Recommended Progression
Viper Mk. 3
Viper Mk. 3
The cheapest really capable combat ship, having enough survivability to survive under fire for long enough to either get the upper hand or flee, and having a decent distributor and good hardpoint placement to boot.
Anaconda
Anaconda
An insanely good PvE combat ship. It combines the best distributor of the game with great hardpoint placement, and very good (for PvE overkill) survivability. Only the handling is a definite step down from smaller options.