Alliance Challenger

Template:Quote The Alliance Challenger is a medium ship produced by Lakon Spaceways for the Alliance. Like the Alliance Crusader, it is a variant of the Alliance Chieftain, and was designed in response to the encroaching Thargoid threat. Capitalizing on the Chieftain's strengths, the Challenger boasts enhanced specifications in the form of additional weapon hardpoints and more durable armour without making significant alterations to manoeuvrability.

Overview

For owners of the Alliance Chieftain looking for a similar ship with added firepower and durability, the Alliance Challenger delivers. The Challenger trades one Class 3 hardpoint for two additional Class 2 hardpoints, increasing its overall damage output in combat. It also retains the same manoeuvrability of the Chieftain, letting it keep its hardpoints on target and dodge fire. Its true power comes from its increased shield and armour health, which when combined with its mobility lets the Challenger become a very tricky ship to take down. Its extra Class 6 internal compartment lets it bring along a much larger Shield Cell Bank, which significantly boosts the power of its defences. This does come at a minor cost to speed, but once A-rated, the difference between the Challenger and Chieftain is around 15m/s, which will be even smaller with engineering. Base manoeuvrability is identical, though pitch and yaw speeds are slightly lower. The Challenger is more than capable of taking down other medium ships, and even large ships like the Anaconda can become prey due to the Challenger's high mobility and damage output. These traits also make it a strong choice for hunting Thargoid ships.

The Challenger has an increased cargo capacity of 154t over the Chieftain's 122t. This makes the Challenger an adequate trade or piracy vessel, as it is only outdone by the Federal Gunship, Krait Mk II, Krait Phantom, Python, and Corsair for medium ship cargo capacity. It can also make a very good miner, as it has enough hardpoints for all necessary mining tools and decent cargo space. Its high hull strength and military compartments means it can easily defend itself without its shield as well.

The only real downside to the ship, other than the higher cost compared to the Chieftain, is its jump range, which is just under 24 LYs before engineering. As the Challenger is best suited for hull tanking, its jump range will only drop lower when outfitting it with armor, which can make long-distance travel cumbersome.

File:Convergence challenger.png

Alliance Challenger hardpoints convergence

The Challenger's hardpoints are arranged almost identically to the Chieftain, albeit it exchanges the top-most Class 3 hardpoint for two Class 2 hardpoints that are located directly behind the forward landing gear. Utility slots are well-distributed and have minimal obstructions, with two on top roughly in the middle of the craft, and two on the underside slightly further back. Like the Chieftain, the Challenger has a second seat for Multicrew.

Although the Challenger's upgrades come with a higher purchase price than the Chieftain, it is still substantially cheaper than a number of other popular medium vessels, such as the Krait Mk II, Python, Corsair, and Fer-de-Lance, while still being able to take on each of those ships in a firefight.

The Alliance Challenger is most commonly available in Alliance systems. Despite its name and affiliation, it requires no rank or reputation with the Alliance to purchase.

Purchase Locations

System	Station	Date Seen	Discount
Shinrarta Dezhra	Jameson Memorial	Always available	10% discount
Brestla	i Sola Prospect	Always available	20% surcharge
Alioth	Golden Gate	Always available
LTT 4772	Shelley Terminal	Sept. 25, 2018	Not Available
10 Canum Venaticorum	Alvares Bastion	Jun. 28, 2018
Zaonce	Ridley Scott Station	Jun. 28, 2018
G 122-60	Watts Enterprise	Jun. 29, 2018
Furuhjelm III-674	Tshang City	Jun. 29, 2018
LHS 2771	Sarafanov Vision	Oct. 16, 2018
LHS 3356	Pytheas Orbital	August 08, 2018
Kaushpoos	Neville Horizons	August 24, 2018

Outfitting

Main article: Outfitting

All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Alliance Challenger.

Category	Default System	Default Rating	Default Class	Max Class
Small Hardpoint	Empty	--	--	1
	Empty	--	--	1
	Empty	--	--	1
Medium Hardpoint	Pulse Laser (L)	F	1	2
	Pulse Laser (L)	F	1	2
	Empty	--	--	2
Large Hardpoint	Empty	--	--	3
Utility Mount	Empty	--	--	0
	Empty	--	--	0
	Empty	--	--	0
	Empty	--	--	0
Bulkheads	Lightweight Alloys	C	1	8
Reactor Bay	Power Plant	E	6	6
Thrusters Mounting	Thrusters	E	6	6
Frame Shift Drive Housing	Frame Shift Drive	E	5	5
Environment Control	Life Support	E	5	5
Power Coupling	Power Distributor	E	6	6
Sensor Suite	Sensors	E	4	4
Fuel Store	Fuel Tank [x16]	C	4	4
Internal Compartments	Cargo Rack [x32]	E	5	6
	Shield Generator	E	6	6
	Empty (M)	--	--	4
	Empty (M)	--	--	4
	Empty (M)	--	--	4
	Cargo Rack [x4]	E	2	3
	Cargo Rack [x4]	E	2	3
	Empty	--	--	2
	Empty	--	--	2
	Supercruise Assist	E	1	1
	(PAS)	I	1	1

• (L) = Loaned Module
• [x#] = Capacity
• (PAS) = Reserved solely for the Planetary Approach Suite or Advanced Planetary Approach Suite
• (M) = Military Compartment reserved for Hull Reinforcement Package, Module Reinforcement Package, Shield Cell Bank, Guardian Shield Reinforcement Package, Guardian Hull Reinforcement Package, or Guardian Module Reinforcement Package

Notes

• The Alliance Challenger was released with the Chapter Two (3.1) update of Elite Dangerous: Beyond on June 28, 2018.

Trivia

• The Challenger is the third ship to be manufactured by Lakon Spaceways for the Alliance, after the Alliance Chieftain and Type-10 Defender.
• Like the Alliance Chieftain, the Challenger is named after a British tank, specifically the FV4030 Challenger.
• The design of the Challenger seems to be based off an Attack Helicopter; with a notably similar cockpit and weapon locations to various models (below the nose, and two symmetrically placed on the underside).
• An early model of the Alliance Chieftain is virtually identical to the design of the Challenger.

Videos

• 3.1 Content Showcase with Alliance Challenger preview
  3.1 Content Showcase with Alliance Challenger preview
• File:Sagittarius Eye Bulletin - Alliance Challenger Debut
• File:The Challenger Elite Dangerous
• File:The Alliance Challenger Review - Chimp or Banana? -Elite Dangerous-

Gallery

• Alliance Challenger
  Alliance Challenger
• Alliance Challenger interior bridge
  Alliance Challenger interior bridge
• Alliance Challenger Combat
  Alliance Challenger Combat
• Krait Mk II and Alliance Challenger
  Krait Mk II and Alliance Challenger
• Alliance Challenger in Hangar
  Alliance Challenger in Hangar