Type-6

Lore & Background

In the vast shipyards that line the orbital docks of a hundred systems, the Type-6 is produced in steady, unremarkable batches. It carries no faction banner, no elite insignia—just a clean hull and a practical layout. For the pilot scraping by on salvage runs between two mid-tier stations, or the courier who needs three hardpoints to deter a single bandit, the Type-6 is the answer. It asks little of its owner and delivers predictably, a trait that, in the lawless outer systems, is worth more than raw speed.

Veterans of the early colonisation era often recall the Type-6 as the default craft handed to new recruits at training stations. There is a particular nostalgia in hearing its engine note—a short, flat whine—echoing through a hangar bay while you wait for your first contract to clear. It is not the ship you dream of. It is the ship that gets you to the ship you dream of.

In the broader lore of the galaxy, the Type-6 represents the democratic underpinning of Elite's spacefaring culture: anyone, regardless of faction or fortune, can take a seat in a cockpit and point it at the stars. That accessibility is, in its own quiet way, a founding principle of the universe.

In Their Own Story

The hangar at Krait's Edge smelled of recycled air and burnt polymer. Mara wiped a streak of coolant from her cheek and stared at the Type-6's dented nose cone. Three hardpoints. Four cargo slots. A cockpit that fit her shoulders with exactly two centimetres of clearance on either side. She'd been flying it for eleven months, longer than any other ship, and in that time it had carried her through a dust storm in the Perseus arm, a very close encounter with a Krait patrol, and one particularly embarrassing attempt at a barrel roll that ended in a spin.

She patted the hull. "Alright, old girl," she murmured. "One more jump. Then I'm buying something with more than three guns."

The Type-6's engines spooled with their familiar, unimpressive whine. Mara punched the throttle and the little fighter slid out of the bay, trailing a thin ribbon of blue exhaust into the black. Somewhere ahead, the stars were waiting, indifferent to the size of the ship that carried her toward them.

Reader's Guide

Ship Class: Type-6 — Small Fighter (1-slot)

Role in the tech tree: The Type-6 sits at the very base of the small-fighter ladder. It is one of the first ships a new pilot can purchase without needing to complete a specific faction mission or reach a particular reputation tier. Think of it as the "default option" that the game offers before you've earned the right to choose something more specialised. It does not gate any other ship behind it, but it is the natural first upgrade from the Sidewinder for players who want a slightly more capable hull without committing to a medium or large frame.

Fitting: As a 1-slot ship, the Type-6 accepts only the smallest module sizes in every slot. Its three hardpoints can carry any combination of small weapons, point-defence, or utility modules, but you cannot fit medium or large hardpoint weapons. The internal slots are limited to small-scale power, shield, and life-support modules. This means the Type-6 is firmly a light-combat, short-range platform; it will never out-gun a medium fighter, and its shielding will not survive a sustained engagement with a capital ship.

Playstyle impact: The Type-6 rewards a hit-and-run approach. Its low mass and small profile make it quick to accelerate and easy to dodge, but its thin armour and limited shield regeneration mean you cannot afford to sit in a fight. The four cargo units are enough for a handful of light commodities or a small salvage haul, making it a reasonable early-game trade ship when you are too poor for a dedicated hauler. In practice, most pilots use the Type-6 as a "do-everything" platform: a little combat, a little trade, a little exploration, before saving up for a ship that does one of those things properly.

Tip: Because its three hardpoints are all small, a popular early loadout pairs a light laser or light missile launcher with a point-defence turret and a small fuel-scoop or cargo module. This gives you enough firepower to defend yourself, the ability to refuel in space, and a small bonus to your trade income without sacrificing your defensive options.

Did You Know?

• The Type-6 is one of the few ships in Elite Dangerous that a brand-new pilot can buy immediately, without completing any faction missions or reaching a specific reputation level, making it a true zero-barrier entry point
• Despite being a civilian-design fighter, the Type-6's three hardpoints and compact frame make it a surprisingly effective platform for light PvP skirmishes in the outer systems, where most opponents are flying comparably
• The Type-6's four cargo units are the same as the Sidewinder's, meaning upgrading from one to the other gains you hardpoints and a slightly larger hull without any increase in trade capacity—a subtle design choice that n
• In the game's ship hierarchy, the Type-6 occupies the same 1-slot tier as several other small fighters, but it is generally one of the least expensive options in that class, which is why it appears so frequently in the h