The R-311 is a parasite ground-attack plane built by Neucom for the purpose of blitz-attacking enemy ground facilities. Pairs of it are carried by R-531 Moburas to be jettisoned above enemy territory for attack, then reattach after the completion of the mission.
It is a very strangely designed plane, appearing similar to a cruise missile due to the removal of any and all functions deemed unnecessary for its purpose. Its overall fuselage is long and narrow, tapering towards the front and bulging around the rear to provide cockpit and engine space. At the rear of the plane around the engine are two small wings, more similar to a missile or a helicopter's stub wings than a typical combat plane's wings. It has no stabilators, and only a very small fin on the underside serving as a vertical stabilizer. The engine can reach speeds of above Mach 2.5 and withstand altitudes in excess of 40,000 feet.
The plane, being optimized for drop-launch high-speed attacking, is amazing at it, but not very good in other fields. It has excellent turning and climbing performance, but its small size gives it little space for fuel or armor, resulting in short operational times and range, and poor defensive capabilities. Its powerful engine combined with its design make it incredibly unstable in flight, and the weapons selection is limited to munitions oriented towards ground attack, which means the plane cannot be effectively used as an interceptor either.
History
The R-311 saw limited action in the Intercorporate War. Their most notable appearance was they attacking General Resource's air base at the White Valley region. The success of the operation depended on Nemo's allegiance at the time. Cynthia Fitzgerald of the Neucom Emergency Unit owned a personalized Remora, named R-311C, however she did not use it frequently.
Game Analysis
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere
"A quick and nimble aircraft which had all features from conventional craft deemed unnecessary removed. It was developed with the purpose of maximizing accomplishments in a short amount of time. The extremely high power is achieved by significantly reducing wing area and decreasing its weapon payload. Since it is quite a lightweight craft, it has good turn and climbing characteristics. However, since it abandoned any long-range cruising capability, it uses the R-531 Mobura as a mothership which carries it to the combat airspace and then launches it."
Neucom: This aircraft is only usable in "Power for Life".
Cynthia's personal version: Normally unobtainable, but can be made playable by using the "deadcopy" save file found in Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere - Direct Audio/AppenDisc.
International version: This aircraft is not available to the player.
Remora is the name for a symbiotic fish that attaches itself to the bodies of larger fish such as sharks and manta rays and cleanses their body of bacteria. The name of the aircraft is appropriate, considering that the Remora is a parasite fighter carried by Moburas.
It greatly resembles the anti-grav racers used in the Wipeout series of video games.
