TIE/MA "Manta" Sub-fighter - Star Wars fighter design
Whew; and another Star Wars universe design I’ve had kicking around my head for a while is done. Here we have a concept I’ve been stewing over for a bit: what the Imperial navy’s Sub-fighter variant of the TIE series might look like. It’s a combat environment often forgotten in science fiction: but planets with oceans won’t go anywhere in the future, so amphibious and submarine units are still going to be necessary. In this case: I started with the basic core of the TIE Advanced, then started to work outward; taking inspiration from both the CHiss Clawcraft as well as the older Eta-series of interceptors, along with a SPECTRE submarine from the 007 game series; giving the fighter a more substantial hull to accommodate the additional equipment, life support, and hardware needed to function in 3 different environments. Not entirely happy with all her lines; might need to make the side panels a bit larger and fins a bit longer/more substantial, but overall, the idea is there… There’s also a sneaky reference to 20,000 leagues under the sea if you can spot it.
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Lore Entry:
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Model: Seinar Fleet Systems TIE/ma “Manta” Sub-Fighter
Manufacturer: Seinar Fleet Systems & Sorosuub Corporation
Role: Sub-surface superiority fighter
Engine units:
- SFS P-9.6s Twin Ion Engines – Space & Trans-atmospheric drive
- SoroSuub S-260 Magneto-Hydrodynamic Drives (2) – Surface & Sub-surface propulsion
Hyperdrive: None
Power plant:
- SFS I-s3j solar-ionization reactor
- SSF-A2 Fusion reactor
- Backup: SFS C-9 cryogenic capacitors
Defenses:
- SFS-Novatek Shield Generator – Configured for extreme depth pressure
- Quadanium-Steel hull armor
Armaments:
- SFS L-s10-uv Laser-cannons (2) – Configured for amphibious operation
- SFS M-T4a Torpedo tubes (2) – Internal magazine of 12 torpedoes each
Other Systems:
- Retractable radiator arrays for improved hydrodynamics
- Navigational & reactor radiator fins
- Forward high-power searchlights
- Sonar-augmented sensor array
Crew: Pilot (1)
Along with Seinar Fleet System’s great profit and influence which came with securing the bid to be the primary producer of strike craft for the Galactic Empire’s armed forces; came the occasional need for far more specialized models than its main line of TIE-series vessels could provide. One such challenge came in the form of surface and sub-surface engagement on aquatic worlds; an environment which had largely gone ignored by Seinar’s shipwrights, but was none the less vital to the Empire’s operations. Seinar was forced to scramble to produce a TIE variant capable of operating underwater; an environment in many respects no less hostile to equipment than deep space; without sacrificing the economics of scale that made the TIE series valuable in the first place.
The result of these efforts was the TIE/ma, or TIE Manta sub-fighter; one of the few TIE series craft designed specifically for planetside operations, and one of the still fewer designed for amphibious operation. Rather than attempting to produce a single drive to function in space, atmosphere and underwater; Seinar’s engineers instead equipped the TIE/ma with two separate drive systems: the first, Seinar’s proprietary Twin Ion Engine system which the fighter uses in space and in atmospheric flight, the second, a pair of magneto-hydrodynamic turbine thrusters, sub-contracted to the SoroSuub corporation; more commonly employed in luxury water-skimmers than military craft. The TIE/ma also differs from most TIE-series craft in that it features a fully pressurized cockpit module, as well as an onboard shield generator; though the latter acts to protect the sub-fighter against extreme external pressure as much as enemy fire.
Arming the TIE Manta proved yet another challenge; even after adapting them for aquatic operations, the range of traditional laser-cannons is greatly reduced underwater. As a consequence; the Manta’s cannons are tuned to fire at a far higher energy wavelength than conventional Imperial laser cannons; giving them their distinct blue-hued bolts. With this in mind; the Manta’s armament also leans more heavily on torpedoes; with the fighter carrying two torpedo tubes, each linked to a comparatively robust internal magazine of 12 torpedoes; allowing the TIE Manta to double as an effective torpedo bomber; though their relative expense, complex maintenance cycles, and specialized mission profile make TIE Mantas a rare sight on Imperial capital ships when not otherwise called for.
The TIE Manta’s overall bulkier frame and heavier internal components make her slightly less agile than her cousins in the TIE/ln and TIE/in fighters, but still easily enough to match or exceed the speed and agility of an Incom Z-95 in atmosphere or space combat; though this is not her ideal engagement environment. TIE Mantas are far more often deployed directly from a carrier into atmosphere, and shortly there-after into their ideal hunting territory. Pilot survivability of the TIE Manta is surprisingly high; given that the sub-fighter includes a set of capacitors which, in the event of a reactor scram can power the ship’s vital subsystems long enough for it to make an emergency return to the surface, rather than being crushed and sunk to the bottom of a planet’s ocean.
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__________________________________________________
Lore Entry:
__________________________________________________
Model: Seinar Fleet Systems TIE/ma “Manta” Sub-Fighter
Manufacturer: Seinar Fleet Systems & Sorosuub Corporation
Role: Sub-surface superiority fighter
Engine units:
- SFS P-9.6s Twin Ion Engines – Space & Trans-atmospheric drive
- SoroSuub S-260 Magneto-Hydrodynamic Drives (2) – Surface & Sub-surface propulsion
Hyperdrive: None
Power plant:
- SFS I-s3j solar-ionization reactor
- SSF-A2 Fusion reactor
- Backup: SFS C-9 cryogenic capacitors
Defenses:
- SFS-Novatek Shield Generator – Configured for extreme depth pressure
- Quadanium-Steel hull armor
Armaments:
- SFS L-s10-uv Laser-cannons (2) – Configured for amphibious operation
- SFS M-T4a Torpedo tubes (2) – Internal magazine of 12 torpedoes each
Other Systems:
- Retractable radiator arrays for improved hydrodynamics
- Navigational & reactor radiator fins
- Forward high-power searchlights
- Sonar-augmented sensor array
Crew: Pilot (1)
Along with Seinar Fleet System’s great profit and influence which came with securing the bid to be the primary producer of strike craft for the Galactic Empire’s armed forces; came the occasional need for far more specialized models than its main line of TIE-series vessels could provide. One such challenge came in the form of surface and sub-surface engagement on aquatic worlds; an environment which had largely gone ignored by Seinar’s shipwrights, but was none the less vital to the Empire’s operations. Seinar was forced to scramble to produce a TIE variant capable of operating underwater; an environment in many respects no less hostile to equipment than deep space; without sacrificing the economics of scale that made the TIE series valuable in the first place.
The result of these efforts was the TIE/ma, or TIE Manta sub-fighter; one of the few TIE series craft designed specifically for planetside operations, and one of the still fewer designed for amphibious operation. Rather than attempting to produce a single drive to function in space, atmosphere and underwater; Seinar’s engineers instead equipped the TIE/ma with two separate drive systems: the first, Seinar’s proprietary Twin Ion Engine system which the fighter uses in space and in atmospheric flight, the second, a pair of magneto-hydrodynamic turbine thrusters, sub-contracted to the SoroSuub corporation; more commonly employed in luxury water-skimmers than military craft. The TIE/ma also differs from most TIE-series craft in that it features a fully pressurized cockpit module, as well as an onboard shield generator; though the latter acts to protect the sub-fighter against extreme external pressure as much as enemy fire.
Arming the TIE Manta proved yet another challenge; even after adapting them for aquatic operations, the range of traditional laser-cannons is greatly reduced underwater. As a consequence; the Manta’s cannons are tuned to fire at a far higher energy wavelength than conventional Imperial laser cannons; giving them their distinct blue-hued bolts. With this in mind; the Manta’s armament also leans more heavily on torpedoes; with the fighter carrying two torpedo tubes, each linked to a comparatively robust internal magazine of 12 torpedoes; allowing the TIE Manta to double as an effective torpedo bomber; though their relative expense, complex maintenance cycles, and specialized mission profile make TIE Mantas a rare sight on Imperial capital ships when not otherwise called for.
The TIE Manta’s overall bulkier frame and heavier internal components make her slightly less agile than her cousins in the TIE/ln and TIE/in fighters, but still easily enough to match or exceed the speed and agility of an Incom Z-95 in atmosphere or space combat; though this is not her ideal engagement environment. TIE Mantas are far more often deployed directly from a carrier into atmosphere, and shortly there-after into their ideal hunting territory. Pilot survivability of the TIE Manta is surprisingly high; given that the sub-fighter includes a set of capacitors which, in the event of a reactor scram can power the ship’s vital subsystems long enough for it to make an emergency return to the surface, rather than being crushed and sunk to the bottom of a planet’s ocean.
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Category Artwork (Digital) / Fanart
Species Sea Vehicle
Gender Other / Not Specified
Size 3318 x 2800px
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