Earth Fighter

Another sketch drawing for my novel.

Earth had the first fighter interceptors to operate in space. Over the years the basic design didn't change much. Long and thin the ship relied on four omnidirectional thrusters for manoeuvres that were mounted fore and aft on dedicated armatures , two front mounted cannons for short range and two large missile bays for long range attacks. The missile bays could be adapted for bombing runs on planetary targets.
Despite later weapons developments resulting in Pulse Plasma Turrets for capital ships and mid range space bases the power requirements made upgrading the fighters impractical. Leaving them with relatively crude but effective weapons until the end of the war.
Unfortunately while the fighter was effective in both space and atmosphere it was unable to withstand the forces of leaving or entering an atmosphere. That and other problems; including lack of FTL, limited oxygen supplies, limited (if effective) ordinance and short range sensors meant that they were forever tied to their carriers and bases.
Still the shear impact of these fighters; combined with their agility, firepower and numbers meant that Earth forces could deploy astounding amounts of destructive potential on a battlefield.