M4 Interceptor

A fighter jock’s fighter, M4s are the premiere ship for wannabe Luke Skywalkers or Tom Cruise Mavericks who want to slaughter other fighter-class ships of the same size or smaller. Born to kill M5s, other M4s, and a few of the weaker M3s alike, the M4 tries to strike the balance between the agility of the M5 and the firepower of the M3. With a forward battery tending to carry 6 guns of one sort or another, once an M4 gets another fighter in its sights, it usually has both the firepower to sustain the DPS to take it out and the maneuverability to keep it from darting out of range. The greatest equalizer of the M4 is its much larger (well, compared to M5s) cargo bay -- most M4s have the ability to carry M-size wares, which means you can use some of the meatier M-size missiles piecemeal, or load up on a decent amount of the smaller ones. If you haven’t already, learn to love missiles -- they are your best friend, especially in subcapital battles.

As a Player's Ship
As its name implies, it is best suited as a player ship for your first few hours as an X3 player due to its utility in killing other small ships (which will be your most common opponent). However, M3s and M4+s will give most newer players trouble, as their shielding can withstand a large amount of light weapons fire, sometimes outpacing the DPS of the still-weak weapons generator.

As an AI carrier-launched fighter or wingman
As a carrier-borne ship, it’s got its moments -- specifically, if a flight of enemy M8s or M3Bs is on the horizon, you can scoot out a squad of M4s to get there quick, fast, and in a hurry before they can lob too many Tomahawks at you. As a wingman, they can keep enemies distracted while you do the dirty work.