Development History

Development:

The pkf 85 Falke was a rapid development project based upon captured Strahl technology. The SDR had deployed small antigravity drones in the battlefield such as the Neuspotter and Krachenvogel, but the antigravity field was dangerous to humans. There was not a practical vehicle application of AG technology until the SDR developed the Firefly. The experimental XK-427 Firefly was a two manned antigravity aircraft. On its maiden voyage, March 3rd, 2885, it crashed landed into Mercenary territory. The pilot escaped and the FireFly was recovered intact. From this captured technology, the Mercenary Laboratories developed the AGhc.120TRM antigravity lift system The Mercenary Army quickly adapted the AG technology and developed the first prototype of the Falke.

On June 14th, 2885 at the Kulelvo Air Force Base, the Air Force Marshall flew the first test flights and was so impressed with the Falke's performance that he ordered production of 500 units to begin immediately. The Falkes were wanted to play a critical part in the large offensive Operation Super Hammer in early September. The Air Force Marshall was adamant that at least 100 Falkes were needed to participate in the offensive. Production was slow which pushed back the offensive until September 23rd, 2885. Because of the delay in the launch date, Operation Super Hammer lost its golden window of opportunity and was detected by the SDR and the offensive ended in disaster for the Mercenary Army. The Falke had a successful combat debut in Operation Super Hammer despite the failure of the overall offensive. The Falkes disabled 13 SDR aircraft, and destroyed 9 aircraft, 25 armored vehicles and 78 non-armored vehicles to a loss of only 2 Falkes.

Performance:

The Falke was well armored and highly maneuverable. Its main weaknesses were the insufficient armament and lack of training for its pilots. Lack of machines and experienced maintenance personal and possible fuel shortages limited the pilot's training time dramatically. The first Falkes were equipped with the 2.3cm Mk54 minigun which had a tremendous rate of fire but lacked sufficient penetration power against heavily armored vehicles. A middle infrared laser was installed on a few Falkes but due to poor ventilation and it's instability in dense moisture in the atmosphere and dust from ground combat meant that the first laser systems were not a real success and many went back to the 2.3cm minigun. A heavier hitting 3.5cm minigun was installed on the second series of Falke to roll off the assembly line.

The real armament goal of the pilots was the Excimer high-output laser which was equipped on the SAFS Mk1 suits. However, priority for this laser went to the SAFS suits, so only 1 in 10 Falkes were ever equipped with this laser. It too suffered from dispersion in the atmosphere, but one hit was all it took to down an enemy aircraft. The Excimer laser equipped Falke was at its best when it was flying low on the battlefield and engaging ground targets.

The armor was more than adequate for such a small aircraft. The real mechanical weakness was the relatively brittle stabilizers.

Early Deployment:

The first 40 Falkes were delivered to the 1st and 2nd Troops of the 500th Special Fighting Bomber Air Force Division, with 16 delivered to each troop and 8 held in reserve. There were plans to equip the 3rd Troops with the Falke, but low production numbers meant that this Troop was equipped with captured enemy equipment; 13 Hornisse and 3 Fledermaus.

Notable JKG500 Pilots:

Commander 1st Troops Lieutenant General Annoi Jutireinen, the Top Ace downed 19 J-40 (S) Fledermaus and 3 PK40 Hornisse.

The Commander 2nd Troops General Halfe Jutireinen, brother of Annoi Jutireinen, downed 5 J-40 (S) Fledermaus and 1 PK40 Hornisse.

The 3rd Troops collectively shot down 4 PK40 Hornisse. They were lead by 2nd Lieutenant Erich Taube

Specifications: