Manta heavy fighter

The Manta fighter was a fictional spaceplane in the Wing Commander computer game. It was fielded by the Nephilim as their standard heavy fighter.

Unlike the more numerous Moray, the Manta was a reasonably successful design. While not very maneuverable it had a fairly heavy weapons loadout. All versions had two heavy gorgon cannon and a light plasma cannon. Three distinct versions existed.

The first type was the most common and carried three IFF missiles, one image-recognition missile and two MIRV rockets that deployed IFF missiles at the end of their run.

The second type, the Red Manta, carried a single very heavy torpedo in place of the MIRVs of the fighter version.

The third type was the least commonly encountered and also the most dangerous. It carried five long-range anti-turret missiles, a single very heavy torpedo and one image recognition missile. Thus, it was capable not only of defanging a capital ship but also of damaging or destroying it.

Like most Nephilim fighters, they relied on numerical superiority but were certainly dangerous opponents.