ZuT-15 Locust

The ZuT-15 Locust is a light air-support gunthopter synthmorph, first introduced in 2008 NSY and in service with a number of mercenary companies across the Community. The Locust is primarily utilized in light-attack and recon roles, and optimized for urban environments.

The Locust's primary propulsion system is a twelve-winged enthomothopter propulsions system, with three pairs of four long wing-blades distributed across the fuselage to maximize boundary-layer ingestion and thus efficiency. The wings can generate up to 122 kilonewtons of thrust at low speed and sea level, enabling extreme acceleration and maneuverability in urban environments. This is backed by an 75 kilonewton electric jet engine for cruise flight, enabling flight speeds of up to Mach 2 at light loads.

Primary armament is a 6 megawatt pulsed free-electron laser turret on the chin, optimized to fire 600 kilojoule pulses at 10 pulses per second. Secondary armament is 2 armament hardpoints on the side, each with a 405 kg load. Typical load for each is a 48-shot 64mm mini-missile pod, though other armaments are common, including heavier AT and AA missiles, 12-megawatt laser gunpods. A recent additional option is a single belly-mounted 80-megajoule anti-tank synchrocannon, supported by both hardpoints.

The Locust is powered by an 8-gigajoule SMES power pack, providing for up to 2 hours of high-performance flight or 22 minutes of continous lasing.