Chandelier cruise missile

The Chandelier cruise missile is an special cruise missile employed by the Estovakian-built Chandelier railgun.

The Chandelier cruise missile is notable for its unique method of deployment: instead of being launched from a ground site, the missiles are loaded into an special shell called "Stauros", which is then fired from the Chandelier. Once it arrives at the target destination, the Stauros chute shatters, at which point the loaded missiles will ignite their engines and head towards the target. These missiles, as seen the picture, have a massive size, being approximately as long as an SR-71 Blackbird's fuselage. However, their size appears to be a disadvantage, as the missiles have an unusually low movement speed (about 200 K/MH.) The missiles seem to carry a heavy payload, as evidenced by the massive explosion caused by one upon impact.

Operational history
The Stauros missiles were first seen in combat days after the liberation of Emmeria's capital Gracemeria. The Emmerians held a celebration in honor of the Anean Continental War's end. During the celebration, the Chandelier began launching missiles towards Gracemeria, backed up by a large contingent of fighter jets & stealth bombers. The missile attack was successfully repelled, and the remaining Estovakians eliminated.

Some time after the defense of Gracemeria, Emmerian high command discovered the existance of the Chandelier. An operation was carried out to investigate the suspected missile site at Sonne Island, located at northern Estovakia. The REAF aircraft arrived at Sonne, right when the Chandelier was commencing launch operations. After the last stand of the Estovakian military, the Chandelier sustained severe infrastructure damage, which led to the railgun's collapse. All remaining Stauros missiles were presumably destroyed when the Chandelier's core was destroyed, leading to an explosive chain reaction across the railgun's structure.

Gameplay
The CCMs are seen only in mission 14 (Gracemeria Patrol) and 15 (Chandelier) of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. They appear as critical targets in mission 14, and as non-important targets.

During Chandelier, Stauros chutes will spawn underneath the Chandelier at medium intervals. The player can earn extra points by destroying these chutes before they reach the tunnel below the barrel. Players will also have to pay attention to the radio, as the Chandelier controller will always announce preparations for chute launching.

Trivia

 * During Gracemeria Patrol, if they player approaches an Stauros chute as it closes in on the city, Shamrock will comment on the chute's size.
 * These are the largest cruise missiles seen in the Ace Combat series.