The Medium sized Decepticon Fighter is the most common Fighter and the most agile. This is the model of fighter that is Hijacked by Bumblebee in Dark of the Moon.
The Fighter has a rounded cockpit that can rotate 360 degrees and up and down during reconfiguration. There are two narrow engines that are attached just towards the corners of the cockpit. These engines can rotate 360 degrees and can turn in any position. The cockpit has one small hatch on top for unknown purposes. The Cockpit can turn into an open space for pilots. If you removed the guns and engines, it would look like an AAT from Star Wars.
Weaponry
The Fighters Plasma cannon.
The Medium Fighter has many weapons.Its two primary weapons are its plasma cannons. When the fighter isn't using it's plasma cannons, the fighter will use its many machine gun's instead. To fire its Plasma cannons, the two cannons connect together, they will form a larger Plasma Cannon that turns humans into bones,skulls, and burnt clothes. Its secondary weapons are its twp hanging shotguns. They hang right under the plasma cannons. When in reconfiguration, the plasma cannon muzzles will flip and switch with the shotguns. The fighters other weapons include: eight separate Machine Guns, two rocket launchers, and three other unknown weapons.
Methods of Attack
Medium Fighters usually stay in groups of 1-6. And when together, they can shoot down entire human aircraft fleets. When the fighter is not in a group, the fighter will use its plasma cannons to kill any humans passing by.
Refueling
A Medium Fighters Fuel mode configuration.
When the Fighter needs to Refuel, it will reconfigure into Fuel mode, by tucking in its guns and engines. Then, The Decepticon Carrier Ship will use its Tractor Beam to pull the fighter in backwards through the Latch door,then locking it in on the inside wall, right above the Latch door. The Carrier will automatically refuel the fighter. When the fighter is done with refueling, it will drop out of the latch door, and reconfigure back into attack mode.
Wall Clinging
Two fighters clung onto a building.
When not refueling, the fighter will turn downwards, then flip its engines forward, propelling it backward. The fighter will then cling onto the building its closest to. Then it will reconfigure into a bat-like mode. When an enemy passes, the fighter will detach, reconfigure, and pursue the enemy.
Defending
A mode where two fighters will fly next to a Carrier. They will reconfigure into defense mode for defense.
A example of Defending: one fighter on each side of the carrier, each in Defense mode.
Configurations
Attack mode: Both plasma cannons are pointed forward, engines straight
Defense mode:The engines and Plasma cannons are hanging loosely, along with slow speeds
Fuel mode:The guns and engines tuck in, so it can fit into Latch doors
Cling mode:Will Straighten out, by becoming flat.
Plasma mode:The two plasma Cannons will connect together, and the shotguns will swing and attach underneath.
On Cybertron, you can see 3-4 medium fighters pursuing the Ark, while the ark attempts to shoot back. When the ark makes the final leap off the planet, a fighter shoots a missile which splits into several more missiles, which takes out the ark.
In Transformers 3, this Fighter is used in Dozens of times. When Sentinel Prime launched his Space Bridge, hundreds of Medium fighters rose out of the moons surface along with several other different other fighters. The fighters used the space Bridge to get to Washington DC on Earth, then flew across town.
It is unknown where they flew after this. They could have possibly flew on their way to Chicago, or they regrouped then flew there.
Later in the film, hundreds of fighters along with carriers arrive in Chicago, destroying the City. The Medium fighters mostly flew low and killed off humans and vehicles. Any remaining medium fighters guarded the carriers.
A Medium Fighter shooting Humans over a street in Chicago
Later, when Sam, Epps and the team are entering Chicago, they see hundreds of Medium Fighters and carriers over the city.
Hundreds of Medium Fighters along with Carriers guarding Chicago.
Two medium fighters shoot down Human Jets in seconds
A medium fighter opens fire onto the Team
Bumblebee accidentally crashes into a destroyed building
A medium fighter Reconfiguring
Later, when Epps and Sam and the Team enter the city, they start having second thoughts when they see three US Aircraft jets get shot down in seconds by medium Fighters. They decide not to go in, but Sam still wants to. Epps tells him no, but at that moment a Medium Fighter comes in and starts firing at them,the team quickly hides, while the Fighter misses several times. The fighter starts shooting other humans that are passing by. It uses its Plasma cannons to kill off most of the humans. The Fighter fly's low right over Sam and Epps and then re-configures into Attack mode. It try's to fire at Sam, but misses. The Fighter is then shot down by Optimus Prime. The Fighter spins out of control, firing randomly, then slides underneath a derailed subway train and crashes. A angry Decepticon Pilot breaks out of the cockpit with his gun drawn. But he is unfortunately ripped to pieces by the Wreckers.
The Pilot breaks out of the Cockpit
Bumblebee says he can So-So fly.
The inside of the Medium Fighter
Optimus and the Wreckers explain how they were in a separate booster engine on theXanthium. Then Sam has an idea that he and Bumblebee can sneak in using the Crashed Medium Fighter. He asks Bumblebee if he can pilot the Fighter. Bumblebee says "so-so". But Sam decides to do it anyway. They fly in, crashing into a destroyed biudling, scraping the top of the subway train, then fly off. They later fly towards the biudling where Carly is being held prisoner. They hover near the buildings balcony, then Sam jumps off onto the building using the Medium Fighters Plasma Cannon as a walkway. He hides under a counter, until Dylan walks in, complaining about how sick of waiting he was. Sam jumps out, surprising Dylan. Laserbeak transforms, and throws Sam off the balcony. Soon after when Bumblebees Fighter hovers over the Balcony, surprising Dylan that Sam lived. Carly jumps onto the Fighter with Sam. The Fighter turns its guns onto Dylan. Bumblebee instantly starts firing all of the Fighters guns into the Building. After Bumblebee broke all of the Windows,while a UAV drone was flying by to watch the action. Laserbeak fly's towards the drone and knocks it into the Fighters engine. The engine bursts into flames, while spinning out of control. The fighter hits a couple of buildings, while on fire. Sam grabs Laserbeak by the neck, and yells at Bumblebee asking him to fire. Bumblebee fires, decapitating Laserbeak. The Fighter gets to low and hits a Stoplight, then smashes into a small rock wall near the middle of the road. the fighter flips and spins out of control, tossing Sam off of the fighter.the Fighter crashes into the building next to it, and bursts into Flames. Bumblebee, and Sam both survive, and so does Carly.
Bumblebee starts shooting Dylans Building.
Dylans Building is destroyed by the Fighter
The Fighter Crashes
The Crashed Fighter
Wheelie and Brains' Fighter inside the Carrier
Later, Wheelie and Brains hijack a Medium Fighter and start playing around with it, but they accidentally fly inside a Carrier Ship. They crash inside, Smash against the Pillar, then crash land in the middle of the ship. They find out that their inside the Carrier. In order to save their friends, They both disable the ship, causing the carrier to drop the Fighters Everywhere, killing deceptions and distracting Soundwave from killing Bumblebee. The rest of the Fighters are dropped into the River below, while the Carrier plummets into the river itself.
The carrier starts dropping medium fighters into the River.
Throughout the entire film, you can always see Medium Fighters flying over the city.
Towards the end of the film, Bumblebee destroys the pillar, causing Cybertron to suck in the remaining Fighters and Carriers. The remaining Medium Fighters where destroyed.
The Remaining Fighters being sucked into Cybertrons atmosphere
Age of Extinction Film
The new Better and bigger backwards engines of the Upgraded Fighter
The Gun-Pod attachment to the Back of the Fighter
During the beginning of the movie, a group of teens find a crashed medium fighter that was stuck in the ground. They attempt to pull it out with their truck, but it turned out to be too heavy. The leader of the group pointed out that it had over 40 guns, and it had some unknown alien statistics.
Three other Upgraded Fighters Preparing to attack Bumblebee and Crosshairs
The Upgraded Medium Fighter from Transformers 4
There is a much bigger and more upgraded version of the Medium Sized Fighter. One of its new upgrades is that it has backwards engines, and much bigger engines with jet turbines fixed into them.. It has much bigger guns, and an open cockpit. It also has new 2x2 missle launchers, and a mini gun-pod attached to the back. The Fighter is now faster, stronger, and better then the older version. Cade, Tessa, and Shane were first introduced to the new fighter when Crosshairs backed it up and let them on. They climbed into the Gun pod. Crosshairs flew the fighter, and Bumblebee shot at the pursuing Fighters. Bumblebee used his Grapple Hook to catch a ship, then tossed the ship at a Pursuing Fighter. Then, Corsshairs shot two missiles to take out a draw bridge, causing the rubble to fall upon another fighter. Eventually, Crosshairs got bored of flying, so he decided to switch places with Bumblebee. Crosshairs explained to Cade and Tessa how the Gun-pod guns worked. (Punch,hold,slide Repeat) Then jumped off and shot down two fighters with his guns. They continued flying, while Cade,Tessa and Shane continued shooting down fighters. They were soon under a bridge, while being pursued by two upgraded Small Decepticon Fighters, They shot them down, then escaped the Bridge. They crashed, causing the Gun-pod to go flying, crashing into a "Bud Light" Truck, then crashing onto the hood of a car. The angry man in the car got out and complained to Cade asking him if he had Insurance.
"You better have insurance"
Merchandise
Starscream Orbital Assault Carrier(2011)
This Legion sized figure of Starscream comes with an "Orbital Assault carrier". This "carrier" appears to be based on the Medium Fighter in Dark of the moon. This vehicle can turn into a weapons platform, a carrier Starscream can ride, and the separate fighter mode. The Starscream figure itself is a slight re-mold of the previous Legends mold.
Notes
For the film, they made a life-sized Model of the Medium fighter for the Film. But, of course, the fighter could not fly, it was a prop. It was used for the scenes where Sam and Carly where standing on it, and the scene where Sam kills Lazerbeak on it.
Medium Fighters were the most commonly used Fighters in the film.
