Cobra Mk VCombat

The Cobra Mk V is the modern heir to the legendary Cobra line, and as a combat ship it redefines what a small hull can do. Three medium and two small hardpoints give it five guns — more than any other small fighter except the specialist gunboats — while four utility mounts and nine optional internals let it carry a full defensive suite and tank like a much larger ship.

Crucially, it keeps small-pad access: it docks at every outpost in the galaxy, reaching combat zones and turn-ins that lock out medium and large warships. Fast, well-armed and surprisingly tough, it's the small ship that bridges the gap to the mediums — a giant-killer that can clear a RES, defend a run and still slip into the tightest outpost.

Four things make the Mk V the top all-round small combat ship:

• Five hardpoints. Three mediums plus two smalls — more guns than any small fighter bar the dedicated two-large gunboats, and far more flexible.
• Four utilities and nine optionals. Room for a full shield-booster and chaff suite plus real reinforcement — it tanks like no other small ship.
• Speed and small-pad access. 415 m/s boost and the ability to dock at any outpost mean it reaches and leaves fights bigger ships can't.
• Strong shields for its size. A 235 MJ base shield is exceptional on a small hull — combined with reinforcement, it survives engagements that vaporise lighter fighters.

Five guns, four utilities and medium-grade tank from an outpost-docking small hull lead the score; the class-4 distributor and power ceiling, plus sub-large alpha, cap it at 78.

The 78/100 headline is a verdict against the combat role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for the combat role specifically. The role column is the hardpoint loadout — the raw weapon mounts behind the damage.

Same class — small-pad combat ships

The Cobra Mk V is the best all-round small combat ship. The Kestrel and Vulture out-alpha it with large mounts, but neither matches its blend of five guns, four utilities, deep internals and speed. If you want one small fighter that does everything well and docks anywhere, this is the one.

Other classes — the mediums you graduate to

When the Mk V's class-4 power ceiling starts to limit you, the small-pad next step is a Vulture for more alpha; the real leap is a medium — a Krait Mk II or Python Mk II — that carries several times the firepower and tank, at the cost of small-pad access.

At ~1.48M Cr the hull is cheap, with no rank or permit gate. A combat fit — five engineered guns, shields, reinforcement — costs more in materials than credits, but the all-in figure stays modest for a top-of-class small fighter.

Its low rebuy means you can fly it aggressively without fear of a punishing insurance bill — part of why it's such a good ship to learn medium-tier combat tactics in before committing to an expensive medium.

A five-gun shield-tank combat fit. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the combat-ready baseline; Engineered applies the house combat pattern. The deep optionals let it tank harder than any small rival.

Buy the hull (~1.48M Cr) on stock Lightweight Alloy bulkheads and fit the largest standard shield generator the class-5 bay allows; a cargo rack fills the first size-4 optional and the deeper reinforcement, cell-bank and size-1 slots stay empty for now.

Arm two mediums with gimballed multi-cannons and the third with a gimballed pulse laser, and fit both smalls with multi-cannons too — five guns, buy-only.

Mount a single shield booster and leave the other three utilities empty until you A-rate; even unengineered it's a serviceable RES fighter.

A-rating priority for a five-gun small fighter:

• 1Power Distributor → 4A — Five guns plus boost on a class-4 distributor — A-rate it first. ~600k Cr
• 2Power Plant → 4A — Headroom to run five guns, shields and utilities. ~700k Cr
• 3Thrusters → 4A — Keep the excellent speed and agility. ~900k Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 5C bi-weave — Fast regen suits a brawler that re-engages. ~500k Cr
• 5FSD → 4A — Reach RES sites and turn-ins faster. ~600k Cr
• 6Bulkheads → Military Grade Composite — Swap the stock Lightweight Alloy and fill the optionals with a hull-reinforcement stack (two size-4, one size-3, one size-1) plus two shield-cell banks and module reinforcement — the tank that lets a small hull trade blows in a RES. ~1.8M Cr

The house combat pattern on a small all-rounder. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit in person for experimentals.

Recommended order

• 1Distributor and plant to G5 first — the class-4 units need every edge to run five guns.
• 2Thrusters to G5 to keep the speed and agility advantage.
• 3Weapons: Overcharged multi-cannons with one Corrosive, Efficient/Thermal-Vent lasers.
• 4Tank with the deep optionals: Reinforced bi-weave, cell banks and Heavy-Duty reinforcement.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Military Grade bulkheads and a four-pack of hull reinforcements already lift A-rated effective armour past 1,600; Heavy-Duty / Deep-Plating engineering across the stack drives it toward 2,600. Engineered, the Cobra Mk V tanks like a small medium — an 850 MJ shield and effective armour well past 2,500 — while boosting near 490 m/s and firing five guns. No other small ship combines this much firepower, tank and speed with universal pad access.

• Shield-tank with the deep optionals — the Mk V's signature is tanking like a medium on a small hull.
• Mind the class-4 power ceiling; Overcharge the plant and Charge-Enhance the distributor before adding more draw.
• Use the small pad deliberately — fight and turn in at outposts that lock out medium and large warships.
• It's cheap and forgiving — the ideal hull to learn aggressive combat in before risking a medium.