The Viper MKVIIe is an assault variant developed by Epaphus Fleet Systems for a capital ship assault support role. The VIIe has an expanded two-seat canopy for the addition of a weapons officer, a reinforced spaceframe, and expanded primary and secondary ordnance capacity. Although less maneuverable than the MKVII, the VIIe has a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, enabling greater top speed. Designed to deploy pinpoint ordnance against the subsystems of capital ships, a powerful FLIR/TADS system developed to defeat Cylon electronic countermeasures replaces what would normally mount the third KEW on the MKVII chassis. The Mark VIIe can declaw a Cylon basestar, enabling Raptors and Battlestars to land their killing blow.
The Viper Mk.VIIE's designer, StarSlayer, was inspired by the F-15E Strike Eagle regarding it's role, and has described it as comparing to the regular Viper Mk.VII like the F-15E compares to the F-15C - one is a strike fighter with superior targeting sensors and increased fuel and loadout capacity, while the other is an air superiority fighter. The "E" in Mk.VIIE is also a direct result of the F-15E connection.
