The Hexastalia Aerospace Industries X/510
Canon: the Hexastalian Aerospace Industries X510 was a canceled 1980s fourth generation multirole fighter aircraft developed by Hexastalian Aerospace Industries for the Hexastalian Air Force to replace their aging fleet of V/60 Eagle and V/64 Nephilim aircraft. HAI produced two designs: one with canards and delta wings and a second, more typical design with swept wings. The program was canned in 1987 due to defense budget cuts by the incumbent Conservative Union-Vanguard Party coalition government. One full scale, non flying model had been produced, as well as preproduction tests completed. Hexastalia would order 36 Andrennian Drakon-E1s the following year.
The Two Designs that were evaluated for the X/510
What if it hadn’t been canned?
(NON CANON)
Two problems faced the X510: the first was that the program was hampered by delays several times, leading to an aircraft that simply wouldn’t be available when the Air Force needed it to be. The second was that developing a whole new plane is really damn expensive. So what would have happened if the budget was never slashed and the program delays were less severe?
For the purpose of this what-if scenario, the budget is never slashed and remains at around 1.6% of GDP into the 2000s. Additionally, HAI decides not to wait on Simon Dynamics’ development of a suitable afterburning turbofan and instead just decides to buy General Electric F404 engines for the program. With most of the problems solved, the X510 was adopted by the Hexastalian Air Force in 1988 as the V/88 Magpie. A total of 80 aircraft of several variants were ordered.
The Hexastalian Aeronautic Industries V/88 is an all weather supersonic multirole combat aircraft designed as both a fourth generation fighter and attack aircraft. The V/88 is designed as a very versatile aircraft owing to its avionics, electronic systems, and aerodynamic characteristics.
Various VE/88s throughout the years and variations
This image was made using Darth Panda's P.96F artwork as a base, I do not claim ownership of this artwork
The Magpie is a twin engine, midwing, multirole, tactical aircraft with high maneuverability owing to its digital fly-by-wire system, excellent thrust to weight ratio, and leading edge wing extensions, which grant the Magpie a high degree of controllability at high angles of attack.
The cockpit of the Magpie is much more advanced than its predecessors, being a full (albeit early) glass cockpit with several multifunction displays, allowing the aircraft to switch from fighter to attack roles with the press of a button. The Magpie comes in both single crew members and two crew variants. In both cases, the crew sit in zero-zero ejection seats. In the V/88 the pilot sits at a 15 degree recline and in the -2 variants both crew members sit at 12 degrees. The pilot flies primarily through the use of a side stick (similar to the Raddisson Viggen, as opposed to the center stick used by the Drakon) mounted on his armrest and an engine throttle. Conventional rudder pedals are also mounted in the cockpit. Various switches and control elements were moved to HOTAS controls on the throttle and controllers. Controls from the side stick are transmitted to the various control surfaces via the fly by wire system. The various upgrade programs through the decades have kept the cockpit modern and effective.
The Magpies were originally designed and built with an IDLR-A all weather multimode I Band pulse-Doppler radar system. Additionally, an IKM-3 Infrared Search and Track System is installed on the left side of the Magpie’s nose. The sensors are rounded out by an ALARM radar warning receiver and an inbuilt electronic warfare suite, and a military avionics bus.
The Magpie’s armament is nothing particularly notable. As its gun, the Magpie carries a 27mm autocannon with 150 rounds of ammunition mounted in the right wing root. A total of nine hard points could be found on the base model V/88: two wingtip launch rails for short range infrared missiles, six underwing hardpoints, 3 under each wing, and one under-fuselage hardpoint. The initial, un-upgraded V/88s had a relatively narrow range of weapons available to them: 70mm rocket pods, unguided bombs ranging from 250 to 2000 lbs (only the center under-fuselage hardpoint could support 2000 lbs bombs), guided bombs of the same range, AIM-9 Sidewinders, and AIM-7 Sparrow air to air missiles, and AGM-88 HARM and AGM-65 Maverick air to surface missiles. Future upgrades widened the array of weapons that the Magpie can carry.
The V/88 Magpie is powered by a pair of General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan engines producing 11,000 lbf (49 kilonewtons) of thrust dry or 17,750 lbf (79 kilonewtons) of thrust with full afterburner, each. The Magpie has a very favorable thrust/weigh ratio that allows it to hit a maximum speed of Mach 2. Its stated combat range was 700 kilometers with a typical air to air combat loadout. All this was rounded out with a service ceiling of 50,000 feet, a G limit of 7.5 Gs, and a generous maximum takeoff weight proved that the Magpie was nothing to be scoffed at.
Variants:
V/88: the initial single seat, production variant of the Magpie. 48 ordered by Hexastalian Air Force
V/88-2: two seater variant of the V/88, sacrificing fuel capacity for a WSO. 24 ordered by Hexastalian Air Force
SE/88-2: the two seat conversion trainer variant of the V/88-2, back seater has duplicate controls to takeover flight if needed. 8 ordered by Hexastalian Air Force
V/88N: navalized variant offered for export.
V/88E-2: a block upgrade installed in 2003. Reinforced wing hardpoints and added a hardpoint for sensor pods on the right of the aircraft’s fuselage. Plumbed the centerline pylon and two inner wing pylons for drop tanks. Switched F404 engines for F404-GE-402 engines, producing 10% more maximum static thrust. Integrated MICA and AMRAAM air to air missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Replaced IDLR-A radar with the AESZT active electronically scanned array radar set.
V/88E-2: same as above but now with two crew members
SE/88E-2: swapped engines for the F404-GE-402s
V/88J: upgrade that began rollout in 2019. Improved avionics, upgraded mission computer and computer architecture, various ergonomic improvements, cockpit upgrades, integration of ASRAAM, IRIS-T and Meteor air-to-air missiles, JSOW and GBU-39 glide bombs, KEPD cruise missiles, JDAM bombs. Integrated helmet mounted display.
V/88J-2: see above but with two crew members.
SE/88J: integrated the same cockpit, avionics and electronic upgrades as the V/88J. Also integrated the helmet mounted display.
The Magpie would’ve been offered for export as well, competing with other fighters on the market at the time, most notably the Goyanean Viggen and Andrennian Draken initially. Before being canceled, HAI was already planning on offering the X/510 to countries like Tardine and Ultramont who were looking to replace their aging fighter fleets soon. Could it have outcompeted the Draken or Viggen and become the prime fighter jet on Eras? Almost certainly not. But, with a bit of elbow grease it’s not inconceivable that it could’ve seen some export success.
