Starfury
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The Starfury is the primary single-man starfighter of the Earth Alliance on the TV series Babylon 5.
Unlike the stereotypical design of this kind of fighter, the original design owes nothing to the needs of aerodynamic design as the craft is designed solely for space operations. For instance, the design consists of four engines arranged in a "X" configuration, with the cockpit at the center. The Starfury's unique relationship between its center of mass and its engines enables it to make rapid pivoting turns to bring its weapons to bear on opponents in any direction, without having to change the vehicle's current direction of movement. For instance, in a dog fight when a Starfury pilot notices an enemy ship tailing him/her, the pilot can almost instantly turn the fighter around on its axis to position its weapons toward the enemy to attack, without having to shake the enemy's pursuit first.
Like all fighter-class ships, although they can travel through Hyperspace, they cannot generate their own jump points to enter it--they must rely on carrier ships or jump gates.
There are several production models of Starfury in use by the Earth Alliance. They vary in design according to their function.
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Aurora-Class
The most commonly-seen model of Starfury is the SA-23E, also known as the Aurora. It is a heavily-armed, one-man space superiority fighter that has been in service for more than 40 years. Pilots of the Aurora-Class Starfury fly standing up, as this position helps mitigate the negative effects of G-Forces generated from extreme maneuvers, such as black-outs. The pilot controls the fighter from a detachable cockpit module, allowing him to perform an 'ejection' in emergency situations.
The weapon payload of the Aurora is extremely heavy for its size, consisting of four forward-firing unidirectional pulse cannons, two rearward-firing pulse cannons, and up to eight hardpoint-mounted fusion missiles. It also has a mechanical grappler arm for heavy lifting and a built-in cutting laser.
Badger-Class
A more heavily-armed and armored variant of the Aurora-Class, the Badger Fighter-Bomber is less commonly seen than the standard Aurora-Class Starfury or the newer Thunderbolt-Class. It was most commonly used by Earth Alliance vessels for long-range operations against larger targets.
The Badger is a two-seat fighter, with the co-pilot facing rearwards from a position directly behind the pilot. In addition to the two forward- and rearward-firing pulse cannons, the Badger is also armed with two more powerful, forward-firing plasma discharge cannons and a frontal arc, omnidirectional rail gun. Like the Aurora, the Badger also has eight missile hardpoints.
Thunderbolt-Class
The newest model of Starfury developed by the Earth Alliance, the SA-32A, or Thunderbolt, is designed as an all-purpose strike craft. Larger and faster than the Aurora or Badger, its most innovative feature is the addition of four extending airfoils, making the Thunderbolt the first model of Starfury capable of operating within a planetary atmosphere.
The SA-32A is armed with four forward-firing, unidirectional pulse cannons mounted under the nose in a gatling arrangement, and has ten missile hardpoints. The Thunderbolt is a two-man fighter; however, unlike the Aurora-Class, both pilots sit in a traditional position. This gives the Thunderbolt a longer, sleeker look than the bulkier Auroras.