Minbari Fighters

Referred to as "Nial Class fighters" by the Babylon 5 Wars game, these dynamic one-man weapons of destruction were never named in the series' 5-year run. They are blindingly fast, unbelievably maneuverable, and are capable of delivering levels of firepower worthy of a capital warship.

Minbari fighters carry advanced stealth technology similar to that employed by their warcruisers. So far, none of the young races have demonstrated the ability to defeat this system when it is operating at full capacity. In Darkness Ascending, Lennier was able to pilot his fighter right up to the hull of a Centauri cruiser, lock on to it, drill a hole through its hull, and siphon oxygen from it, all without being detected.

Lennier checks his systems' status, noting that the stealth mode is on.

The control systems of this class fighter are optimised for speed and simplicity, with their voice recognition computer capabilities. A pilot can set a dynamic course, track targets, scan an area, allocate power, etc. by simply telling the computer what he wants to do. This capability, along with the heads-up-display, maximises the pilot's ability to observe the surrounding space; nearly eliminating the need to divert attention to the manipulation of ship controls.

Click here to view a second animation.

Minbari fighters carry tremendous firepower in their three forward-firing heavy cannons. This image was taken from season 5 episode Meditation on the Abyss. This episode focused on the training of Lennier and his fellow Rangers in the art of starfighter combat. These Rangers were instructed to destroy asteroids that had homing beacons placed inside them, while avoiding collision in this dense asteroid field. These asteroids were described as "chunks of ice and solid rock."

Since we only know the composition of these asteroids, and not the percentage of ice or rock, a conservative lower limit can be reached if it is assumed that the asteroids are completely ice. The asteroid in the image above is ellipsoid, and when compared to the fighter, it appears to be approximately 6 meters wide. If the initial temperature of the asteroid is 150K, at least 260 gigajoules of energy would be required to cause vaporisation. Lennier vaporised this asteroid with two beams, lasting approximately 1/4 second each, at a rate of 520 gigawatts minimum firepower.

This value can be considered a conservative lower limit on the total firepower of this class fighter. If we assume the asteroid was composed of pure iron, at least 6.8 terajoules of energy would be required for vaporisation. Each beam would deliver over 3 terajoules of energy, at a rate in excess of 12 terawatts total firepower. These fighters exhibit a very high rate of fire; firing several beams per second by alternating the three powerful cannons, which have the ability to track targets independently of the fighter's course. This combination of heavy firepower, high speed, effective stealth and superb maneuverability makes the Minbari starfighter a formidable weapon of destruction.

Minbari fighters exhibit high performance during Ranger training exercise.

Minbari are approximately the same size as humans, and since we know that a human head has a diameter of approximately 20 centimeters, views of Lennier in his fighter provide an excellent opportunity for scaling the size of these wartime marvels.

This image is a view from the outside of Lenneir's fighter, looking in. This window is convex, which may distort the view of Lennier, making measurements inaccurate. This distortion serves to make Lennier appear smaller compared to the window, and he is also more distant than the window. Thus, this image produces an upper limit on the diameter of the window.

The window is 153 pixels in diameter. Lennier's head is almost exactly 20 pixels in diameter. If we assume that Lennier's head is 20 centimeters in diameter, then the window's diameter is not more than 153 centimeters.

This image is a view of the same fighter moments later from the inside, looking out. Lennier is closer to the camera than the window. There is nothing to warp or distort our view this time, making this measurement more reliable. The window is 225 pixels wide, and Lennier's head is approximately 100 pixels in width. If we again assume that Lennier's head is 20 centimeters wide, the window has a lower limit of 45 centimeters in diameter, or approximately a half-meter.

Note in this image that Lennier is manipulating controls with his hands. This is required only occasionally with the voice-recognition computer.

This image is a close-up, head-on view of a Minbari fighter, taken from Points of Departure. The window is 21 pixels wide, and the entire fighter is 229 pixels wide.

If we apply the lower limit on the diameter of the window, then the fighter is approximately 4.9 meters wide. If we apply the upper limit on the diameter of the window, the fighter is less than 16.7 meters wide. Since the image used to establish the lower limit for the diameter of the window is a more reliable scaling tool, it is likely that the fighter is closer to 4.9 meters in width than it is to 16.7 meters wide.

These images are broadside views of Minbari fighters. Both were taken from Meditations on the Abyss. The fighter on the left is 191x82 pixels and the one on the right is 217x92 pixels. Thus, the fighter on the left is between 11.4 meters and 38.9 meters in length. The fighter on the right is between 11.6 meters and 39.4 meters in length.

It seems unlikely that this class of Minbari fighter is close to 40 meters in length; and since the image used to calculate the lower limit on the diameter of the cockpit window is more reliable than the image used to produce the upper limit, the fighter is probably closer to 12 meters than 40 meters in length. Furthermore, the fighter carries only one Minbari pilot, and he is positioned prone in a small cockpit, without sufficient space to sit upright. Even at the lower limit of 11.5 meters, the fighter would be approximately the same size as a small house, a bus, or a large helicopter; each of which can hold dozens of people comfortably.

The Minbari starfighter was instrumental in the Minbari domination of Earthforce in the Earth-Minbari War, and served the "Army of Light" with distinction in the complicated war against the Shadows and Vorlons. It far outclasses any other design developed by the young races of the galaxy.

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