Manufacturer: Chassis Number: 5,001 - Crew: 1 Weight: 4.80 tons Length: 5.75 m Width: 4.30 m Height: 1.70 m Engine: Agh.120 TRM Speed: 820 kph Range: 2320 km Radio: FuG43 Sight: TZF5b/f Primary Armament: 1x 2.3 cm 4 barrel Mk54 Gatling Cannon Secondary Armament: Armour: 30 tungsten super ceramic armour Image copyright by Kow Yokoyama. The Mercenary Falke was built by the Mercenaries to be their answer to Shutoral air superiority. It was an anti-gravity vehicle, and was helped along by the crash landing of the Shutoral experimental Firefly craft, but was greatly improved upon. For a start, the Shutoral anti-grav engine gave out harmful pulses that interfered with the human body. The Mercenary engine didn't have such problems. Some three months after the crash landing of the Firefly, the Falke was ready for testing. The test flight of June 14th, 2885 was done in the presence of the Mercenary Air Marshal, who was so impressed with what he saw that he ordered the immediate mass production of some 500 units for the forthcoming Operation 'Super Hammer' which was to be started in September. Unfortunately, when September came forth, only a handful of planes had been completed, and the operation was delayed. Manoeuvres had already started though, and the Operation had to be started on the 23rd September with only a hundred Falke's in service. Due to these delays, Shutoral spy satellites spotted the manoeuvres and the operation was halted half way and deemed a failure. The Falke was built of the same super ceramic armour that coated the SAFS, and in addition also carried the same indirect sighting system. Pilots loved the aircraft, which had good performance and heavy armour, but felt that the 2.3 cm gun wasn't powerful enough. As a result of this, some ten Falke's was built with a laser system. This was more powerful and more accurate than the 2.3 cm cannon, but being a laser, it was very susceptible to atmospheric conditions and more often failed due to fog, cloud and water vapour in the atmosphere. No more laser armed Falke's were built, and the next production batch of aircraft were to be built with a 35 mm gatling machine gun instead. If the Falke had a problem, it was with the stabilisers at the rear of the aircraft. They were too fragile and could be damage quite easily by enemy fire.