Cruise missile
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A cruise missile is a missile that is guided and powered from launch all the way to its target. They do not rely solely on gravity as ballistic missiles do; instead, their engine(s) remain attached at all times and they use aerodynamics to reach their targets, traveling in a mostly level flight path rather than reaching their target via a curved arc. They support a variety of warheads, including conventional and nuclear warheads.
Cruise missiles in the Ace Combat franchise typically appear in large groups as priority targets for the player to shoot down.
Description
Cruise missiles can be fired from various launch platforms. Aircraft that have carried cruise missiles in the series include the B-1B Lancer,[1] B-2A Spirit,[1][2] Rafale M,[3] and the P-1112 Aigaion[4] and other Aigaion-class heavy command cruisers.[5][6] Ground vehicles[7] and naval vessels have also carried cruise missiles.[8][9]
Ace Combat Infinity and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown featured the Land Attack Cruise Missile special weapon on select aircraft, allowing the player to fire cruise missiles towards ground targets with a wide area of effect and powerful damage.
History
Strangereal
During the Belkan War, the Allied Forces used multiple cruise missiles during Operation Cannibal. Launched shortly after Galm Team's bomber escort mission over Hoffnung began, the missiles contributed to the significant damage the city sustained during the operation.[10]
The Dragonet-class submarines carried cruise missiles with multiple warheads and advanced AI during the Usean coup d'état. Near the end of the conflict, the Dragonet-class submarine Folkvangr launched a cruise missile at Saint Ark, attempting to level the city. The missile was destroyed by Phoenix prior to impact, however, saving the city.[note 1]
Erusea's armed forces launched a volley of cruise missiles towards the Independent State Allied Forces during the late stages of the Continental War. The cruise missiles targeted ISAF ground troops performing a landing operation in Ice Creek. Mobius 1 shot down all of the cruise missiles, allowing the troops to land and relinquish the northern coast from Erusean control.[11]
In the early days of the Circum-Pacific War, Yuktobania used cruise missiles carried by B-2 bombers in an attempt to destroy Basset Space Center's mass driver during the midst of an Osean SSTO launch. The bombers ultimately failed and were shot down by Wardog Squadron, though at least one cruise missile still managed to damage the mass driver. Despite this, the SSTO launch was successful, delivering a laser module to the Arkbird.[2]
Estovakia deployed two types of cruise missiles during the Emmeria-Estovakia War. The first was the Nimbus missile, a large airburst cruise missile carried by the P-1112 Aigaion. These missiles were given terminal guidance by unmanned marker drones to accurately strike their targets.[4][12][13] The second type was the Chandelier cruise missile, which were carried in multitudes within special shells fired from the Chandelier.[14] All of these cruise missiles were destroyed by the Republic of Emmeria Air Force.
Cruise missiles were used at least twice during the Lighthouse War: once in a failed attempt by the Alicorn's embarked squadron to strike a civilian center,[3] and once at the end of the war, during Operation Daredevil, in a failed attempt by an Osean-Erusean coalition to shoot down the Arsenal Bird Justice. In the latter scenario, cruise missiles were fired from multiple bomber aircraft.[1]
Assault Horizon universe
Cruise missiles equipped with Trinity warheads were used repeatedly in the New Russian Federation uprising.
Gallery
The cruise missile ("SLBM") launched from the destroyed Folkvangr in Ace Combat 2
The tip of the "SLBM" in Ace Combat 2
The "SLBM" approaching Saint Ark in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy
The storyboard for the cutscene of the "SLBM" destroying Saint Ark in Ace Combat 2
Estovakian cruise missile
A flight of Erusean cruise missiles
Erusean cruise missile
Close-up view of an Erusean cruise missile flying upside down
Yuktobanian cruise missile
A cruise missile carrying a Trinity warhead detonating
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mission 19: "Lighthouse", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mission 06: "White Bird (Part I)", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SP Mission 01: "Unexpected Visitor", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mission 01: "Invasion of Gracemeria", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Special Raid: "Moby Dick Pursuit I", Ace Combat Infinity.
- ↑ Special Raid: "Moby Dick Pursuit II", Ace Combat Infinity.
- ↑ Mission 12C: "Wild Card", Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mission 29: "Last Resort", Ace Combat 2.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Mission 22: "Last Resort", Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy.
- ↑ Mission 12: "The Stage of Apocalypse", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
- ↑ Mission 14: "Breaking Arrows", Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.
- ↑ Mission 07: "Selumna Peak", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 08: "San Loma Assault", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 14: "Gracemeria Patrol", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
Footnotes
- ↑ The head-up display in Ace Combat 2[8] and both Allied and rebel dialogue in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy erroneously referred to these cruise missiles as submarine-launched ballistic missiles, or SLBMs.[9] The only missile launched by a Dragonet-class submarine—fired by the Folkvangr to attack Saint Ark—was powered through its entire low-altitude flight to the city, making it a cruise missile.[8][9]