A-24 Sleuth
The A-24 Sleuth has had a long history within the galaxy and is commonly seen at spaceports throughout the known universe. Its design allows it to be used for a number of roles in both the military and civilian sectors, and it has proven able to provide the same scanning and defensive abilities of much more expensive craft. As with many craft that are meant to cover such a broad range of clients, the A-24 fills many roles relatively well, but it has glaring shortcomings when used in settings that are not within the standard design parameters.
The Sleuth is a nimble fighter that was designed with over-sized engines to assist in acceleration and in atmospheric manoeuvrability. It was also equipped with military grade sensors that boost the range of the primary sensors to four times the range of the standard fighter configuration. A number of both civilian and military officers credit their lives to these two attributes of the A-24. The craft is also outfitted with twin heavy lasers located on the lateral hard points.
The Sleuth's classification fits neatly in between both a light, and medium grade fighter, which translates to its inability to address either of those classes well; the lighter fighters tend to be more manoeuvrable, and medium fighters tend to be better armed. The primary roles that the designers foresaw for the A-24 were both hit and run and ambush situations; in both instances it can hold its own.
Due to the Sleuth's lightly armoured body and very light shielding for a craft of its size, in nose-to-nose space battles it usually finds itself heavily out-gunned and is often required to break contact in order to survive. As such, in military situations, the A-24 is rarely seen working on its own; instead, groups of four or more are used to increase survivability on the battle field. In the civilian sector, however, the opposite is true; they are likely to be found flying convoy security in single units or pairs as an effective early warning system against pirates or other dangers.
The A-24 Sleuth has found its place in the galaxy, and though it does not reign supreme in any of its roles, it has proven to be a useful tool. Its popularity is continuing to climb and it is expected to maintain that trend for some time to come.