Operation Giant's Step

"This'll end the war."

- AWACS Long Caster

Operation Giant's Step was a battle during the Lighthouse War. The operation aimed to capture the Erusean capital city of Farbanti. Concurrently, an operation to destroy Erusea's satellites was taking place.

Prelude
Prior to the battle for Farbanti, Strider and Cyclops Squadrons, alongside Basilisk Team, secured an Erusean base in Cape Rainy. Following its seizure, Osean submarines arrived from the Osean mainland to reinforce the base and secure the area around it.

Battle
On September 19, 2019, Osean forces advanced on Farbanti and engaged Erusean forces at Farbanti Reconstruction Park, the Silver Bridge, and the submerged municipal district. Offshore to the east, the Osean Maritime Defense Force engaged the Erusean Navy.

With forces already engaged, squadrons of the Long Range Strategic Strike Group arrived in Farbanti to assist their allies. During the battle, Trigger shot down both Vincent Masson and Russel Faulkner. Following the elimination of substantial Erusean forces, Sol Squadron arrive and Mihaly A. Shilage sinks multiple Osean naval ships. To prevent further damage to the Osean forces, Strider and Cyclops engage Sol.

Trigger manages to shoot down all members of Sol apart from Mihaly, however, they all manage to safely eject. With the engagement dragging on, and to prevent further Osean losses, Wiseman distracts Mihaly while Trigger attempts to shoot him down. After a period of entertaining the engagement, Mihaly shoots down and kills Wiseman before facing off against Trigger.

During the dogfight, Osean aircraft destroyed Erusean satellites in orbit with anti-satellite weaponry. Having devised a similar plan, Erusean aircraft also destroyed Osean satellites, causing communications and head-up display errors for both sides. Due to errors, coupled with the loss of Farbanti, Sol retreated from the airspace.

Aftermath
Following the loss of their capital and communications satellites, the Erusean military fell into disarray. This gave rise to multiple factions which formed across the Usean continent. Both Osean and Erusean forces were now unable to contact one their superiors, leaving them isolated.