I think I already suggested this once before. The North American X-15 Rocketplane is a relatively old, yet very good little piece of technology. It has managed to reach speeds well in the range of Mach 6.72, reaching the speed of speed of 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h; 2,021 m/s), tts speed record, in fact, has not been surpassed by any aircraft since. It also has flow as high as 80 miles, where its high enough to be considered space. In fact, the pilots who did that actually earned Astronaut wings!
Specs from wikipedia:
Specifications
Other configurations include the Reaction Motors XLR11 equipped X-15, and the long version.
General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 50 ft 9 in (15.45 m)
Wingspan: 22 ft 4 in (6.8 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.12 m)
Wing area: 200 ft2 (18.6 m2)
Empty weight: 14,600 lb (6,620 kg)
Loaded weight: 34,000 lb (15,420 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,420 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Reaction Motors XLR99-RM-2 liquid propellant rocket engine, 70,400 lbf at 30 km (313 kN)
Performance
Maximum speed: 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h)
Range: 280 mi (450 km)
Service ceiling: 67 mi (108 km, 354,330 ft)
Rate of climb: 60,000 ft/min (18,288 m/min)
Wing loading: 170 lb/ft2 (829 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 2.07
Now imagine something like it, but built with late 90s technology.
Something like a Rocketplane seems like a nice "hack" or alternative before/during the Interceptor phase of the game. The Rocketplane would probably be a speed-focused alternative to the Interceptor. A rocketplane like the X-15 would probably be slower and have less range once deployed with weaponry, but still outspeed the Interceptor. The Interceptor has better range, and may be more resistant.
So, my balance suggestions:
- Faster than Interceptor (say, 2x-3x times faster)
- One weapon slot only?
- Less resistance?
- Lower range.
I'm thinking it would be kind of an predecessor to that cool Scramjet X-COM can use later (I don't remember its name).
