Stygis Fighter

Stygis (ステイギス) is a Martian Kataphrakt that appears in the ALDNOAH.ZERO Second Cour television series.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Stygis fighter is an Aldnoah powered fighter spacecraft designed and first deployed by Count Saazbaum. It was designed as a mass-produced Aldnoah-powered combat spacecraft designed for use by non-noble pilots, in preparation for Saazbaum's planned coup d'etat and replacement of the Vers' feudal government with a more egalitarian system of government.

The craft is one of the few Vers Empire war machines that does not have an at least vague humanoid design. It has two unit types: the Stygis Master unit which contains the cockpit hatch for the pilot and four Stygis Slave units which are unmanned drones controlled by the master unit. Each unit has a central core with four "wings" forming an X-shaped pattern, powered by an engine located to the rear.

During battle, the five Stygis units controlled by one pilot can join together, with four of the fighters connecting their undersides to the wingtips of the fifth, to combine into one larger unit. The purpose of this seems to be to mislead the Terran's radar or enemy detection systems the size of the Martian force, since the combined unit only shows up as one unit on the Terran radar/detection system. The combined units separate into 5 Stygis fighters again once within attack range, with the aim of taking the Terran forces by surprise.

Defensively, the Stygis Fighters are relatively weak. A single shot from a Terran Kataphrakt's Cannon was sufficient to destroy one. Because of this, their only real defense against enemy fire was their maneuverability. In the Satellite Belt, they could rely on the ambient gravitational effects to throw off enemy fire, which made survival much easier.

Armaments

 * 4x Automatic Cannons
 * Each "wing" contains one cannon.


 * Missiles
 * Each "wing" also contains missiles which can be launched by tilting all four wings forward

History
The Stygis' first known deployment was in the assault on the United Forces of Earth Trident Base, and the subsequent defense of Marineros Base, a Martian orbital base. The Stygis fighters proved themselves capable of engaging and destroying KG-7 Areions, however, several were shot down by UFE pilots and defensive weapons, most notably Inaho Kaizuka.

In the opening stages of the battle at Trident Base, neither side could land a shot on the other. The gravitational effects of the Satellite Belt threw off fire from the Fighters, while also protecting them from Terran cannon fire. Inaho was able to compensate for the effects and the fighters' velocity, and proceeded to destroy at least 5 fighters, each with one shot.

When the Transports and Trident Base were within firing range, the Stygis Fighters moved to engage, with at least one being destroyed in the process.

The Stygis squadrons were later used in the defense of the Moon Base during an assault by the United Forces of Earth.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Stygis Fighters are analogous to the mass produced Mobile Armors from the Mobile Suit Gundam series.