Designed as a heavy fighter with long- and short range combat capabilities, the Chippewa was constructed under Star League Defense Forces' Contract 20091 A. After the fall of the Star League, most of these craft ended up in the Lyran Commonwealth, where their ability to fight well in space and in-atmosphere soon made them House Steiner's primary heavy fighters.

         The Chippewa is a large-wing design, with cockpit and fuselage attached in the center. The outer wing areas are fully retractable, making it easy to store the Chippewa aboard a DropShip or transport. The large wings allow for tight control in a dead-stick landing and for maneuverability when fighting in atmosphere.
         The PlasmaStar 270 engine is a relatively simple propulsion unit that requires limited preventive maintenance, making the Chippewa a good choice as a frontline fighter. The craft's well-rounded weapons array provides close-support fire as well as long-range capability. The Chippewa's ever-reliable Exostar missile delivery systems require modular replacement parts.
         The Chippewa carries almost four tons of ammunition for its LRMs and one ton for the SRMs, stored in separate sections to prevent massive chain-reaction explosions. The large number of rounds it carries enables this vessel to support itself in combat for extended periods.
         Bowie Industries provided the Chippewa's laser systems with special insulation to reduce heat transfer to the fighter's superstructure. When the lasers are used, the insulation provides the equivalent of two extra heat sinks. Supplies of replacement insulation have become scare as the Succession Wars raged on, however, and many Chippewas no longer have this feature.

         In the mad scramble for weapons prior to the outbreak of the First Succession War, House Steiner made a grab for the Bowie Industries plant on the world of Dell. Even after the start of the war, the plant mass-produced CHP-W5s at full capacity until a Kurita raid destroyed the facility.
         In space and in the atmosphere, the Chippewa makes a formidable opponent. During a raid on the Steiner-controlled planet of Lyons in 2966, the Kurita attackers met with disaster at the hands of a Steiner strike force made up of eight Chippewas, accompanied by a small group of Seydlitz support craft, hidden on the planet's moon. The Kurita attackers found the planet lightly defended and noticed the hidden Chippewas too late. Before the Kurita forces could rally, the heavy fighters drove through their attack force and obliterated all but one Kurita ship.
         House Steiner used an attack force of Chippewas during the famous "Deep Raid" on the world of Ling in 2987. A task force of several DropShips escorted by Chippewas moved secretly to the planet Ling, deep within the Free Worlds League. Dropping onto the planet to destroy the BattleMech facilities under construction there, the Chippewa fighters crippled the air defense force before most of the fighters could get off the ground. Many of these victorious Chippewas were unfortunately lost on the long and difficult trip back to the Lyran Commonwealth.
         In 2991, House Marik conducted a retaliatory raid against House Steiner with the goal of capturing several Chippewa fighters. A handful of infantry and dispossessed fighter pilots dropped onto the Steiner-held world of Wyatt, snuck into the planet's aerospace base, and flew out with six Chippewa fighters. The base's defenders attempted to block the invaders'escape, but four of the Marik pilots returned with the stolen Chippewas to the Free Worlds League.
         During a raid on the planet Laiaka in 3012, a Steiner Chippewa and its escorts suddenly encountered an Overlord Class DropShip with six heavy fighters. Badly outgunned, the Chippewa and its escorts held their own for several minutes until, in the heat of battle, Chippewa pilot Dan McCleary crashed his fighter into the DropShip. The explosion of the Chippewa crippled the larger ship's already damaged engines, and the DropShip crashed onto the planet below. In McCleary's honor, House Steiner established the McCleary Award for Heroism.