The Assault Craft is the smallest dedicated combat vessel in the Vaygr fleet.
Background[]
It specialized in dogfighting other fighters, with excellent speed, maneuverability, and a single, powerful forward-mounted Flechette Cannon. It is sometimes classed as an 'interceptor' by other races, and this suits it well as it excels at intercepting and destroying other fighters.
Adhering to the typical Vaygr tactic of employing strength in numbers, 7 fighters comprise a squad for the same cost of a 5 ship squad of Interceptors. Its armor, being lower in quality than that of Hiigaran interceptors, makes it a poor match against larger corvettes and frigates, but its speed allows it to survive a brief engagement with such vessels, acting as a distraction for larger ships in the fleet. Even so, it would be unwise to use these vessels for many tasks other than those for which it is designed.
Its reputation as a fighter-killer deterred enemy fighter wings from entering the combat zone, thus denying an enemy fighter support. Often, fighter commanders will have assault craft attack the subsystems of larger vessels with little anti-fighter weaponry in order to goad enemy fighters to a dogfight in which they are outnumbered and, ultimately, outclassed. They were also excellent at performing hit-and-run attacks on resourcing operations, using their great speed to attack quickly and withdraw to avoid a fight against superior forces.