KIRIN

Introduction
Versatile fighter-bomber with high speed, medium-low durability and excellent maneuverability at low speeds. As with other swing-wing aircraft, it requires careful speed management to remain effective.

Usage
The KIRIN can act similar to a slow interceptor at top speed, while lower speeds suit it moreso to dogfighting. While its Payload/Avionics spread is identical to the ROGUE, its swing wings offer it increased effectiveness as a strike craft — it is highly agile at low speed and is slightly faster than the ROGUE at maximum speed. Unfortunately, its low acceleration limits its ability to respond to threats — careful speed management is required to prevent a pilot from crashing at high speed or stalling in the middle of a dogfight.

The lowered acceleration can reduce margin of pilot-induced error when aligning Micro Bombs since its sluggish acceleration keeps it from accidentally adjusting the bombsight.

This special handling is also marked by its slightly higher upgrade cost. Additionally, while faster, it is also slightly less durable than its ROGUE counterpart.

It does have one niche in having swing-wings: With a booster attached, slowing down to minimum speed and boosting will allow you to perform an incredibly tight loop. Doing a 180 will essentially cause you to fly backwards by using the momentum gained from the booster.

Trivia

 * Like the other swing-wing aircraft, the KIRIN is named after a form of mythological Japanese creature, often depicted as a hooved chimera.