Gleipnir

Weapon Information
Purpose: Airborne-fortress; Multi-Purpose Stealth Bomber Manufacturer(s): The Republic of Leasath Date Started: Unknown Date Completed: Sometime in early 2020 Date Destroyed: October 2020

Height: 40 m Width: 280-300m Length: 260m Weight: unknown

Armaments
Combat Range: SWBM has an estimated range 300-350 miles. Shock cannon can destroy and damage anything below the Gleipnir as long as it is directly under it. Its Shock Cannon can desintegrate targets even at a height of 8000 meters, although the crew would find it difficult to prevent casualties to their own allies since the blast radius could hit friendly forces in the ground or in the air. Conventonal weapons have the same range as all other conventional weapons, however the AA guns of the Gleipnir is twice as powerful than ordinary AA guns. There are rumors that the Skylla unit were the ones that helped the creation of these guns as they use the same types in the Nevera Jammer's defense system. However, unlike the AA guns used there, the ones on the Gleipnir could not shoot down missiles. Energy Source: Internal Nuclear Core(?) Engines: six unknown engine types'''
 * Multiple AA guns and Anti-Aircraft missiles.
 * SWBM (Shock Wave Balistic Missile) Launchers.
 * Shock Cannon.

NOTE:The SWBM is an air to air weapon that causes immense damage and will most likely destroy all airborne targets within its blast radius. There is a similar weapon, the LWSM (Light Shock Wave Missile) that can be used by the Aurelian (player's) version of the Fenrir. The Shock Cannon is used to deal devastating damage to anything at about 8000 feet below the Gleipnir.

History
The Gleipnir's development was in much secrecy, and where the money for its resources was also concealed for some time. However, it had appeared on the battlefield and dealt devastating damage to Aurelian Forces, leading them to strike back and try and investigate on where the money for this horrifying super-weapon came from, as well as where their money had gone to.

One of The Gleipnir's most memorable attacks was to Aurelian Forces during a Leasath bombing mission, which had been foiled by the Aurelians. The Gleipnir uncloaked, and launched an SWBM (Shock Wave Ballistic Missile.) This attack had resulted in the loss of nearly all Aurelian fighters in the area, and would have become the defeat of the Aurelian Air Force (AAF.)

The Gleipnir had then flown off to Terminus Island at first to refuel, but then began attack an Aurelian fleet, which was sent to attack it. Gryphus One and an Allied Squadron were dispatched along side the 1st and 2nd Aurelian Fleets to help in this attack. The 2nd Fleet was destroyed by the Gleipnir after it uncloaked and used the Shock Cannon.

Gryphus One engaged the Gleipnir on sight, but due to its cloaking technology (DOS, or Digital Optical Stealth,) had to either wait for it to uncloak or try to attack it by using the small "ripples" in the air to spot it. Eventually its cloaking technology became damaged to the point where it could no longer be used. The Gleipnir then used its SWBMs on the Aurelian aircraft. Gryphus One attacked once more and disabled the Gleipnir's SWBM launchers. The Gleipnir climbed to escape the area and managed to get away, despite immense damage.

The Gleipnir then landed in Santa Elva, where Leasath forces began to commence repairs on it. However, the Gryphus Squadron was launched after it when its position was confirmed. The Leasath Base Command demanded The Gleipnir be launched upon the arrival of Aurelian Forces, despite repairs being incomplete. With its DOS offline and the SWBM still inoperable, it engaged the Aurelian Fighters with conventional weaponry.

Gryphus One stripped it of its defenses and began to attack its weak points. The captain of the Gleipnir urged the crew to use the Shock Cannon against the fighters, though it was intended for ground-attack. However, due to battle damage and the repairs not being finished, the crew decided that using the cannon would only damage Gleipnir even more. The captain disregarded that and took the control of the Gleipnir. What happened next displayed the captain's insanity and desperation to stay alive; to the shock of all forces, he rolled the Gleipnir upside-down. As the Gleipnir flew in that position, the captain had the Shock Cannon fired multiple times in a desperate attempt to destroy the AAF. At the same time, another wave of Leasath ground forces arrived to attack Gryphus One whenever he dived below the Gleipnir. Gryphus One easily evaded these attacks and finished off the Gleipnir. It then crashed into the river and exploded.

In an alternate scenario, depending on which path the player chose, the Gleipnir left Terminus Island and went to Santa Elva, undamaged, where Aurelian ground forces attempted to destroy it. However, the Southern Cross was called in to help, seeing as the Gleipnir's heavy armor, DOS, and Shock Cannon made it a threat far too great for the ground forces to handle alone. As the Gleipnir attacks the ground forces, Gryphus One damages the Gleipnir to the point where it can no longer cloak, and destroys the SWBM as the Gleipnir attempts to use it on the AAF. In an act of desperation, the captain of the Gleipnir tries to use the Shock Cannon to destroy Santa Elva, calling it his "last blow to the enemy." Gryphus One, however, destroys the Shock Cannon. The resulting explosion further damages the Gleipnir to the point where it can no longer maintain altitude. The captain once more tried to harm the civilians by trying to crash the Gleipnir into part of the city. However, because the controls were so badly damaged, the Gleipnir missed and crashed into the river, where it exploded.

The defeat of the Gleipnir was not a complete loss, however. Long before its destruction, battle data was gathered from the Gleipnir and used in the development of a secret Leasath Super Fighter; the Fenrir. It is believed that this was the whole reason the war started - the heavy use of resources to build the Gleipnir and later the Fenrir had plunged Leasath into an economical crisis, leaving it an impoverished nation. The invasion of Aurelia, caused by Diego Nevarro's misleading propaganda, was believed to be the solution for this.

Information
The Gleipnir is the first aircraft of its size and of any aircraft period, to use extremely advanced technology, decades upon belief in 2020. It was initially created on-surface and launched from Terminus Island. The engineers, seeing the obvious problem of its size and fuel, thought ahead and designed the Gleipnir to land in the nearby oceans or any other large body of water, where its refueling bases were.

The Gleipnir incorporates a new-type of stealth, deployed for the first time in combat, known as "Digital Optical Stealth" (DOS.) This is supposed to allow concealment of the entire aircraft to the naked eye, however those who pay careful attention and have good eyes are able to see the outline of this massive aircraft as a shimmer.

The SWBM and Shock Cannon are the main weapons of the Gleipnir. The SWBM is used against air forces and the Shock Cannon is used for ground forces. Both weapons are known to do massive damage to air and ground forces. The Gleipnir also has a number of AA guns and SAM (Surface to Air Missile) launchers.

Trivia

 * In Norse mythology, Gleipnir (Old Norse "open one") is the binding that holds the mighty wolf Fenrisulfr (as attested in chapter 34 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning). Even though it is as thin as a silken ribbon, it is stronger than any iron chain. It was forged by the dwarves in their underground realm of Svartálfaheim, and made of six ingredients: