units set off what is believed to have been a still-armed munitions package on the ship\u2019s wing destroying the entire site. All members of the first rescue team and the fighter\u2019s pilot were killed in the blast.\n\n\n\n\nMeanwhile, the second Argo discovered that the final escort had not crashed at all: it had landed safely on a stable plane. Tracks in the snow confirmed that pilot had survived and was heading to reach his wingman. The surviving pilot was located by air and taken aboard the escort where he was treated for exposure and ultimately repatriated to the Xi\u2019an Empire. Despite the casualties, the incident was seen as a net positive for Human-Xi\u2019an relations with the safe rescue of the surviving pilot. Military intelligence officers were not as happy about the incident as they gained only a limited amount of usable information from the initial crash site scans of the medium fighter. It seemed the UEE would never get its long-desired look at the Xi\u2019an medium fighter in action.\n\n\n\n\nHowever, the 2948 Intergalactic Aerospace Expo rendered years of intelligence gathering obsolete with the stunning announcement that the company was making a civilian-spec medium fighter part of their export lineup; Aopoa\u2019s decision had seemingly been made after almost three decades of increasing Khartu-al sales to Human concerns. The spacecraft, named the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i, was revealed at an opulent invitation only gala which broadly celebrated Xi\u2019an culture and was centered around an unabridged presentation of \u0101luo\u2019a Thasyu se Xo\u2019ma. What the public saw was an impressive new Xi\u2019an design, the military already knew as a development of the frontline medium fighter they had studied for over ten years. As an export model, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is not an exact match for any of the mil-spec spacecraft observed previously, but is similar enough in both design and capabilities that it can be said with certainty to have been derived from them. The overall fuselage and flight configurations closely match recorded encounters with frontline medium fighter models. The dual-vector thrusters and Yeng\u2019tu Laser Repeaters, included with the base civilian model, also conform to what was already known about the ship. Additionally, all footage of the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i maneuvering has been within the limits of previous military observations. Analysts have noted with some concern that the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\u2019s capabilities are so close to what is known about the Xi\u2019an medium fighter that this sudden reveal strongly indicates that the military must have access to a more advanced model that has not yet been seen - a potential roadblock for the recently commissioned F8 Lightning.\n\n\n\n\nThe United Empire of Earth Navy will, unsurprisingly, be among the first San\u2019tok.y\u0101i customers. Per the Naval Office of Budget and Planning, the military has been approved for the requisition of nine of the spacecraft. If these examples follow the pattern of previous alien designs requisitioned by the military these San\u2019tok.y\u0101i will be divided between engineering study artifacts for disassembly and for aggressor training (the Empire does not formally acknowledge that it operates Xi\u2019an or simulated Xi\u2019an spacecraft in combat training, though it has purchased Khartu-al for unspecified research projects regularly since it was introduced to Human space).\n\n\n\n\nWhitleys\u2019 partners at Sabre Defense have also joined the waitlist for a San\u2019tok.y\u0101i and will conduct a full suite of testing and a complete engineering and component breakdown once a production model becomes available. For further information, watch out for the Q4 2948 addendum of the 2949 edition of Whitley\u2019s Guide to Spacecraft for the complete, hands-on flight analysis.\n\n\n\n\nThis article originally appeared in Jump Point 6.11.","de_DE":"09\/12\/2023 - 2:09 PMSAN'TOK.Y\u0100I\n\n\n\nMITTELKLASSE-J\u00c4GER\n\n\n\nGEHEIMDIENSTGESCHICHTE\n\n\n\nAm 28.11.2948 schickte der Aopoa-Rat Schockwellen durch die Branche, als er bekannt gab, dass sein San'tok.y\u0101i-Mittelklasse-Kampfflugzeug als Exportmodell zum Kauf angeboten wird. Diese Entscheidung \u00fcberraschte die zivilen und milit\u00e4rischen Beh\u00f6rden der Menschen und machte die jahrelangen Bem\u00fchungen zunichte, mehr \u00fcber das notorisch geheime Raumfahrtprogramm von Xi'an zu erfahren. W\u00e4hrend es f\u00fcr eine menschliche Publikation aufgrund der begrenzten Menge an verf\u00fcgbaren Informationen nicht m\u00f6glich ist, die Entwicklung des Xi'an-Mittelstreckenj\u00e4gers richtig zu katalogisieren, ist es m\u00f6glich, die Bem\u00fchungen des Vereinigten Imperiums der Erde zu verfolgen, ihre eigenen Informationen \u00fcber das Raumschiff und seine Vorl\u00e4ufer zu sammeln.\n\n\n\n\nAnalysten sind sich einig, dass die aktuelle Generation des mittelgro\u00dfen Xi'an-J\u00e4gers um das Jahr 2934 eingef\u00fchrt wurde, um ein veraltetes Vorg\u00e4ngermodell zu ersetzen, obwohl man davon ausgeht, dass die milit\u00e4rischen Umr\u00fcstungen au\u00dferhalb der Produktionslinie deutlich fr\u00fcher begannen. Nach dieser Theorie k\u00f6nnten die Einheiten der Xi'an-Heimatwache bereits 2915 \u00fcber ein neues mittelgro\u00dfes Kampfflugzeug verf\u00fcgen, das das Imperium der Erde erst 2934 als Reaktion auf den kleinen Handelskonflikt des vergangenen Sommers vorstellte. Die menschliche Signalintelligenz bemerkte unerwartete Bewegungen unter den Xi'an-Einheiten, die entlang der alten Perry-Linie stationiert waren, und viele mittelschwere J\u00e4gerstaffeln, von denen man bisher annahm, dass sie dauerhaft stationiert waren, verlie\u00dfen nach Jahren die Station. Im Dezember kamen aus zweiter Hand Berichte zur\u00fcck, die darauf hindeuteten, dass die Sichtungen von Xi'an-Dogfightern \u00e4lterer Bauart stark zur\u00fcckgegangen waren und dass eine neue Bauart auftauchte. Dies entsprach dem, was man \u00fcber die hochgradig reglementierte Art und Weise wusste, in der das Xi'an-Imperium in der Vergangenheit neue Raumfahrzeuge eingesetzt hatte. Im Gegensatz zu den menschlichen Einheiten, die in der Regel langsam auf neue Designs umsteigen, hat das Xi'an-Imperium immer einen Alles-oder-Nichts-Ansatz verfolgt, indem es Raumfahrzeuge nach einem langfristigen Zeitplan herstellte und die Designs in einem bestimmten Gebiet massenhaft ersetzte, um die Notwendigkeit zu reduzieren, weiterhin doppelte Service- und Supportprozesse anzubieten.\n\n\n\n\nDas UEE-Milit\u00e4r war sofort besorgt \u00fcber die allgemeine politische Bedeutung von aufger\u00fcsteten Dogfightern an ihrer Grenze und \u00fcber die potenzielle Bedrohung durch dieses unbekannte Kampfflugzeug. Die Marine, die \u00fcber die Entwicklung ihrer n\u00e4chsten Generation von \"Raum\u00fcberlegenheitsj\u00e4gern\" besorgt war, war besonders daran interessiert, Informationen \u00fcber das neue Xi'an-Schiff zu sammeln. Das Kampfflugzeug erhielt den nachrichtendienstlichen Meldungsnamen ARES und die Einheiten im Einflussbereich von Xi'an wurden in einem Memo angewiesen, Informationen zu sammeln, wo immer es m\u00f6glich war.\n\n\n\n\nDie ersten verl\u00e4sslichen milit\u00e4rischen Berichte \u00fcber den Einsatz des Xi'an Medium Fighters stammen aus dem Jahr 2937, als eine Hornet auf einer Trainingsmission in Scanner-Reichweite einer sechsk\u00f6pfigen Gruppe auf Patrouille kam. Die dabei gesammelten Informationen \u00fcber die Geschwindigkeit und Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit des mittelgro\u00dfen J\u00e4gers best\u00e4tigten die bisherigen Theorien, dass es sich um eine verbesserte Version der Doppelvektor-Man\u00f6vriertriebwerke des fr\u00fcheren Khartu-al handelte. Im April 2938 zeichnete ein Fernerkundungs-Au\u00dfenposten auf, wie zwei mittelgro\u00dfe Xi'an-J\u00e4ger einem Transporter zu Hilfe kamen, der au\u00dferhalb der Sichtweite von Angreifern belagert wurde. Die Sensoraufzeichnungen best\u00e4tigten die Berichte aus zweiter Hand \u00fcber die verbesserte Doppelschubanlage, und vor allem zeigte die Spektralanalyse zum ersten Mal, dass es sich bei der Energiewaffe in der Mitte des Schiffes um ein bisher unbekanntes Modell eines Laser-Repeaters handelte. In den sp\u00e4ten 2930er Jahren wurden weitere Begegnungen mit dem Xi'an Medium Fighter aufgezeichnet, die jeweils kleine Hinweise auf seine Gesamtf\u00e4higkeiten lieferten. K\u00fcrzlich freigegebene milit\u00e4rische Berichte aus dieser Zeit gehen davon aus, dass das Schiff in etwa mit der F7A Hornet oder dem zivilen Modell der Super Hornet vergleichbar war.\n\n\n\n\nIm Jahr 2941 hatte das Milit\u00e4r seine bis dahin engste Begegnung mit dem r\u00e4tselhaften Mittelstreckenj\u00e4ger. Am Morgen des 24. September entdeckte ein bemannter Aufkl\u00e4rungsposten im Y\u0101'mon (Hadur)-System eine gro\u00dfe Explosion, die schnell auf die Umlaufbahn eines der Zwergplaneten des Systems zur\u00fcckgef\u00fchrt werden konnte. Die Sensoren zeigten an, dass sich am Ort der Explosion ein Tr\u00fcmmerfeld gebildet hatte. Die metallurgische Analyse ergab, dass es h\u00f6chstwahrscheinlich aus Metallen bestand, die von den Xi'an verarbeitet wurden. Weitere Beobachtungen ergaben, dass neben dem Tr\u00fcmmerfeld, das vermutlich von einer Explosion an Bord eines gr\u00f6\u00dferen Xi'an-Paketschiffs stammte, auch vier Spuren auf dem Schneeplaneten zu finden waren, die auf eine weiche Landung von Kampfschiffen schlie\u00dfen lassen. Die Besatzung des Au\u00dfenpostens kam zu dem Schluss, dass ein Unfall an Bord eines Xi'an-Transporters mehrere Kurzstrecken-Eskortj\u00e4ger zur Bruchlandung auf dem Planeten gezwungen hatte, als die Sauerstoffvorr\u00e4te an Bord schwanden.\n\n\n\n\nDer betreffende Planet war besonders weit von den Siedlungen der Menschen und der Xi'an entfernt. Weder von dem Paketschiff noch von seinen Begleitern war ein Notruf empfangen worden. Selbst wenn die Xi'an-Beh\u00f6rden die ungef\u00e4hre Position des Absturzes w\u00fcssten, w\u00fcrde es einige Zeit dauern, bis die Schiffe f\u00fcr \u00fcberf\u00e4llig erkl\u00e4rt und ein f\u00e4higer Rettungstrupp entsandt werden k\u00f6nnte. In der Zwischenzeit f\u00fchrten Elemente eines UEEN-Eskortgeschwaders Raumfahrtversuche in Kommunikationsreichweite des verdeckten Aufkl\u00e4rungspostens durch, der die erste Untersuchung und Analyse durchgef\u00fchrt hatte. Der Kommandant des St\u00fctzpunkts entschied, dass die M\u00f6glichkeit, \u00dcberlebende aus dem abgest\u00fcrzten Raumschiff zu retten, wertvoll genug war, um das Risiko einzugehen, den Standort seines Au\u00dfenpostens preiszugeben. Er leitete alle verf\u00fcgbaren Informationen an die Zerst\u00f6rergruppe weiter und forderte sie auf, sich in Reichweite der Absturzstellen zu begeben.\n\n\n\n\nZwei Argo-Raumschiffe, die von der UEES Eagle's Talon entsandt wurden, stellten fest, dass es sich bei den fraglichen Schiffen tats\u00e4chlich um mittlere Xi'an-Dogfighter handelte. Zwei der vier Begleitschiffe hatten keinen kontrollierten Sinkflug hingelegt; sie waren bei der ersten Explosion schwer besch\u00e4digt und bei dem Absturz v\u00f6llig zerst\u00f6rt worden. Untersuchungsteams \u00fcbermittelten Scans der Wrackteile und machten sich auf den Weg, um die anderen Schiffe zu lokalisieren. Der dritte J\u00e4ger wurde in besserem Zustand gefunden: Das Schiff war auf einer vereisten Ebene ins Schleudern geraten. Die Besatzung der Eskorte begann mit der Enteisung des Wracks, um den Piloten schnell zu erreichen. Die Arbeit endete in einer Trag\u00f6die, als die industriellen Heizger\u00e4te ein vermutlich noch scharfes Munitionspaket auf der Tragfl\u00e4che des Schiffes z\u00fcndeten und die gesamte Anlage zerst\u00f6rten. Alle Mitglieder des ersten Rettungsteams und der Pilot des Jagdflugzeugs kamen bei der Explosion ums Leben.\n\n\n\n\nW\u00e4hrenddessen entdeckte die zweite Argo, dass der letzte Begleiter gar nicht abgest\u00fcrzt war: Er war sicher auf einer stabilen Ebene gelandet. Spuren im Schnee best\u00e4tigten, dass der Pilot \u00fcberlebt hatte und auf dem Weg zu seinem Fl\u00fcgelmann war. Der \u00fcberlebende Pilot wurde auf dem Luftweg geortet und an Bord der Eskorte gebracht, wo er wegen seiner Gef\u00e4hrdung behandelt und schlie\u00dflich in das Xi'an-Reich zur\u00fcckgebracht wurde. Trotz der Verluste wurde der Vorfall als positiv f\u00fcr die Beziehungen zwischen den Menschen und Xi'an gewertet, da der \u00fcberlebende Pilot gerettet werden konnte. Die Offiziere des milit\u00e4rischen Geheimdienstes waren nicht so gl\u00fccklich \u00fcber den Vorfall, da sie aus den ersten Scans der Absturzstelle des mittelgro\u00dfen Raumj\u00e4gers nur eine begrenzte Menge an verwertbaren Informationen gewinnen konnten. Es sah so aus, als w\u00fcrde die UEE nie den lang ersehnten Blick auf den mittleren J\u00e4ger von Xi'an in Aktion werfen k\u00f6nnen.\n\n\n\n\nDoch auf der Intergalaktischen Raumfahrtausstellung 2948 wurde die jahrelange Geheimdienstarbeit durch die \u00fcberraschende Ank\u00fcndigung \u00fcberfl\u00fcssig, dass das Unternehmen einen zivilen Mittelstreckenj\u00e4ger in sein Exportprogramm aufnehmen w\u00fcrde. Das Raumschiff mit dem Namen San'tok.y\u0101i wurde auf einer opulenten Gala enth\u00fcllt, zu der nur geladene G\u00e4ste kamen und bei der die Kultur von Xi'an ausf\u00fchrlich gefeiert wurde. Was die \u00d6ffentlichkeit zu sehen bekam, war ein beeindruckendes neues Xi'an-Design, das das Milit\u00e4r bereits als Weiterentwicklung des mittleren Kampfflugzeugs kannte, das es \u00fcber zehn Jahre lang studiert hatte. Als Exportmodell entspricht der San'tok.y\u0101i keinem der zuvor beobachteten milit\u00e4rischen Raumflugzeuge, ist aber in Design und F\u00e4higkeiten so \u00e4hnlich, dass man mit Sicherheit sagen kann, dass er von ihnen abgeleitet wurde. Der Rumpf und die Flugkonfigurationen stimmen genau mit den aufgezeichneten Begegnungen mit mittleren Kampfflugzeugmodellen \u00fcberein. Die Doppelvektor-Triebwerke und die Yeng'tu-Laser-Repeater, die im zivilen Basismodell enthalten sind, entsprechen ebenfalls dem, was bereits \u00fcber das Schiff bekannt war. Au\u00dferdem bewegen sich alle Aufnahmen der San'tok.y\u0101i innerhalb der Grenzen der bisherigen milit\u00e4rischen Beobachtungen. Analysten haben mit einiger Besorgnis festgestellt, dass die F\u00e4higkeiten der San'tok.y\u0101i dem, was \u00fcber das mittlere Kampfflugzeug Xi'an bekannt ist, so nahe kommen, dass diese pl\u00f6tzliche Enth\u00fcllung stark darauf hindeutet, dass das Milit\u00e4r Zugang zu einem fortschrittlicheren Modell haben muss, das bisher noch nicht zu sehen war - ein m\u00f6gliches Hindernis f\u00fcr die k\u00fcrzlich in Auftrag gegebene F8 Lightning.\n\n\n\n\nEs \u00fcberrascht nicht, dass die United Empire of Earth Navy zu den ersten San'tok.y\u0101i-Kunden geh\u00f6ren wird. Laut dem Naval Office of Budget and Planning hat das Milit\u00e4r die Genehmigung zur Beschaffung von neun dieser Raumschiffe erhalten. Wenn diese Exemplare dem Muster fr\u00fcherer vom Milit\u00e4r beschaffter au\u00dferirdischer Konstruktionen folgen, werden diese San'tok.y\u0101i zwischen technischen Studienartefakten f\u00fcr die Demontage und f\u00fcr die Ausbildung von Angreifern aufgeteilt (das Imperium gibt nicht offiziell zu, dass es Xi'an- oder simulierte Xi'an-Raumschiffe in der Kampfausbildung einsetzt, obwohl es Khartu-al seit seiner Einf\u00fchrung in den menschlichen Raum regelm\u00e4\u00dfig f\u00fcr nicht n\u00e4her spezifizierte Forschungsprojekte gekauft hat).\n\n\n\n\nWhitleys Partner bei Sabre Defense haben sich ebenfalls auf die Warteliste f\u00fcr ein San'tok.y\u0101i gesetzt und werden eine ganze Reihe von Tests durchf\u00fchren und eine vollst\u00e4ndige Aufschl\u00fcsselung der Technik und der Komponenten vornehmen, sobald ein Produktionsmodell verf\u00fcgbar ist. Weitere Informationen findest du im Nachtrag zu Q4 2948 der Ausgabe 2949 von Whitley's Guide to Spacecraft, in dem du eine vollst\u00e4ndige, praxisnahe Fluganalyse findest.\n\n\n\n\nDieser Artikel erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 6.11.","zh_CN":"09\/12\/2023 - 2:09 PMSAN\u2019TOK.Y\u0100I\n\n\n\nMEDIUM-CLASS FIGHTER\n\n\n\nINTELLIGENCE HISTORY\n\n\n\nOn 2948-11-28, the Aopoa Council sent shockwaves through industry watchers with the announcement that their San\u2019tok.y\u0101i medium-class fighter was available for purchase in an export model. This decision took the Human civilian and military authorities by surprise, undercutting years of effort to learn more about the Xi\u2019an\u2019s notoriously secret aerospace program. While it is not possible for a Human publication to properly catalog the Xi\u2019an medium fighter development due to the limited amount of information available, it is possible to track the United Empire of Earth\u2019s efforts to gather their own intelligence on the spacecraft and its precursors.\n\n\n\n\nAnalysts agree that the current generation of Xi\u2019an medium fighter was introduced to replace an aging prior design around 2934, although it is believed that off-production-line military conversions began significantly earlier. Under this theory, Xi\u2019an home guard units could have a new medium fighter design as early as 2915, with the Empire only choosing to reveal the design to Earth in 2934 in response to the previous summer\u2019s minor trade dispute. Human signal intelligence began noting unexpected movement among Xi\u2019an units stationed along the old Perry Line, with many existing medium fighter squadrons that were previously believed to have been on permanent assignment leaving after years on station. In December, secondhand reports began to filter back suggesting that sightings of older-style Xi\u2019an dogfighters had dropped sharply and that a new design had begun to appear. This was in line with what was known about the highly regimented manner in which the Xi\u2019an Empire had deployed new spacecraft in the past. Unlike Human units, which typically slowly transition to new designs, the Xi\u2019an has always taken an all-or-nothing approach, manufacturing spacecraft to a long-term schedule and replacing designs en masse in a given theater so as to reduce the need to continue providing duplicate service and support processes.\n\n\n\n\nThe UEE military was immediately concerned with both the overall political meaning of upgraded mainline dogfighters along their border and the potential threat offered by this unfamiliar fighter. The Navy, concerned about the development of its next generation of \u2018space superiority fighter\u2019, was especially keen to gather intelligence on the new Xi\u2019an ship. The fighter was given the intelligence reporting name ARES and assets in the Xi\u2019an sphere of influence were issued a memo instructing them to gather information wherever possible.\n\n\n\n\nThe first reliable military accounts of the Xi\u2019an medium fighter in service came in 2937, when a Hornet on a training mission came within scanner range of a group of six on patrol. Information gathered in this encounter regarding the speed and maneuverability of the medium fighter confirmed existing theories that it operated an upgraded version of the dual-vector maneuvering thrusters found on the earlier Khartu-al. In April 2938, a remote sensing outpost recorded a pair of Xi\u2019an medium fighters coming to the rescue of a transport besieged by raiders outside of visual range. The sensor recording confirmed secondhand reports about the improved dual thrust array and, most importantly, spectrum analysis revealed for the first time that the ship\u2019s centerline energy weapon was a model of laser repeater not yet encountered. Additional encounters with the Xi\u2019an medium fighter were recorded throughout the late 2930s, each providing small clues as to its overall capabilities, with other unspecified intelligence assets filling out the picture. Recently declassified military reviews from this period believe that the ship was a rough parity with the F7A Hornet or the civilian-model Super Hornet.\n\n\n\n\nIn 2941, the military had their closest encounter to date with enigmatic medium fighter. On the morning of September 24th, a manned reconnaissance outpost in the Y\u0101\u2019mon (Hadur) system detected a major explosion which was quickly traced back to the orbit of one of the system\u2019s dwarf planets. Sensors indicated that a debris field had formed at the site of the explosion, with metallurgical analysis revealing that it most likely consisted of metals processed by the Xi\u2019an. Further observation revealed that in addition to the debris field, now believed to have originated from an explosion aboard a larger Xi\u2019an packet ship, there were four tracks on the snowy planet itself consistent with soft-landings by fighter-sized ships. The outpost\u2019s crew concluded that an accident aboard a Xi\u2019an transport had stranded several short-range escort fighters, forcing them to crash land on the planet as onboard oxygen supplies diminished.\n\n\n\n\nThe planet in question was particularly distant from both Human and Xi\u2019an settlements. No distress call had been received from the packet ship or her escorts. Analysis suggested that even if Xi\u2019an authorities knew the rough location of the crash, it would take some time for the ships to be declared overdue and for a capable rescue party to be deployed. Meanwhile, elements of a UEEN escort squadron were conducting space trials within communication range of the covert reconnaissance outpost that performed the initial study and analysis. The base commander made the decision that the possibility of rescuing survivors from the crashed spacecraft was valuable enough to risk revealing the location of his outpost. He dispatched all available information to the destroyer group, prompting them to move into range of the crash sites.\n\n\n\n\nA pair of Argo spacecraft dispatched from the UEES Eagle\u2019s Talon found that the ships in question were indeed Xi\u2019an medium dogfighters. Two of the four escorts had not made controlled descents at all; they had suffered heavy damage in the initial explosion and had been completely destroyed in the crash. Survey teams transmitted scans of the wreckage and moved to locate the other ships. The third fighter was found in better condition: the ship had skidded to a stop on an icy plain. Crew from the escort began de-icing the wreck site to quickly reach the pilot. The work ended in tragedy when the industrial heating units set off what is believed to have been a still-armed munitions package on the ship\u2019s wing destroying the entire site. All members of the first rescue team and the fighter\u2019s pilot were killed in the blast.\n\n\n\n\nMeanwhile, the second Argo discovered that the final escort had not crashed at all: it had landed safely on a stable plane. Tracks in the snow confirmed that pilot had survived and was heading to reach his wingman. The surviving pilot was located by air and taken aboard the escort where he was treated for exposure and ultimately repatriated to the Xi\u2019an Empire. Despite the casualties, the incident was seen as a net positive for Human-Xi\u2019an relations with the safe rescue of the surviving pilot. Military intelligence officers were not as happy about the incident as they gained only a limited amount of usable information from the initial crash site scans of the medium fighter. It seemed the UEE would never get its long-desired look at the Xi\u2019an medium fighter in action.\n\n\n\n\nHowever, the 2948 Intergalactic Aerospace Expo rendered years of intelligence gathering obsolete with the stunning announcement that the company was making a civilian-spec medium fighter part of their export lineup; Aopoa\u2019s decision had seemingly been made after almost three decades of increasing Khartu-al sales to Human concerns. The spacecraft, named the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i, was revealed at an opulent invitation only gala which broadly celebrated Xi\u2019an culture and was centered around an unabridged presentation of \u0101luo\u2019a Thasyu se Xo\u2019ma. What the public saw was an impressive new Xi\u2019an design, the military already knew as a development of the frontline medium fighter they had studied for over ten years. As an export model, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is not an exact match for any of the mil-spec spacecraft observed previously, but is similar enough in both design and capabilities that it can be said with certainty to have been derived from them. The overall fuselage and flight configurations closely match recorded encounters with frontline medium fighter models. The dual-vector thrusters and Yeng\u2019tu Laser Repeaters, included with the base civilian model, also conform to what was already known about the ship. Additionally, all footage of the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i maneuvering has been within the limits of previous military observations. Analysts have noted with some concern that the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\u2019s capabilities are so close to what is known about the Xi\u2019an medium fighter that this sudden reveal strongly indicates that the military must have access to a more advanced model that has not yet been seen - a potential roadblock for the recently commissioned F8 Lightning.\n\n\n\n\nThe United Empire of Earth Navy will, unsurprisingly, be among the first San\u2019tok.y\u0101i customers. Per the Naval Office of Budget and Planning, the military has been approved for the requisition of nine of the spacecraft. If these examples follow the pattern of previous alien designs requisitioned by the military these San\u2019tok.y\u0101i will be divided between engineering study artifacts for disassembly and for aggressor training (the Empire does not formally acknowledge that it operates Xi\u2019an or simulated Xi\u2019an spacecraft in combat training, though it has purchased Khartu-al for unspecified research projects regularly since it was introduced to Human space).\n\n\n\n\nWhitleys\u2019 partners at Sabre Defense have also joined the waitlist for a San\u2019tok.y\u0101i and will conduct a full suite of testing and a complete engineering and component breakdown once a production model becomes available. For further information, watch out for the Q4 2948 addendum of the 2949 edition of Whitley\u2019s Guide to Spacecraft for the complete, hands-on flight analysis.\n\n\n\n\nThis article originally appeared in Jump Point 6.11."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":0,"created_at":"2023-09-12T23:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"2 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 19:02:06","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":19460,"next_id":19463}}