XFA-33 Fenrir

The Fenrir is an original next-generation combat aircraft from the Strangereal universe.

Creation
The Fenrir was developed in Leasath between October and December 2020, during the Aurelian War, under the supervision of Diego Navarro. The production of the aircraft began after the destruction of the Gleipnir in Santa Elva at the hands of Aurelian Air Force pilot Gryphus One, which allowed Leasathian arms makers to create a new fighter design using combat data obtained from the battle. Archelon Fortress, a stronghold in the Danern Straits, was used as the aircraft's manufacturing plant.

After his escape from Griswall, Navarro began preparations to publicly unveil Fenrir in an event at the Leasathian capital of Alendal, planning to demonstrate its capabilities in combat with Aurelia in an attempt to market it to the international aviation industry. In anticipation of the "test", he contacted the elite Alect Squadron and offered them the chance to pilot the aircraft, which they accepted.

Destruction
The desctruction of the Fenrir varies between the choices of Gryphus One.

If the Alect Squadron was shot down in the Danern Straits, the High-Powered Microwave from Cobalt Cave was already sent to Archelon Fortress. When the Gryphus and Aquila squadrons arrive to destroy the advanced figher and the fort that houses these jets, one of the Fenrirs fired an HPM shot at Aquila One and the targeted aircraft was destroyed in mid-air due to the ignition of the fuel tanks. The Aurelian radio operator, Eugene "Crux" Solano, advised the Aurelian fighters to increase speed for them to evade the HPM attacks. Gryphus One shot down all of the Fenrirs before eliminating the Shock Cannon that was activated shortly after.

If the HPMs in the cargo ships and its warehouses were destroyed at Cobalt Cave, the Alect Squadron was already stationed at Archelon Fortress, preparing to sortie with the advanced aircraft. A defecting Leasath scientist that was retrieved at Cobalt Cave gave information regarding the aircraft's design. Due to its size, the Optical camouflage is powered from an external power source at the fortress. The Gryphus and Aquila squadrons launched the assault on the fortress to eliminate the advanced fighters. A small Aurelian naval fleet was also present to open the power plant that generates enough power for the Fenrir's optical camouflage. Gryphus One then proceeded to destroy the power plant and shortly after, he shot down the advanced fighters and. When the infiltration team opened the fortress gate, a fifth Fenrir was spotted attempting to escape the area. Gryphus One entered the fortress, shot down the fleeing plane, and narrowly escaped the exploding fortress.

After the assault, one intact example was retrieved from the ruins to be inspected by Aurelian engineers.

General Analysis
Developed as the only mass-production fighter debuting in 2020, the Fenrir is distinguished by its unusually large body. It uses a polyhedral cropped delta configuration with bent wingtips, a V-tail, canards and dual air intakes. The frontal landing gear is housed within the mouth-like pod beneath the cockpit. It uses dual thrust vectoring engines, aided by a smaller powerplant between both, which give it V/STOL capabilities.

Following the standard set by aircraft of the era, it uses Connection for Flight Interface hardware for control. The cockpit uses a dashboard with a digital interface that displays vital information of the aircraft, along with a 3D render of the Fenrir that acts as a compass.

Technology
The Fenrir was primarily designed to operate with the experimental technologies researched in Leasath. The jet can use a downscaled version of the optical camouflage system used by the Gleipnir, as well as an experimental microwave weapon. The stealth system's reduced size requires the jet to work with a ground emitter, yet retains the vulnerabiliy of the Gleipnir to malfunctioning from damage feedback; technological constraints related to it were the reason behind its COFFIN system. The microwave system, on the other hand, works through the intersection of plasma beams generated by a ground station and the Fenrir itself, which generates the creation of ball lightning designed to ignite the fuel tanks of enemy aircraft.

Its main weapons consist of dual machine guns and short-range missiles. Along with AMRAAMs and air-to-ground missiles, the initial models were also designed to use small-scale version of the Shock Wave Ballistic Missile used by the Gleipnir. The Fenrirs obtained by Aurelia from Archelon Fortress's wreckage could not use neither optical camouflage nor microwave, but the lack of the required systems made them lighter, and thus more maneuverable.

Game Analysis
Acquisition
 * -|X: Skies of Deception====Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception===
 * Complete campaign mode in Ace difficulty.

Description
 * An advanced fighter developed using tactical battle data gathered on the Gleipnir.

History
 * The development of the Fenrir began at some point during the Leasath Civil War under Diego Navarro's supervision, along with the Gleipnir. Diego, who would later become the country's leader, intended to use Leasath's military-industrial complex to mass-produce the jet and export it to buyers across the world, and thus obtain profit from the transactions. Archelon Fortress, a stronghold near the Leasath-Aurelia border, was used as a manufacturing plant for the fighter.


 * After the reunification of Leasath in 2020, Navarro plotted to instigate a war with Aurelia to demonstrate the abilities of the aircraft, convincing his people and subordinates that the civil war was caused by their humanitarian intervention, leading to the invasion of the country in 2020.


 * Aided by the monetary influx from the invasion, the Fenrir project continued without problems. During the occupation of Griswall, ceremonies and events were held by Navarro inside the Gaiuss Tower, in which he spoke of the fighter to foreign businessmen and reporters to obtain their interest. Abandoned documents related to the project were found by Aurelian soldiers in his office inside the tower after the recapture of Griswall.


 * Motivated by the loss of the Gleipnir in Santa Elva, Navarro chose to initiate the second step of his plan, which involved the Fenrir. He contacted the Alect Squadron and offered them the chance to fight Gryphus One, the destroyer of the airborne fortress, and later mobilized to Archelon to procure Fenrir units. The Aurelian Air Force discovered their activities and attacked an advanced weapons research facility in the Danern Straits, allowing Alect Squadron to obtain control of Fenrir.


 * Alternatively, the Alect Squadron can be intercepted and destroyed and the advanced weapons research facility can transport a microwave weapon to Archelon Fortress. Which is the canonical event is unknown as of yet.


 * Following the operations in the straits, Aurelian forces besieged Archelon to defeat the Leasath army, and several Fenrirs were taken down by Gryphus, who overcame their technological superiority. A lone pilot flew inside the Archelon factory in an attempt to escape through the border, but was killed by Gryphus before he could succeed.


 * During the battle, Diego hosted an event at a stadium in the Leasathian capital of Alendai, intending to publicly demonstrate the capabilities of the fighter to the world. The siege of Archelon was televised by crews on boats near the base, who relayed them live back to the stadium, causing a riot among the event's attendants. Navarro was attacked by a furious crowd, and either was lynched to death or fled the site and escaped the country. An unspecified number of Fenrirs were seized by Aurelian troops from Archelon's wreckage.

Named Aces
 * Alect Squadron

Statistics
 * Speed: Maximum
 * Air-to-Air: Maximum
 * Air-to-Ground: Maximum
 * Mobility: High
 * Stability: High
 * Defense: High

Special Weapons
 * LASM
 * LSWM
 * XMAA

Colors
 * Aurelia: Plain gray
 * Leasath: Solid black paintjob, used by Alect Squadron. Available upon unlocking all available paint schemes
 * Special 1: Dark blue. Unlocked by S-ranking Operation X in Ace difficulty
 * Special 2: Desert brown with gray nose and body trim. Fill the aircraft's Kill Bar to unlock

Acquisition
 * -|Joint Assault=
 * The Fenrir is unlocked for purchase upon completing mission 21A Reprisal within Ace difficulty after on second playthrough or thereafter in overall.

Description
 * A special attacker with mysterious capabilities and amazing maneuverability.

Statistics
 * Speed: Advanced
 * Air-to-Air: High
 * Air-to-Ground: High
 * Mobility: High
 * Stability: High
 * Defense: High

Special Weapons
 * LASM
 * XMAA
 * SFFS
 * LSWM

Colors
 * Color 1: Aurelian light grey livery
 * Color 2: Leasath Alect Squadron livery
 * Color 3: Blue livery
 * Color 4: Cream livery with black nose
 * Color 5: God Eater collaboration theme
 * Color 6: Ocean livery

Named Pilots
 * Dandelion (Operation X)

Trivia

 * The aircraft is named after a mythical wolf from Norse mythology, and the son of Loki. Odin's son, Víðarr, slays Fenrir in battle. This is referred in the Ace Combat X medal "The Mark of Vioarr", earned by finishing either final mission.
 * The Fenrir bears a resemblance to the Super Sylph B-503 from Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze. This similarity is specially notable in the design of the wings and the mouth-like protrusion beneath the Fenrir's nose.
 * The hologram of the Fenrir in the cockpit always faces north no matter which direction the aircraft faces, suggesting it is meant to act as a compass. However, in Ace Combat: Joint Assault, the hologram no longer rotates. It is unknown if this is a glitch or if it was done on purpose by Project Aces.
 * In the mission End of Deception one of the pilots from the Aquila squadron said the Fenrir suddenly stopped in mid air, suggesting it has VTOL capabilities. This was supported because the Fenrir has three engines and when it slows down, the middle engine points its exhaust downward, similar to an AV-8B Harrier II's thrust vectoring nozzles.
 * A franchise made by Namco Bandai, "God Eater", features an organization called "Fenrir", sharing its name with the Ace Combat aircraft. Fittingly enough, the Fenrir has an unlockable God Eater-themed collaboration livery in Joint Assault.
 * In early concept art, the F-3 Shinden II used a similar wing configuration to the Fenrir.
 * In mission 7, Bastion, in ACE COMBAT ZERO on of the allies you fly with is named Fenrir 4 and says something over the radio. (Heard around ten minutes into mission.)