Viper Mk III

Template:Quote The Viper MkIII is a light fighter craft designed for agile ship-to-ship combat. Its minimal design combined with excellent modularity make it a popular choice for security units and bounty hunters. At a relatively low cost of just over 140,000 credits, it is also a great combat ship for entry-level Commanders.

The Viper has a delta-shaped hull which tapers to form two prongs at the front. The cockpit is situated just behind the bow, slightly raised. This gives the pilot an excellent view without exposing the canopy to potential damage.

The Viper lands on two small rear struts and one large front strut which doubles as a boarding ramp to the cockpit.

The Viper, like all modern ships, is powered by a nuclear fusion reactor. It is propelled by two primary fusion/plasma engines which provide forward thrust and are capable of reverse thrust. Smaller thrusters act as stabilizers and provide force for pitch, roll, and yaw manoeuvres.

Heat is dissipated through radiators at the rear of the ship. The Viper is also capable of using heat sink launchers to expel heat.

The Viper has two small hardpoints located on either side of the cockpit and two medium hardpoints located beneath it. This provides a range of options for weapons loadouts.

Tactical Considerations

The Viper MkIII made its first appearance in Standard Beta 1. It is a vessel used by Station security forces and law enforcement, and is currently one of the fastest ships available to purchase. It is primarily intended for combat; compared to the multi-role Cobra MkIII, it has the same weapons capacity, slightly stronger shields per shield class, slightly weaker hull, marginally slower turn rate, much faster strafe speed, faster speed under normal thrust and slower speed under boost.

Its main drawbacks are that its heat dissipation, power generation and hyperspace capacity do not equal that of the Cobra, which limits the value of having the same hardpoint capacity; mounting the ship's full weapon weight makes it very short-ranged, and an energy-heavy armament causes it to either overheat or use all available power very quickly. Fuel is also an issue as the ship comes with capacity of only four tons.

In addition to its official police/security role, the Viper's speed, range, and combat capability make it ideal for bounty hunters, small-load couriers, mercenaries or smugglers, while its small cargo capacity makes it a very poor choice for traders, and a survivable but inadequately profitable platform for pirates.

With proper fitting, the Viper is an excellent fighter capable of standing its ground against more expensive ships.

Purchase Locations

System	Station	Discount	Date Seen
44 B Ophiuchi	Feustel Gateway (10% discount)		2015-06-12
AC +26 37030	Culbertson Port		2015-12-27
Achenar (Permit)	Baker Terminal		2015-04-25
Agarla	Wilson Port		2015-07-07
Alioth	Irkutsk		1.06
Amahu	Kondratyev Orbital		1.06r
Asellus Primus	Beagle 2 Landing		?
Asgaa	Wheeler Horizons		2015-04-20
Aulin	Aulin Enterprise		?
Biliri	Fan City		2015-08-23
Calor	Julian Hub		Release 1.03
Cerktondhs	Bluford Gateway		2015-01-01
Chamunda	Gidzenko Ring		2015-01-09
Contii	Sucharitkul Vision		2015-07-25
Chona	Smoot Terminal		2015-08-17
Cubeo	Medupe City		2015-08-17
Cupis	Armstrong Station		2015-10-09
Eravate	Cleve Hub		2015-10-12
Faust 68	Slipher Hub		2015-06-04
GD 219	McKee Ring		2015-04-29
Gliese 563.1	Matteucci Ring		2015-07-23
Kats	Truman Hub		2015-08-20
Keliuona	Wenzel City		2015-08-19
Kumata	Vishweswarayya Enterprise		2015-01-01
Leesti	George Lucas		2015-04-03
LHS 283	Khan Port		2015-09-28
LHS 3262	Louis de Lacaille Prospect		2015-07-07
LHS 3505	Olivas City		Release 1.03
LP 102-320	Shepard Hub		?
LP 445-22	Trevithick Horizons		2015-06-23
LP 908-11	So-Yeon City		2015-03-16
LTT 1598	Qushji Gateway		Gamma 2.02
LTT 15574	Haxel Port		2016-01-20
Macabi	Read Orbital		2014-12-30
MANJI	Nicholson Ring		2015-10-30
Nang Ta-Khian	Hay Point		?
Opila	Temple Dock		2015-04-03
Ovid	Bradfield Orbital		?
Panoi	Garan Hub		2014-12-30
Q1 Eridani	Windt Terminal		2014-03-18
Rakapila	Stone Enterprise		?
Rho Cancri	Dekker Base		?
Sol	Li Qing Jao		2015-01-07
Sorbago	Hencke Orbital		2014-12-30
Styx	Wingrove Platform		?
Thosiao	Foster Orbital		2015-05-11
Tote	Whitelaw Enterprise		Gamma 1.03
Turir	Brooks Terminal		2014-12-29
Uszaa	Guest Installation		2015-04-03
Uszaa	Clauss Dock		2015-04-16
v1688 Aguilae	Thomson Terminal		9/4/2015
Wolf 1301	Saunders's Dive		3/12/2015
XI Ursae Majoris	Durrance Dock		27/4/2015
Yakabugai	Serebrov Station		1/4/2015
Zhao Jin	Wilson Ring		Aug 18, 2015
Zhu Rong	Stuart Ring		?

Outfitting

Main article: Outfitting

All ships are customizable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Viper MkIII.

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

• (L) = Loaned
• [x#] = Capacity

Gallery

• File:DockedViper.jpg
• File:Viper03.jpg
• File:Viper07.jpg
• File:Viper08.jpg
• File:Viper02.jpg
• File:Police 05.jpg
• File:Viper10.jpg
• File:Metal asteroids.jpg
• File:Type6WithViperOnItsTail.jpg
• File:TrioOfVipers.jpg
• Stock Viper exterior
  Stock Viper exterior
• File:359320 2015-04-16 00006.png
• File:Viper deep space 01.jpg
• Docked Orange Viper
  Docked Orange Viper
• Viper MkIII
  Viper MkIII