EYES ONLY - -BACKGROUND DOCUMENT SUPPLIED FOR PILOT OVERVIEW - - EYES ONLY

THE FIRST FULL-VARIANT CONVERSIONS OF PANTHER FIGHTERS ARE EN-ROUTE TO THE CERBERUS TESTING GROUND. THE "CHAIN ION / CLOUDBURST" TANDEM WEAPONS SYSTEM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATED AND NOW AWAITS TESTING BY THE ESCORT PILOTS FROM MIDWAY. WE LOOK FORWARD TO THEIR INPUT REGARDING THE WEAPON'S UTILITY AND PERFORMANCE. REDUCTION OF THE ION WEAPONS PROJECTILE PROCESS HAS IMPROVED BOTH RE-FIRE AND DAMAGE POTENTIAL. TUNING THE PROJECTILE TO RELEASE AT 97.4KJ INSTEAD OF THE STANDARD 133.85KJ, GIVES US THE SAME DAMAGE YIELD WHEN FOCUSED THROUGH THE IMPROVED LENSES. THE WEAPON FIRES WITH CONSIDERABLE RAPIDITY AND HAS AN EXCELLENT RANGE. WITH MINIMAL POWER ADJUSTMENT, THE SKILLED PILOT CAN MAINTAIN A LONG STREAM OF HIGH-INTENSITY DAMAGE. THE LEAVE-OVER FROM THE POWER-PLANT ALLOWS US TO CHARGE THE "CLOUDBURST" EMISSION SYSTEM. NORMALLY, A FIGHTER'S POWER-PLANT COULD NOT SUPPORT THE OPERATION OF AN ELECTRIC DISCHARGE WEAPON OF THIS CALIBER. THE LENS IMPROVEMENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH MORE ECONOMICAL ION PROJECTILE MAKE "CLOUDBURST" POSSIBLE ABOARD CIS PANTHER-VARIANT FIGHTERS. ACHIEVING FULL IMPACT WITH THIS WEAPON HAS PROVEN QUITE DIFFICULT EVEN FOR EXPERT PILOTS. WE PRESENTLY BELIEVE THAT THE DISCHARGE MAY SOMETIMES PASS 'AROUND' THE SHIELD LAYERS OF CERTAIN ALIEN CRAFT DUE TO THE ALIEN'S DEFENSIVE SYSTEM OSCILLATION. HOWEVER, IF THE WEAPON DISCHARGE CAN BE IMMEDIATELY RE-SYNCHRONIZED (MAINLY BY HAVING THE PILOT WAIT FOR A FEW SECONDS BEFORE FIRING AGAIN) IT STANDS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF MAKING FULL CONTACT WITH THE ALIEN SHIELD LAYER AND INFLICTING A GREAT DEAL OF DAMAGE.

MAJOR CHARLES FARMER
TESTING AFFAIRS LIAISON