SPECIFICATIONS

GOVERNMENT: Neo-Hebrews of Saturn
TYPE: Multi-role Protean Aerospace Dominance Fighter
MODELS:  Titan-Technologies PA-03 Shinden
DATE INTRODUCED: 2180
DIMENSIONS:
             FIGHTER MODE
             LENGTH: 68.2 feet (20.8 meters)
             WIDTH: 50.6 feet (15.5 meters)
             HEIGHT: 19 feet (5.8 meters)

             ROBOT MODE
             DEPTH:  25.6 feet (7.8 meters)
             WIDTH: 27.9 feet (8.5 meters)
             HEIGHT: 49.2 feet (15 meters)

MATERIAL: Crystal Composite
POWER PLANT: Macrotechnologies IPFF-310 Ion-Plasma Fusion Furnace
OUTPUT: 310 megawatts
ARMOR TYPE: Crystal Composite
ARMOR THICKNESS: 6 inches
DISPLACEMENT: 50 tons
CREW: 2 (1 Pilot, 1 Navigator/gunner)

PROPULSION:
             WALKER:
             1x DængJäger RWE-200 robot walker engine
             SPEED: 50 mph

             COMBAT SPEED ENGINES:
             4x Stellar Dynamics SD-FT-3 3-megawatt fusion thruster clusters
             SPEED: 15,200 mph each (60,800 mph total)

WEAPONS:
             PRIMARY (OFFENSIVE):
            1x Titan Technologies TT-GP903AC triple-barrel 90-millimeter 3.5-ton gunpod unit; Effective Range: 12.5 miles; Payload: 600 rounds in a belt-fed autoloading detachable helical magazine; ROF: fires in bursts of 3, 12, or 30 rounds with a cyclic rate of up to 900 rounds per minute.

             PRIMARY (ASSAULT):
             26x Pallas Arms PA-MM105 5-shot mini-missile launcher with 10-pound fusion bolt (HEAP) or heavy fusion (nuclear) tipped warhead; Effective Range: 422 miles; Payload: 10 torpedoes; ROF: 1, 2, 3 or all 5 at once in a single volley.

             SECONDARY (ASSAULT):
            2x Pallas Arms PA-MM205 20-shot mini-missile launcher with 10-pound fusion bolt (HEAP) or heavy fusion (nuclear) tipped warhead; Effective Range: 422 miles; Payload: 40 mini-missiles each; ROF: 1 to 20 missiles per launcher per volley.  Up to thirty volleys can be launched per minute.

             PROXIMAL:
             1x Militia Military Industries MMI-BR-VB16  sixteen foot vibro-blade; Effective Range: melee; ROF: as per the pilot's ability.  Blade is carried in a scabbard attached to the hip of the PA-03.  This weapon was made of hardened-composite Titanium and crystal-composite alloys.  It is most useful on exosuits, light armored vehicles, and light tanks.  It was never intended for use against main battle tanks or heavy combat walkers.

             (OUTSIDE ORDINANCE):
              The PA-03 normally carries bombs, missiles, gunpods, and armor upgrade systems on externally mounted hardpoints.  These hardpoints were located all over the craft (1 each chest, 3 each wing, 1 each leg, 1 each engine pod).  The Standard outside ordinance package (known as the Multi-Mission Load Out One or MMLO-01) was as follows:
    
           CHEST HARDPOINTS (EACH):  1x Orlakon/MMI AC-R20 20 millimeter autocannon; Effective Range: 384 yards; Payload: 125 rounds in a belt-fed magazine; ROF: fires bursts of 5 rounds per discharge with a cyclic rate of 150 rounds per minute.

           WING HARDPOINTS (EACH): 
            2x Norking SRML-100-16HG heavy ground type missile launcher-pod (Shoulder Mounted); Missile Type: SRM-02 heavy short-range ground-assault missile with 100-pound computer-guided warhead; Effective Range: 20.8 miles; Payload: 16 missiles; ROF:1-4 missiles within two seconds.

            2x MMI SRM-01-G missile launcher; Missile Type: standard EFR 10-pound short-range ground-assault missile with computer-guided warhead; Effective Range: 83 miles; Payload: 27 missiles; ROF: 1, 2, or 3 missiles within two seconds.

ELECTRONICS:
             1x Microwave Radio Communications array with a 12,000-mile range.       
             1x Laser Communications array with a 10,000-mile range.
             1x SLV communications array with a 5 light year range.
             1x LADAR array with a range of 20,000 miles.
             1x Passive EMS array with a 500,000-mile range.
             1x Active EMS array with a 1000 mile range.
             1x Multispectral video/optical array with a range of 1000 miles.
             1x Gravitational/Antigravity Control Unit with repulsines (in wings); Effect: Provides artificial lift, g-force compensation, and enhanced maneuverability.
           
DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
             2x Titan Technologies TT-EEFF-20 omnidirectional Electro-Element Force-Field generators; Range: 10 feet from hull; Power Requirement: 20 megawatts; Output: forms a "solid" barrier of electron-element energy that can withstand 14,400 gigajoules of force (energy, kinetic, and heat damage) each generator.

             8x Pallas Arms PA-AM2 4-shot 2-pound anti-missile bomblets; Effective Range: 200 yards; Payload: 40 bomblets each; ROF: 1-4 bomblets per discharge with a cyclic rate of 120 bomblets per minute.

Description/Overview:
        The PA-03 Protean Aerospace fighter was a further development of the PS-01A, PI-02, and PF-04U Protean fighter family of transformable mecha.  It was built by the Titan Technologies Company of the Neo-Hebrew government at Saturn in 2180 AD after a force-readiness assessment determined that the Protean fighters of the 1st Interplanetary War effort did not adequately fill the need for a purely atmospheric attack and defense fighter.  While the PF-04U was certainly an excellent planetary assault fighter, it was not a good atmospheric attack/defense unit since its purpose was to dive into a planet's atmosphere, transform, and secure a landing zone for the mecha troop transports to deploy MBRs.  The PA-03 on the other hand was meant to replace the MBR-01C, HBR-01D/K, and MBR-01B1 mecha still in service with the JDF at the end of the 1st Interplanetary War.  Therefore, the Shinden's role was not as support for the Main Battle Robots of the Saturn forces, but rather as a total replacement for them.  It was for this reason that the Shinden lacks an interplanetary drive.  Its four Stellar Dynamics SD-FT-3 3-megawatt fusion thrusters were all the fighter needed for super-sonic flight within an Earth-like atmosphere.  This quartet of engines were also enough to allow the fighter to achieve orbit under its own power for planets that were up to 1.2-gs. 
        The walker/robot drive-train engine was one DaengJäger RWE-200 engine, which was capable of producing a normal running speed of 50 mph for the mecha.  This gave the PA-03 a suitable speed for a battle robot, and allowed it to compete with anything in the Ceres military (the force this fighter was expected to do combat with). 
        The power plant of the PA-03 was the same as that of the PS-01, one 310-megawatt IPFF-310 ion plasma fusion furnace built by MacroTechnologies supplied power for all of the aerospace fighter's needs. 
        One of the unique aspects of the PA-03 Shinden was that it was a two-man fighter.  The pilot controlled the main piloting functions of the fighter; the gunpod, and the proximal weapon.  The navigator/gunner controlled the sensors and communications of the fighter as well as the mini-missile launchers and outside ordinance.  These pilots were trained in pairs so that a synergistic combat technique could be established between them, and many pairings proved to be highly effective in combat. 
         The main weapon of the PA-03 was its Titan Technologies TT-GP903AC triple-barrel 90-millimeter gunpod unit.  This autocannon gunpod was the main weapon system of the fighter, and while it was the same gunpod as that of the PI-02, the range of TT-GP903A was well suited planetary combat.
         The PA-03 Shinden also used a proximal weapon system. One Militia Military Industries MMI-BR-VB16  sixteen foot vibro-blade was mounted on the fighter and useful in robot mode only.  This sword was formidable, and gave the Shinden a much needed advantage in planetary combat that the PS-01A and PI-02 lacked (the PF-04U did have its own proximal weapon: a plasma-ax).
          The primary long-range offensive weaponry of the PA-03 was the combination of Pallas Arms PA-MM105 and Pallas Arms PA-MM205 mini-missile launchers.  These were the same type of launchers as those found on the PI-02 Interceptor. The PA-MM105s were 5-shot launchers, while the PA-MM205 were 20-shot launcher racks.  These launchers were usually used in unison and their missiles fired in volleys of various numbers depending on the size and count of the enemies the pilot faced.  These missile launchers carried a combined total of 340 mini-missiles, enough for two full volleys of 170 from all the launchers.
         Outside ordinance varied for the fighter depending on the mission and ranged from light load-outs, to heavy weapon load-outs and even EWAC configurations.  AUS-01 (Armor Upgrade System) units could also be attached to this fighter.   
         PA-03 Shinden aerospace fighters were initially going to be fitted with standard I-field generators for defense, and the Pallas Arms PA-AM2 anti-missile bomblet launchers.  However, tests of the PA-03 in what Saturn military analysts viewed as "real-world" combat simulations showed that the I-field would not protect the fighter long enough in intense combat with the Ceres or USR forces.  Therefore, the Saturn high command gave the "green-light" for Titan Technologies to produce a working model of their then experimental Electro-Element Force Field systems that were based on the alien (Varna) mechanisms recovered from wrecks of alien craft near Titan.  Two generators were fitted to the PA-03 (one inside of each wing) allowing for a redundancy in case one of the newly designed generators failed in combat.  This duo of electron-element force fields created an escort-ship level of protection that few (if any) battle robots of the 2180s could penetrate with their weaponry.  It made the PA-03 a nearly invincible weapons platform (in single combat: battle-robot to battle-robot) during the Ceres Conflict of the early 2180s. 
         The PA-03 was replaced by subsequent models all through the later half of the 22nd century and nearly the entire first half of the 23rd.  This fighter became the genesis for legions of variable atmospheric fighter types to come.