Hydra (Jet)

The Hydra, known as the RAI Scramble Hydra, is a decommissioned VTOL capable military jet used by the Unified Police Department.

General Description
The Hydra is a decommissioned military jet, currently with no weapons. It is an extremely fast vehicle, courtesy of its afterburners, and relatively agile. It is also able to land at helicopter landing pads in addition to runways due to its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities.

The Hydra is primarily based on the Harrier II, manufactured by British Aerospace, with certain features of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-35 Lightning II. The Hydra's cockpit is specifically from the F-16 Fighting Falcon, manufactured by General Dynamics. The nose, vertical fins and horizontal stabilizers resemble that of the F-35 Lightning II, manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

Usage
The Hydra is only flown by experienced pilots, many of whom have either extensive flight hours in the police department's AS350 helicopters, or are Flight FTOs. Entry to the training program required to fly Hydra jets is limited to members of the Air Corps. The training focuses on VTOL as well as conventional take-offs and landings, and procedures for intercepting aircraft. There are currently 2 Hydra jets available to the Unified Police Department for use.

The Hydra is mainly used to track and identify rogue aircraft. This is a complicated process in which the two Hydra jets fly to the rogue aircraft, which is identified through the Air Traffic Control (ATC) service run by the Los Santos Police Dispatch. The two Hydras would attempt to quickly reach the rogue aircraft, and from there, get the rogue aircraft to identify itself through ATC. If the aircraft does not comply, an AS350 police helicopter may be utilised to shoot it down.