The Bloodhawk is a brand-new aerospace fighter design produced in the Outworlds Alliance, a nation know for its ample aerospace assets and pilots.   The OA military heads deemed a new medium-weight fighter was required to fill the dual requirements of interceptor and ground support, suitable to replace many of the aging fighters in the OA's large armada, and lastly, not break the small Periphery nation's bank.   The Bloodhawk from United Outworlders Corporation of Ramora best fulfilled these desires, combining speed, hitting power, and versatility in a single package that performed equally well in both atmosphere and the dark reaches of space.

       The UOC designers used an ancient airform design concept from Terra's 20th Century, the swing-wing principle, in order to grant the Bloodhawk an unparalleled amount of agility when dogfighting. When the wings are flush, the Bloodhawk can accelerate up to its maximum flanking speed of 2700 kph, which is average for its weight class amongst Inner Sphere contemporaries. A standard Pitban 240 Flat-Four fusion turbine provides the thrust, and is shielded quite well from the rear, enabling the Bloodhawk thrust-vectoring nozzles, as well as signature reduction on its foes' instruments. The designers intentionally avoided using an extra-light engine in order to keep costs down and make the fighter more survivable overall.

       A point many observers fail to note in the Bloodhawk's favor is its excellent armor protection. Close to twelve tons of standard Longanecker PlastiSteel armor is molded around the Bloodhawk's exterior, enhancing its aerodynamics greatly, in addition to protecting the pilot and its arsenal.

       True to the design stipulations, the Bloodhawk generally mounts readily-available equipment found across the Inner Sphere, with the exception of its long-range and aft weapons. The Alliance's trading partners in the   Magistracy of Canopus factored heavily in this regard, as the   engine, armor, targeting/comm systems, and some of the weaponry come from that state, and are in fact used on other war machines produced in the Outworlds Alliance

A pair of UOC-manufactured Bical SRM-2 pods are mounted in the nose, granting the pilot a true "point-and-click" weapon just in front of him, while the wings of the craft carry the Bloodhawk's heavy weapons, each carrying a tried-and-true Exostar heavy laser and a new ZeusBolt "Pepper" autocannon from the Magistracy. The lasers afford the Bloodhawk the ability to linger over a battlefield long after ammunition stores have run out   with an offensive posture, and the scatter-shot autocannons, while not very powerful, allow the 'Hawk to snipe at great distances and in a ground support role, plucking off fragile conventional armored vehicles.

Lastly, the Bloodhawk mounts a pair of the excellent extended-range Type 5 medium-grade lasers from Diverse Optics in rearward nacelles. More expensive than other models on the market, the Bloodhawk's design team deemed it necessary to have an excellent rearward defensive posture should it be tailed in a dogfight, and desired nothing but the best from Diverse Optics.

The fighter's heat sink array is spread out evenly across the airframe, distributing its heat sinks and piping equally between its left/right and top/bottom balance factors.   The strategy provides both amazing cooling properties and further enhances the Bloodhawk's aerodynamic profile. In fact, all of the 'Hawks offensive weapons may be fired with only a slight blip appearing on the fighter's heat level readings.

       Even though it is almost fresh off the assembly line, the Bloodhawk has already distinguished itself in combat. a squadron of Bloodhakws had just been delivered to Praxton in the OA when a well-equipped pirate band attacked the planet in search of water, parts and supplies. The 'Hawks were scrambled to meet the pirates' DropShips and fighters head on. As the maelstrom of fighters swarmed about the descending DropShips, the Alliance's 3rd Heavy Wing dispatched one of the DropShips and forced the other to ditch far from its intended landing zone. Having gained air superiority thanks to the Bloodhawks' efforts against the opposing fighters, the Alliance defenders were able to pick off the invaders, eventually subduing them and inprisoning the survivors, while confiscating their combat assets.

       United Outworlders Corporation has proposed two variants of the Bloodhawk, each intended for slightly-different roles. The -2SU replaces the paired light "Pepper" cannons with a single centerline-mounted Imperator Smasher Heavy Ultra autocannon imported from the Free Worlds League. Three tons of ammunition are included in the weapon's pod bay. In order to accommodate the heavy weapon and its stores, both rear-ward lasers had to be removed. This model is intended to be part of a heavy attack wing, either against heavily-armored ground forces, or as a DropShip-buster. The -2SL again discards the light autocannons, replacing them with an impressive missile array. A Holly LRM-10 missile pod is mounted underneath each wing with an integral ton of reloads. A third ton of ammunition is mounted underneath the fuselage with feeder racks leading to both missile racks on either side of the fighter. The -2SL is purported to be a better interceptor and dogfighter than the two other models.

       Neither the -SU or -SL models have proceeded beyond the testing stage, as the OA has yet to sign off on any agreement to purchase these proposed variants.

       Lt. Dick "Gonzo" Richard

       The Lieutenant is notable for his actions in the attack on Praxton which garnered the Bloodhawk its notoriety. Lt. Richard accounted for two fighter kills and an assist on the DropShip "sunk" in that conflict. "Gonzo"'s reputation as a hard-drinking, hard-playing eccentric crosses over into his piloting, as he sometimes takes unnecessary risks as he flies his new Bloodhawk, which he received after having ditched his previous ride, a Lightning, under dubious yet classified circumstances. It is said that the only reason Richard is still flying for the OA is that "he gets results".

       Bloodhawks are filling up the OA fleets ranks like no other fighter before, becoming the preferred medium fighter in all of the Alliance Air Wings it has been delivered. It is unlikely to see the Bloodhawk with any outside militaries unless the Alliance relaxes its grip on its exclusive purchasing rights with UOC.