TCA 215 Aquila

The Twin Crown Aerospace 215 Aquila is a medium-weight tactical fighter aircraft designed by Stardust.

History
Twin Crown Aerospace Industries - Air Supremacy Project no. 9, Project GOLDENROD HARPY

FF-217 Design History

ASP-9 was an internal TCA requisition for a twin-engined fighter aircraft with good all-around performance for air combat. At the time of ASP-9’s development start, TCA’s relatively new Combat Aircraft Design Bureau (CADB) was only moderately experienced in the field of manned fighters. Construction of a well-engineered fighter was not yet completely understood, and CADB had to bring in consultants from Advanced Combat Systems Division (ACSD), at the time known for their industry-leading PEGASys combat drones, recently coming off of the success of the PEGASys-D3.

GOLDENROD HARPY was completed and entered service as the FF-215 Aquila.

This design was considered to have middling performance. The endeavor was not built to answer any specific fighter program or contract and there were no notable combat actions of this airframe. Development continued on ASP-9 as engineering experience increased. ASP-9-2 featured a set of multiple airframe designs created by CADB to further gain experience in combat aircraft design. Two designs stood out: a swept-wing main wing airframe and a delta-esque main wing airframe, both with conventional and three-surface configuration options.

These multiple airframe designs remained in TCA’s private testing airfield for a very long time, waiting for a program or contract for them to be deployed to, and had already reserved the designation FF-217.

Eventually, TCA’s CADB finalized and honed what would become the core airframe of ASP-9-2, selecting the large delta-esque. Multiple design iterations of the FF-217 airframe would be made before its first official combat deployment in a [JS5]-compliant configuration, using the FF-217J variant. The FF-217J Super Aquila featured additional auxiliary engines for increased combat TWR, breaking from the original design’s twin-engined nature to a 2-2 engine configuration.

FF-217J would be the first airframe variant to see multiple blocks/subvariants, mainly J-5, J-6, J-7, and J-8, though the combat records of these are still unclear. Known configurations other than [JS5] are [RT]/[RT1], [FD], [FC], and [RP2]. FF-217K existed as a lengthened airframe for greater range and payload capacity.

In the interim waiting for a new contract, TCA received orders for older, more basic FF-217A airframes. These were delivered and saw combat in [RP1] configuration. Spare FF-217A Aquila airframes from this procurement were picked up by one “Manley” spaceflight program for flight tests. Eventually, the long-awaited [RT2] fighter program arrived. This contract was addressed with a number of Air Supremacy Programs, with ACSD winning the first TCA internal selection bid with its advanced ASP-22 (FF-241), as well as the second bid with ASP-22 Extended (FF-242) when FF-241 failed the initial tests of the fighter program.

The [RT2] development program continued after an attack on the Round Table, with TCA development programs accelerating after the acquistion of new weapons and flight technologies. Both CADB and ACSD went through multiple semi-satisfactory FFX programs, with both suffering multiple setbacks. After some time, it soon eventually seemed that ACSD would win the internal TCA selection yet again with an upgraded 241 and a newer fighter, [DATA REDACTED], especially after CADB suffered from multiple unsatisfactory FFX24x series aircraft.

CADB was recommended to return to its standard affairs with more conventional airframes. The department decided to address its aging 217 airframe by upgrading it with modern materials and technologies, producing the 217M variant. The 217M features the largest airframe out of all 217s produced thus far, and is constructed with new airframe construction methods. The “augmented twin-jet” layout has benefited from far more powerful engine options, with [RT2]-specification J-119 engines as the primary engine set and TCA’s own TFJ-200 (High Output, Narrow Engine-60) engines as the augmentation engines. (The TFJ-200s actually provide more power at cruising speeds than the J-119s.)

This variant, in [RT2] competition flight testing, proved surprisingly very effective, overtaking the ACSD projects in results, which themselves ran into teething problems. The lack of stealth was compensated by the airframe’s flight performance capabilities and payload capacity. FF-217M has proven to be an immense success, even without final verdict if it becomes the [RT2] final selection. CADB’s reputation and engineering experience was boosted by the 217M project, and the department has since gone on to design a number of other successful test airframes.

FF-217N has been produced as an option for buyers looking for a modernized 217 but with the form factor and size of the 217J or 217K, to ease operations management and transitioning. However, it comes at the cost of somewhat reduced maneuverability from the 217M.