it's nice to have a vhf with 2 tizona del cids, 2 other guns, 1 cannonball missile and 1 firestalker missile and as a extra a sunslayer torp...
u can kill every shield in 1 or 2 shots and launch the missiles at it, while also do flakshots at hit
u use 3 div speed and 3 div turnrated missiles... and then u must gonna get away from the extra flakshots...
against ai, just shoot about 2.5k away with thrusters full on a sunslayer torp, the most will have already a weak or no shield when u start shoot with ur guns, ok. it's expensive but fun to c the slow torp go to them and explodes into the group of fighters
...
missiles r fun if u can afford them, mostly i use missiles lately... on a defender is the slingshot missile a good 1, co'z u don't drain ur energy core that fast anymore... that's more worth then 1 missile launcher...