The Cheetah Class fighter is a Marik variant of a Star League design. The original Cheetahs served as small support or reconnaissance craft. The designer, Imstar Aerospace, produced a craft that shunned armor protection for high speed and striking power. Unable to take large amounts of damage, the Cheetah could either attempt to blast light enemy fighters with its superior weapons or use its impressive speed to outrun larger craft.

After the Star League's collapse, House Marik copied the Cheetah design. As more and more factories in Marik space were geared up to produce Cheetahs, the Cheetah quickly became the standard House Marik fighter.

In space, the Cheetah's high thrust rating makes it one of the Inner Sphere's most maneuverable aerospace fighters, capable of flying circles around medium or heavy fighters. Its one light Starflash I and two medium Starflash II lasers give it more striking power than most other light craft. If hit by a heavy laser or missile volley, however, the lightly armored Cheetah is in serious trouble.

Although it is an agile craft, many pilots report that the Cheetah is difficult to control in atmospheric flight. Its high speed also makes it guzzle fuel, keeping the Cheetah's flying range limited. As a DropShip escort, the Cheetah performs well, especially in large numbers. They swarm enemy fighters, flying at such high speeds that enemy ships find them almost impossible to track.

Reconnaissance flights are one of this fighter's specialties. The Cheetah-R, a recon version whose medium lasers have been replaced with external fuel tanks, is the model usually assigned to this job. Able to outrun larger aircraft, the Cheetah-R has gathered data of incalculable value to House Marik in many battles.

The Cheetah has also been modified for ground attack. Its high thrust rating enables it to carry a large ordnance payload without losing too much maneuverability. A squadron of dive-bombing Cheetahs sweeping in at low altitude has been known to wreak havoc on BattleMechs, infantry, and armored vehicles. Many a crucial attack has been either foiled or helped by Cheetah air support.

Early in the Succession Wars, House Marik made frequent use of Cheetahs as attack and reconnaissance craft. Cheetahs and Rievers preceded the Marik invasion of the independent world of Xanthe III in 2828, but the local defenders-armed with old Star League equipment-proved stronger than the Marik commander expected. The invasion soon degenerated into a bloody, drawn-out conflict. Cheetahs flew many suppression raids against the guerrillas of the Xanthe resistance, and also against the small but well equipped Xanthe Air Force.

A raid on the Xanthist base at Green River showed both the Cheetah's efficiency and its potency against ground-based targets. Two squadrons of Cheetahs flew in low, while a squadron of Rievers flew combat air patrol. The Cheetahs encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire, but their high speed hampered enemy gunners trying to get a fix on them. As the Rievers held off an enemy squadron of Thunderbird fighters, the Cheetahs successfully bombarded their target and returned to base without losses.

Marik Cheetahs also fight well in space, and were able to frustrate House Steiner's heavy aerospace fighters during an attack on Rochelle. Using their high thrust to maneuver close to the planet, the Marik fighters out-fought the slower Steiner craft, which were handicapped by the high gravity. As the Steiner forces' fuel consumption mounted, dozens of Cheetahs continued to flash in at blinding speed, blaze away with their guns, and retreat. The Steiner invaders were ultimately forced to call off the attack.

Other battles show the Cheetah's drawbacks. In 2952, a squadron of Cheetahs supporting a Marik raid on Andarmax was attacked by a mixed squadron of Liao Thunderbirds and Eagles. Unable to escape through the screen of enemy fighters, the Cheetah squadron was shot to pieces by the enemy's superior weaponry; only a ragged handful managed to escape back to their base.

Though the Cheetah is a fast, well armed fighter, commanders must keep in mind that it is very lightly armored. If used without proper support from heavier fighters, the results may be disastrous.

As already mentioned, the stripped-down Cheetah-R is useful for long-range reconnaissance, especially against areas defended by slower, heavier fighters. Other variants include the Cheetah-S, which replaces the medium lasers with a single SRM 4-rack, and replaces a ton of fuel with SRM ammunition. As this model has range restrictions due to the lack of fuel, it is used mostly as a point-defense craft at crucial installations, or as a defensive craft on board DropShips.

Lieutenant Michael Pearce
Pearce is a Marik ace as notorious for his social views as for his combat skill . A dedicated athiest, he enjoys engaging in debate with Catholics, Neo-Calvinists, Moslems, or Jews of the Free Worlds League. His Cheetah, which serves in Polson's Air Lance, First Regiment, Regulan Hussars, carries nine kill markers. The one enemy who has continually eluded Pearce is Lieutenant John "Mad Jack" Reynolds, a self-professed religious fanatic who has sworn to destroy Pearce "in the name of God" . Reynolds, pilot of a Steiner Stingray fighter, is also a skilled soldier, and all clashes between the two have been inconclusive.

Some may consider Pearce and Reynolds two sides of the same fanatic coin, but the fact remains that Pearce is an eminently more tolerable individual, with a friendly manner and a quick, if slightly bizarre, sense of humor.

Captain Diane Virgil
This commander of a mercenary squadron of six Cheetahs and six Sabres has earned the nickname "Vixen" as a result of her striking good looks and her swift, deadly attacks. Virgil's squadron has adopted the ancient skull-and-crossbones symbol as its insignia, and its commander dresses in a rather stylized swashbuckling style, complete with plumed hat and leather boots. Her pilots all carry cutlasses as well as guns, and anyone who laughs at them for their affectations finds himself in serious trouble.

Virgil's tactics consist of swift attacks, followed by swift withdrawals while the enemy regroups. The light, fast fighters of her squadron are well-suited to this task, and have been employed by all the Successor Houses.