Taipan
The Taipan Fighter is Lakon Spaceways' response to the success of Core Dynamics’ F63 Condor and the Imperial Fighter designed by Gutamaya for the Imperial Navy. The export restrictions on those models has left a wide gap in the market that Lakon intends to exploit with the Taipan.
Of the three fighters, the Taipan is not as fast as the Condor nor as maneuverable as the Imperial, but it does have the most armour and shields.
The Taipan Fighter is a Ship-Launched Fighter included in the Elite Dangerous: Horizons 2.2 "The Guardians" update[1] that can be deployed from a Fighter Hangar module.
The Taipan Fighter can be purchased in Alliance and Independent systems only, but can be restocked in any system.
The rear wings of the Taipan have their in-flight position (the non-docking configuration) animated based on the heat level of the fighter. As the ship's heat level increases, the rear wings will decrease the amount they are swept back in a V shape and will become closer to a straight wing shape.
Variants
The Taipan is available in 5 variants, which differ only in weapons and utility modules, and slightly in the top and boost speed. F-variants have fixed weapons and G-variants have gimballed weapons.
| Variant | Weapons | Utility | Damage Per Second | Speed [Boost] (m/s) | Pitch / Roll / Yaw Rate (deg/s) | Cost (CR) * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis F | 2x fixed pulse lasers | Point Defence Turret | 44 | 273 [564] | 41 / 91 / 18 | 15,270 |
| Rogue F | 2x fixed plasma repeaters | Chaff Launcher | 36 | 263 [544] | 40 / 88 / 18 | 15,270 |
| Gelid G | 2x gimballed beam lasers | Heat Sink Launcher | 25 | 263 [544] | 40 / 88 / 18 | 15,270 |
| Rogue G | 2x gimballed pulse lasers | Chaff Launcher | 12 | 263 [544] | 40 / 88 / 18 | 15,270 |
| Gelid F | 2x fixed beam laser | Heat Sink Launcher | 45 | 263 [544] | 40 / 88 / 18 | 15,270 |
* This is the cost to initially outfit a Fighter Hangar bay for that fighter type/variant, or to change it to a different fighter type/variant. The cost to restock destroyed fighters is 1,030 CR each.[2]
Purchase Locations
| VAriant | System | Station | Date Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis F | Nganji | Christian Dock | 03.09.2017 | |
| Rogue F | Nganji | Christian Dock | 03.09.2017 | |
| Gelid G | Nganji | Christian Dock | 03.09.2017 |
Trivia
- Concept art of the Taipan refers to it as the "Independent Fighter".
Gallery
- Concept art featuring a human size reference
- From v2.2 Beta
- From v2.2 Beta
- Lakon Taipan Independent Fighter Blueprint
- Underside of a Taipan
- Underside of a Taipan
- Low front view
- High front view
- Side view
- High rear view
- Pulse lasers firing
- Taipan beginning to fold up while docking
- Taipan fully folded up for docking
- A Taipan folded up after docking
- Taipan Fighter cockpit
- Taipan Fighter and Neptune
