abstract
| - With a reckless daring that came from being one of the swiftest of all the Autobots, Jetfire was the most eager of his comrades to plunge into battle. But his bravado was tempered by one overriding thought: he sincerely believed that victory over the Decepticons could only come through advancements in Autobot technology. As the first of a new generation of Autobots such a credo was perhaps only natural. Also, because he was created on Cybertron shortly before the launch of the Ark, Jetfire was one of the few Autobots who had almost no knowledge of his home planet. His allegiance to his cause was only matched by his devotion to self-aggrandizement. In jet-fighter mode, Jetfire's unique swing-wing design allowed him to take off like a normal jet and then, pulling his wings back, reach speeds of up to Mach 4.2. Adding twin supersonic combustion ramjet (i.e. scramjet) engine modules along with twin liquid hydrogen fuel tanks allowed Jetfire to achieve orbital velocities, or to even escape Earth's gravity altogether. With this capability, he could launch like a missile, shoot up above the atmosphere, and, at a speed of Mach 29, dive down like a blazing meteor (hence his name) half a world away only 30 minutes later. In robot and jet mode, he was equipped with four independently targetable particle beam cannons around his head and eight heat-seeking armor-piercing missiles. Jetfire's range was limited by his fuel consumption; any transatmospheric trip required his refueling when he lands. Since he was newly constructed by Shockwave, he was prone to numerous mechanical failures as the bugs in his system were worked out. Anything from a malfunctioning radio to an engine stall in deep space had been known to happen.
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