Wildcat

The Wildcat fighter was introduced in the Confederation Navy around 2600. Each piece costed 50 million.

Ensign graduates of the Confederation Service Academy were trained in Wildcats. But around 2630 they were already past their design limits; they were still in use in 2634, with outdated engines, and pilots experienced stress flaws. There was 1/3 chance to die within 5 years of usage.

The fleet board begged the Senate Appropriations Committee for an additional 10 million for a Wildcat upgrade. As the project did not interested personally Senator Jamison More, he locked it in committee for 3.5 years, and thanks to financial cutbacks, the replacement was expected not earlier than 2637.

Ensign Geoffrey Tolwyn politely (but publicly) accused Senator More for neglecting the pilots's longevity because neither the upgrade facility nor the main factory for its replacement went to his district of Primus III; he publicly expressed his hope that More would get his political deal, and force the Senate to build the facilities on his world so that both More's family would profit, and the pilots would fly better craft.