Aircraft (Gauss) Cannon, Discrete Armor, Shields

[Pratapon51]

I'm disappointed I can't install auxiliary 30+ mm cannons on my fighter(-bombers), or create my space-empire version of the A-10 or AC-130.

I also believe that, should there be more aircraft that fill the combat-transport or ground attack role, we should be able to choose discrete armor levels for aircraft models. If I want to armor my helicopters as heavily as a Hind, I ought to be able to. [:D]

Shielding would be an extension of my past Vehicle Shield suggestion.

[zgrssd]

There is maybe one thing you "armor" with Aircrafts: The pilot!
Armoring the whole craft is inherently pointless, as you make it to heavy to lift off. Avoiding fire using flight performance is a better safety measure then any armor.
Armor that could deflect more then a Rifle shot was rare. And usually remvoed, to make the thing maneuver better anyway!

Proper AA effortlessly goes through. And with Helicopters, the Rotor is a giant weakspot anyway.

Reliability in Aircraft is done via redundancy, compartmentalisation and plenty of empty space - not armor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v5aMayFrRE

[Pratapon51]

You're not wrong, but SE aircraft are not necessarily constrained by the same design limitations of Earth aircraft because of differing gravity and atmospheric conditions, as well as high-tech supermaterials. It also doesn't preclude the addition of shield generators except for technobabble reasons, given that the tech tree allows shield generators to be shrunk down to man-portable size. A shielded cockpit sounds like a nice idea.

As I stated in my own post, some (limited) examples of aircraft - largely helicopters and close air support planes - do have relatively heavy armor as far as planes go. The Hind, for one, is resistant to .50 cal all over - rotors included - so I ought to have an 'option' to make some forms of craft resistant to machine gun fire, at the least.