no... i dont think there is a light fighter capable of handling the lvl-10 proton shield, as there is also a lvl-10 freighter shield, and i KNOW there aint a freighter that can handle that shield.

maybe in the next expansion (aren't we all looking forward to that )

Somebody else noticed the same thing for freighter shields. Perhaps there's a plan for the later introduction of more ships. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Bretonian Gunboat. Another thought, however, is that the equipment system is something like the spell system of Asheron's Call. In it, the only way to include debuff spells was to provide an opposite version of every single spell in the game. That made for unusual, and useless, spells in your spellbook. By having a spell that allowed you to increase your own strength, you also had a spell allowing you to decrease it. Thus in Freelancer, if they have class 10 VHF shields, they also have to have class 10 light fighter or freighter shields.