Fighters are extremely powerful Drones equipped with cruiser, battleship, or dreadnought-grade weaponry, launched by carriers, supercarriers, Guristas capital ships, and Upwell Structures.
General Fighter Mechanics
In order to use fighters you need to train 
Fighters (5% damage bonus per level). There are 3 types of fighters: Light (Anti-Subcapital), Heavy (Anti-Capital), and Support (EWAR). Each has a Tech 1 and Tech 2 variant. Light fighters and heavy fighters are further split between the roles they perform. Each type of fighter has a squadron size that determines how many individual fighters make up a squadron, and each carrier or supercarrier is limited by how many launch tubes exist for squadrons. A squadron of fighters is controlled and targeted as a single entity in space, and will generate a Killmail if the last fighter in a squadron is destroyed. Fighters are a lot larger, in volume, than drones. The skill Fighter Hangar Management increases fighter hangar size by 5% per level.
All fighters are capable of warping, and will pursue a target into warp - the only escape from fighters is to jump system or to dock.
Fighters cannot receive remote assistance, such as repairs or shield boosting. However, they are vulnerable to ECM, and with their weak sensor strengths, jamming fighters is a common strategy for reducing a carrier's damage potential.
Each race has each its own fighters, their damage matches the race's primary damage type, and they follow the same racial patterns of damage versus speed which are present on ordinary drones.
Fighter weapons use a variation of Missile mechanics: their weapons have explosion radii and velocities, and deal constant damage with no chance of missing. However, they also have optimal and falloff ranges, which use the effectiveness falloff of Electronic Warfare modules (visible as the 'Range' portion of turret accuracy):
- Within Optimal range, the weapons deal full damage
- At Optimal+Falloff, the weapons deal 50% damage
- At Optimal+(Falloff x2), the weapons deal 6.25% damage
Dropping using the standard 0.5 ^ ((Distance-Optimal)/Falloff)2 curve. These mechanics mean that fighter damage is very predictable, and can be effectively mitigated using Afterburners (but much less effectively mitigated using Microwarpdrives).
Most Fighters have two weapons systems: a primary weapon which can be fired continuously, and a secondary weapon with high damage but a cooldown and limited ammunition. When firing, all (alive) fighters in a squadron fire together, and their damage is added together.
Fighters have thick, regenerating Shields, but no Armor and only 100 Structure HP. As a fighter squadron sustains damage, the rightmost segment of its health indicators will shift color from green to yellow to red to black. When a fighter squadron sustains damage equal to the Shield (and Structure) HP of one of its fighters, one fighter is destroyed and the squadron's damage is reduced accordingly.
When Fighters are recalled to their carriers, they go through a short Refueling period before they can be launched again. The duration of this period is based on the number of fighters in the squadron. During this refueling period, their shields are restored and the ammunition for their secondary weapons is reloaded, and after refueling completes, new fighters can be loaded into a tube to replace any fighters which were destroyed.
Like Drones, Fighters can also be Abandoned in space in case of emergency.
Fighters have Destroyer to Cruiser-sized signature radii of 80-120m. Combined with their high speeds, this makes fighters most effectively targeted by Small or Medium weapons and drones.
All Fighters also have Standup versions which can be used by most Upwell Structures. Standup Fighters do not require training in Fighter skills, and can be used by any player with access to Take Control of a structure. Standup fighters have improved base stats over regular fighters (2x speed, 2.5x damage, better explosion velocity and radius, +50% shield HP, better ECM resistance, 2x cargohold volume) but are not affected by any modules or player skills. Standup Fighters can be changed and loaded while an Upwell structure is damaged or Reinforced.
Light Fighters
Light fighters require the skill Light Fighters (5% bonus in light fighter velocity per level). Tech 2 light fighters requires Light Fighters IV.
Attack Fighters
Attack fighters are general purpose attack craft, equipped with a faction-specific primary weapon (i.e., blaster cannon, pulse cannon, autocannon) with a short effective range. Their secondary weapon is a Heavy Rocket Salvo - a simplified, significantly shorter ranged version of starship launched Heavy Missiles (although in practice these are generally more comparable to battleship Torpedoes). Also, they are equipped with a Microwarpdrive that increase base speed by 500%, at the cost of a 500% signature radius increase, with a 20-second duration and 60-second cooldown.
Light attack fighters are effective against cruisers and battleships, but will struggle to effectively damage frigates and are not generally hard-hitting enough to engage capital ships.
All damage values on this page are per-fighter, not per-squadron.
| General Stats | |
| Squadron Size | 9 |
 Volume |
1000m3 |
 Signature Radius |
100m |
 Shield Capacity (T1) |
2190 HP |
 Shield Capacity (T2) |
2420 HP |
 Explosion Radius (cannon) |
185m |
 Explosion Velocity (cannon) |
105m/s |
 Explosion Radius (rocket) |
400m |
| Explosion Velocity (rocket) |
70m/s |
| Faction | Fighter | DPS | Rocket DPS | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr | Templar I | 65 
|
119
|
 926 m/s
|
4,630 m/s
|
 6,500 m
|
| Caldari | Dragonfly I | 72 
|
131
|
837 m/s
|
4,185 m/s
|
4,500 m
|
| Gallente | Firbolg I | 75 
|
138
|
793 m/s
|
3,965 m/s
|
4,500 m
|
| Minmatar | Einherji I | 62 
|
113
|
970 m/s
|
4,850 m/s
|
7,000 m
|
| Amarr | Templar II | 72
|
131
|
963 m/s
|
4,815 m/s
|
7,300 m
|
| Caldari | Dragonfly II | 79
|
146
|
872 m/s
|
4,360 m/s
|
4,900 m
|
| Gallente | Firbolg II | 83
|
152
|
826 m/s
|
4,130 m/s
|
4,900 m
|
| Minmatar | Einherji II | 83
|
142
|
1,009 m/s
|
5,045 m/s
|
7,400 m
|
Space Superiority
Space Superiority fighters are anti-drone and anti-fighter weapons. Their primary weapons, Micro Missile Swarm, are extremely efficient at killing hostile drones and fighters, however deal greatly reduced damage to real ships. Defensively, they can enact evasive manuevers that increase base speed by 200%, reduce signature radius by 80%, and increase all shield resists by 50%. Lastly, they can tackle hostile drones and fighters (but only drones and fighters), slowing them and disabling their warp drives.
| General Stats | |
| Squadron Size | 12 |
| Volume |
800m3 |
| Signature Radius |
80m |
| Shield Capacity (T1) |
1600 HP |
| Shield Capacity (T2) |
1760 HP |
| Explosion Radius |
15m |
| Explosion Velocity |
300m/s |
| Faction | Fighter | DPS | Speed (Base) | Speed (AB) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr | Equite I | 38
|
1,111 m/s
|
2,222 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Caldari | Locust I | 40
|
1,005 m/s
|
2,010 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Gallente | Satyr I | 42
|
952 m/s
|
1,904 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Minmatar | Gram I | 36
|
1,164 m/s
|
2,328 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Amarr | Equite II | 42
|
1,211 m/s
|
2,422 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Caldari | Locust II | 44
|
1,046 m/s
|
2,092 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Gallente | Satyr II | 46
|
991 m/s
|
1,982 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
| Minmatar | Gram II | 40
|
1,211 m/s
|
2,422 m/s
|
10,000 m
|
Heavy Fighters
Heavy Fighters are anti-capital-ship fighters, and can only be used by supercarriers. Each race has its own heavy fighters, which follow the same damage and speed patterns as light fighters.
Heavy fighters need the Heavy Fighters skill (5% damage increase per level), while Tech 2 heavy fighters requires the skill Heavy Fighters IV.
Heavy Attack
Heavy Attack fighters use a faction specific primary weapon (i.e., blaster, pulse laser, or autocannon), while their secondary weapon is a very high damage Torpedo Salvo. The large explosion radii of these weapons renders them only effective against capital ships. Additionally, they possess a Microwarpdrive that increases base speed by 500% and signature radius by 500%, with a 20-second duration and 60-second cooldown.
There is also a Sansha faction heavy fighter (the Shadow). The Shadow deals both EM and Thermal damage, significantly higher total damage than an ordinary T1 heavy fighter, and has better damage application than an ordinary heavy fighter, but does not have the secondary torpedo salvo.
| General Stats | |
| Squadron Size | 6 |
| Volume |
1800m3 |
| Signature Radius |
110m |
| Shield Capacity (T1) |
3650 HP |
| Shield Capacity (T2) |
4030 HP |
 Shield Capacity (Shadow) |
5500 HP |
| Explosion Radius (cannon) |
3000m |
| Explosion Velocity (cannon) |
40m/s |
| Explosion Radius (Shadow) |
2000m |
| Explosion Velocity (Shadow) |
60m/s |
| Explosion Radius (torpedo) |
5000m |
| Explosion Velocity (torpedo) |
50m/s |
| Faction | Fighter | DPS | Torpedo DPS | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr | Malleus I | 316
|
2,527
|
576 m/s
|
2,880 m/s
|
6,500 m
|
| Caldari | Mantis I | 349
|
2,793
|
521 m/s
|
2,605 m/s
|
4,500 m
|
| Gallente | Cyclops I | 366
|
2,926
|
494 m/s
|
2,470 m/s
|
4,500 m
|
| Minmatar | Tyrfing I | 299
|
2,394
|
604 m/s
|
3,020 m/s
|
7,000 m
|
| Sansha | Shadow | 200
|
N/A | 543 m/s
|
9,500 m/s
|
2,172 m
|
| Amarr | Malleus II | 349
|
2,793
|
600 m/s
|
3,000 m/s
|
7,300 m
|
| Caldari | Mantis II | 386
|
3,087
|
543 m/s
|
2,715 m/s
|
4,900 m
|
| Gallente | Cyclops II | 404
|
3,324
|
514 m/s
|
2,570 m/s
|
4,900 m
|
| Minmatar | Tyrfing II | 331
|
2,646
|
628 m/s
|
3,140 m/s
|
7,400 m
|
Long Range Attack
Long Range Attack fighters have faction specific long-range weaponary (i.e, beam cannon, railgun, and artillery), a Micro Jump Drive, a Micro Jump Drive for range control, and are capable of launching unguided bombs (much like stealth bombers but weaker). Fighter bombs have the same 30km range, 12s flight time, and 15km damage radius of regular bombs, and are immune to their given damage type (making it impossible for multiple matching bombs to destroy each other in flight). Usage of these bombs are disallowed in Low Security space.
The weapons of long ranged fighters can be used against battleships, but their explosion radii leaves Light Attack Fighters as more efficient against smaller subcapital ships.
| General Stats | |
| Squadron Size | 6 |
| Volume |
2000m3 |
| Signature Radius |
120m |
| Shield Capacity (T1) |
3420 HP |
| Shield Capacity (T2) |
3780 HP |
| Explosion Radius (cannon) |
380m |
| Explosion Velocity (cannon) |
80m/s |
| Damage (bomb) |
640 |
| Explosion Radius (bomb) |
400m |
| Faction | Fighter | DPS | Optimal | Falloff | Speed (Base) | MJD Range | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr | Ametat I | 253
|
34 km 
|
8,000 m 
|
555 m/s
|
100 km
|
31.50 km
|
| Caldari | Termite I | 279
|
30 km
|
12 km
|
502 m/s
|
100 km
|
31.50 km
|
| Gallente | Antaeus I | 293
|
30 km
|
12 km
|
476 m/s
|
100 km
|
31.50 km
|
| Minmatar | Gungnir I | 239
|
26 km
|
16 km
|
582 m/s
|
100 km
|
31.50 km
|
| Amarr | Ametat II | 279
|
40.80 km
|
8,000 m
|
578 m/s
|
100 km
|
36.60 km
|
| Caldari | Termite II | 309
|
36 km
|
12 km
|
523 m/s
|
100 km
|
36 km
|
| Gallente | Antaeus II | 323
|
36 km
|
12 km
|
495 m/s
|
100 km
|
36 km
|
| Minmatar | Gungnir II | 265
|
31.20 km
|
16 km
|
605 m/s
|
100 km
|
36 km
|
Support Fighters
Support fighters are specialized fighters that each perform their own type of EWAR. They also each come with a Microwarpdrive, increasing their speed (and signature) by 500% for 20 seconds on a 60 second cooldown. However, they have no weapons. Support fighters require the Support Fighters skill (5% increase in support fighter hit-points per level). Tech 2 support fighters requires Support Fighters IV.
| General Stats | |
| Squadron Size | 3 |
| Volume |
3000m3 |
| Signature Radius |
120m |
| Shield Capacity (T1) |
6800 HP |
| Shield Capacity (T2) |
7500 HP |
| Faction | Fighter | Energy Neut | Optimal | Falloff | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr | Cenobite I | 60 
|
5,000 m
|
2,500 m
|
715 m/s
|
3,575 m/s
|
3,750
|
| Amarr | Cenobite II | 80
|
10,000 m
|
5,000 m
|
744 m/s
|
3,720 m/s
|
7,500
|
| Faction | Fighter | Jamming Strength | Optimal | Falloff | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldari | Scarab I | 1.6 
|
5,000 m
|
5,625 m
|
715 m/s
|
3,575 m/s
|
5,300 m
|
| Caldari | Scarab II | 2.3
|
7,500 m
|
8,400 m
|
744 m/s
|
3,720 m/s
|
8,000 m
|
| Faction | Fighter | Warp Disruption | Optimal | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallente | Siren I | 1 
|
8 km
|
715 m/s
|
3,575 m/s
|
4,000 m
|
| Gallente | Siren II | 1
|
16 km
|
744 m/s
|
3,720 m/s
|
8,000 m
|
| Faction | Fighter | Velocity Reduction | Optimal | Speed (Base) | Speed (MWD) | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minmatar | Dromi I | 15% 
|
8 km
|
715 m/s
|
3,575 m/s
|
4,000 m
|
| Minmatar | Dromi II | 20%
|
16 km
|
744 m/s
|
3,720 m/s
|
8,000 m
|
Fighter Improving Modules
Fighters are considered to be Drones for purposes of modules improving their characteristics. This means there are several modules which improve the performance of Fighters.
- Drone Damage Amplifiers increase Fighter damage
- Drone Navigation Computers increase fighter base speed
- Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancers and Links improve fighter weapons' range and damage application
- The Carrier-specific Fighter Support Unit increases fighter velocity, shield strength, shield regeneration, and weapons rate-of-fire
Fighters are not affected by Drone Control Range. The only limit on their usable range is the uniquely extremely long range of their carrier's targeting sensors.