Profile: DME is a tinkerer's paradise -- here, designers and  mechanics can attempt modifications which more traditional (read: hidebound) organizations would never allow. When a flight of Marquette Defenders was put up for auction in El Paso, DME bought the lot, and flew them back to Tombstone. Most observers believed DME had collectively flipped their lids. DME made their critics gag on their words. When the Defenders reemerged, they had been given the full DME treatment -- the Juarez replaced with a Pratt & Whitney P12, the Czech 0.50s and 0.30s replaced with Colt-built units, and the armor increased. Another page in DME's "miracle-worker" record was written. 

Performance: For a moderate price increase and the loss of a hardpoint, this unit's acceleration is tripled, its armor is thicker, and its mechanical shortcomings have been dealt with. Some observers have noted that the DME Defender's alphanumeric designation suggests the word "pride", an emotion its pilots have often mentioned feeling, especially after defeating a foe who assumed all Defenders are junk.