F-302 fighter-interceptor

"Now, while many of the 302's systems were retro-engineered from Goa'uld technology, it is entirely human built."

- Samantha Carter

The F-302 fighter-interceptor is the production model of the X-302 hyperspace fighter, an air and space superiority vehicle operated by the United States Air Force, the Russian Federation and possibly the People's Republic of China. It became Earth’s first space-worthy fighter-interceptor. The “Prometheus” and ”Daedalus”-class warship carry one and two squadrons of F-302 fighter-interceptors. They have been used for planetary defense and stationed on off-world at locations such as the Alpha Site on P4X-650, the Gamma Site and Icarus Base. In addition to aerial combat, they are also designed to transport and deploy objects such as satellites into orbit. It has, thus far, proved superiority over both Death Gliders and Wraith Darts mainly due to its missiles, which are more effective in dogfight scenarios than forward firing energy weapons.

Overview
When the experimental X-302 hyperspace fighter was added to the Tau'ri fleet, it became officially known as the F-302 fighter-interceptor. A space-worthy fighter-interceptor aircraft reverse-engineered from Goa'uld technology but entirely human-built, unlike its predecessor, the X-301 Interceptor. Earth now commands a fleet of F-302s. The Prometheus and Daedalus-class warships such the Odyssey carry one and two squadrons of these vessels respectively. The ships have been used in the defense of the planet, and they have also been stationed at off-world bases such as the Alpha Site on P4X-650, the Gamma Site and Icarus Base. F-302s can seat up to two pilots and are most often used in aerial combat situations, but they are also capable of transporting and deploying objects such as satellites into orbit. They are one of the most valuable assets at the Tau'ri's disposal - they can stand toe to toe with 2-3 Goa'uld Death Gliders or Wraith Darts and win. Their main advantage is their missiles, which are better in dogfights than the forward firing energy weapons of its enemies.

Features
After the largely successful testing of the X-302 hyperspace fighter, the craft entered production with only slight modifications. The hyperdrive, which had originally been intended to allow interstellar travel, was altered to provide only short intra-system hops. Also, the two jet exhausts were modified so as to function as rockets in outer-atmosphere combat.

The F-302 fighter-interceptor has four different sets of engines: air breathing jets, modified aerospikes for high altitude, a rocket booster, and a hyperspace window generator. The Goa'uld Death Gliders are not capable of entering hyperspace because the engine to create a hyperspace window would be much too large. But, because the F-302 uses Naquadria to power the hyperdrive window generator, the F-302 has a more compact hyperdrive engine and thus became the first human-built space craft thought to be capable of interstellar travel. Because of the instability of the Naquadria, however, the hyperspace window can only be generated for a very brief moment, thus greatly limiting the F-302's interstellar travel capabilities.

Because the F-302 cannot maintain a hyperspace window for a long period of time, it is not capable of prolonged interstellar travel. In order to get it from one planet to another within the galaxy, Stargate Command disassembles the aircraft and transports it through the Stargate. F-302s do not require a very long runway, possibly having STOL capabilities, making them easy to adapt to various locations. Even with their limited hyperspace capability, the F-302s have proven their usefulness in battle situations and are stationed both on Earth and at off-world bases, such as the Alpha Site and the Gamma Site.

The X-302 hyperspace fighter reached the hypersonic speed of Mach 6 inside Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 30 kilometers. The interceptor uses the modified aerospike engines in high altitudes. These capabilities were most likely inherited by the F-302. Along with Inertial dampeners, the F-302 also has the maneuverability of an F-22 Raptor and the ride of a Boeing 747 airliner.

In addition to standard landing gear, it possesses three grappling cables that allow it to latch onto another object. The cables are able to withstand considerable strain, enabling the craft to tow objects far larger than the fighter itself. It also possesses a small cargo or bomb bay, which was used to deploy an anti-Replicator satellite over the Alpha Site.

The F-302 has hundreds of safety mechanisms to compensate for anything that could go wrong. It also has an autopilot which cuts in to ensure safety. As with other Earth aircraft, the F-302, like its predecessors, the X-301 Interceptor and X-302 hyperspace fighter, features an ejection system allowing the occupants of the craft to escape the vehicle.

When an F-302 is destroyed, its inertial dampeners emit an Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which can easily interfere with electrical and communications signals. This was discovered during the clean-up following the battle with Anubis's Al'kesh and Death Gliders in Antarctica. The phenomenon was studied by scientists at Area 51 and was determined to be caused by the concussive force of the craft's destruction interfering with the artificial gravity field generated by the inertial dampeners.

F-302s are armed with highly effective dual Railguns and modified AIM 120A air-to-air missiles. The warheads on said missiles have been enhanced with Naquadah and are capable of inflicting heavy damage to the hyperdrive systems of Wraith Hive ships. The F-302 can also carry tactical nuclear missiles. This is not a normal feature of the craft, but they can be retrofitted with them.

The F-302 has also been shown to be equipped with a payload bay on the underside of the craft, as seen when Teal'c piloted an F-302 to deploy a Replicator disruptor satellite in orbit over the Alpha Site. Whether this payload bay can be used to carry additional weapons remains to be seen.

History
The F-302 saw its first use against the forces of Anubis, in which its hyperdrive was used to bypass the shields of his mothership and disable its primary weapon. Since then, it has handled itself well in combat against both the Goa'uld Death Glider and Wraith Dart.

Both the BC-303 and the BC-304-classes have been outfitted with a complement of F-302 fighter-interceptors. The Prometheus, the only BC-303 constructed, was outfitted with a squadron of eight F-302s. Additionally, every 304 carries twice as many fighters as the Prometheus.

In exchange for use of the Alpha Gate, the United States provided Russia with the plans for both the X-302 hyperspace fighter and X-303. The Russian BC-304 Korolev carried a complement of F-302s.

The F-302s have since been used actively by the Tau'ri fleet and have participated in most major battles of the Tau'ri.

When the Wraith computer virus took over the Daedalus, it took control of the 302 Lt. Colonel John Sheppard was piloting and flew him away from the ship after he thwarted its attempt to draw the Wraith in by using the ship's long-range transmitter. Sheppard was beamed out, but the virus kept the 302 following the Daedalus. When the crew tried to destroy the virus by shutting down the ship's systems and rebooting with clean back-ups, the virus survived by downloading itself into the navigational computers of all of the 302s in the fighter bay. When Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay tried to stop the virus by removing the navigation computers, it survived because it still controlled the 302 located outside the ship, so the two took the 302 they were in and battled the virus-controlled ship, eventually destroying it. Once the virus had no more 302s to control and hide in, it was successfully eradicated by a third shutdown.

During the Battle of M2S-445, the Daedalus dispatched its F-302s to defend the ship and take out the main weapons of Michael's cruiser. They succeeded and also drew out a force of Wraith Darts, allowing Sheppard and his team to sneak on board the ship and rescue Teyla Emmagan. The 302s took out the Darts and flew out of the way as the Daedalus destroyed the cruiser.

In 2009 during the Battle of the Super-hive, Sheppard decided to launch a first strike against the Super-hive with a squadron of F-302s that were on standby with Earth Defense. Sheppard had them equipped with nuclear warheads to make them more effective and hopefully powerful enough to take out the Hive. The squadron was successfully fitted with nukes, but were deployed instead to cover Area 51 from a Wraith Dart attack. All of the squadron except Sheppard's 302 were destroyed in the skirmish and part of Area 51 was destroyed. In a last desperate move, Sheppard flew his 302 into orbit and once the Hive got close enough, blasted his way through the Dart Bay doors with a missile. He then landed his F-302 in the Dart Bay and prepared to detonate the nuke the fighter was retrofitted with. After being stopped by McKay, the nuke was rigged with a remote detonator and the F-302 was left by itself and apparently was never detected. Ultimately Sheppard remote detonated his F-302's nuke, destroying the Hive ship.

Later in 2009, Colonel David Telford engaged the fleet attacking Icarus Base in an F-302 along with other 302s from the base and from the George Hammond. Later, F-302s from the George Hammond were used to disable the shielding around the Lucian Alliance outpost so the base could be captured and to rescue Dr. Nicholas Rush who had been captured. The mission failed as the planet was destroyed as the Lucian Alliance dialed Destiny without properly calibrating the power systems, and two F-302s were lost.

Alternate reality

 * In the alternate reality where the Stargate program became public during the Battle of Antarctica, F-302s bombed an Irish village.
 * At least three alternate realities possessed them as the reality jumping Daedalus used to have them, but the crew took them when they abandoned ship, and the reality under alien attack launched an attack against the Alien fighters with them to rescue the nearly disabled Daedalus.
 * The alternate reality where Earth was originally attacked by a Hive ship possessed them, as they combated Wraith Darts above Earth's atmosphere.

Bases

 * Off-world bases
 * Alpha Site
 * Atlantis
 * Gamma Site
 * Icarus Base
 * Omega Site
 * Area 51
 * USS Prometheus (now destroyed)
 * Daedalus-class warships
 * USS Daedalus
 * USS Odyssey
 * RFS Korolev (now destroyed)
 * USS Apollo
 * Sun Tzu
 * USS George Hammond

Fighter wings

 * 1st SFW - "Snake Skinners"
 * 201st Space Fighter Squadron - "Darkstar Titans"
 * 510th Space Fighter Squadron - "Death Angels"
 * 701st Space Fighter Squadron - "Dragon Riders"
 * 901st Space Fighter Squadron - "Flying Tigers"
 * 1st TFW - "Wraithwaxers"

Pilots

 * Lt. General Jack O'Neill
 * Colonel Samantha Carter
 * Teal'c
 * Colonel Cameron Mitchell
 * Lt. Colonel John Sheppard
 * Major Evan Lorne
 * Major Pat Meyers
 * Riggs
 * Redmond
 * Lt. Adam Banks
 * Alec Colson (on a joy ride)
 * Colonel David Telford
 * Lt. Matthew Scott (in a flight simulator)