Excalibur (Strangereal)

Excalibur (エクスカリバー Ekusukaribā) was a chemical laser weapon constructed by the Belkan Federation. Part of Project Pendragon, it was designed as a long range, anti-missile defense system. During the Belkan War, it was used as an anti-aircraft defense system with some success until it was destroyed on May 23, 1995.

Design and Construction
Excalibur was born in 1981 as a product of Project Pendragon, and envisioned as a tool to fulfill the role of Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). The South Belka Munitions Factory broke ground for construction of the weapon in December 1989, nearly a decade after it was first conceived. The selected site was a wide, flat plain in the northern Tauberg region in South Belka.

The first year of development centered on large-scale earthworks to excavate underground chambers to house the weapon's vulnerable components, and to reinforce the soil to support the extreme weight of the central tower and cooling towers. In early 1990, work began on the construction of the foundation of the weapon and its cooling towers, along with solar panels and the railroads required for its defensive laser systems. By October 1990, the cooling towers were completed and most of the solar panels were installed. The remainder of 1990 was spent stockpiling materials, fabricating components for the next phase of construction, and on-site testing of installed components. In 1991 Belkan engineers began construction of the central tower of Excalibur, which was completed in 1993 having fallen behind schedule due to unforseen engineering challenges.

The construction of Excalibur officially concluded on August 9, 1993, when most components of the weapon were finished and installed. That same day, the initial firing tests were held. On July 18, 1994 the weapon was declared to be in full operational status; as a result, the personnel responsible for operating the weapon were flown in to assume their respective roles.

During the six years of the system's construction, a number of pictures were taken by the photographer Claus Bauer. Many of these images, as well as technical information on Excalibur, were posted by Bauer in a photo collection released in Belka in September 1995.

First Deployment in Combat
The completed Excalibur remained dormant until 1995, when the Belkan War broke out. After Belkan ground forces were expelled from the Republic of Ustio in May, the military recognized the anti-aircraft potential of the interception system, and drafted plans to use it against the Allied forces.

The Excalibur's first combat deployment was on May 17, 1995 at the end of the Allied invasion of the Hydrian Line in Glatisant, Belka's first defensive line. The first war shot was an unqualified success, destroying an entire fighter squadron with a single shot. The attack was witnessed several kilometers away by Larry Foulke of the 66th AFU Galm, who exclaimed "What was that light?" upon seeing the weapon's beam. At this point in time the existence of Excalibur remained a secret, as there was little pre-war intelligence available regarding the superweapon.

Destruction
In early May the Allied forces mounted an assault on the Schayne Plains, a region forming Belka's second line of defense. After the region had been cleared of enemy forces, an Ustian transport aircraft squadron entered the area. Several seconds after crossing the boundary into Schayne airspace, the transport team was hit by an unexpected attack from Excalibur that destroyed the three C-17 aircraft at the head of the formation. The attack turned the victory into a rout, forcing other Allied aircraft to escape the airspace amidst constant laser attacks. The subsequent Allied investigation into the attack led them to pinpoint Excalibur's location amid the forests of the plains of northern Tauberg.

On May 23, an squadron of pilots from Osea and Ustio launched on a mission to Tauberg with the aim of neutralizing Excalibur. Shortly after entering the local airspace the weapon opened fire at the incoming aircraft, shooting down their aerial tanker in the process. After fighting their way through the local ECM defense perimeter the participating aircraft were able to launch attacks directly at Excalibur itself. Cipher, the leader of the Galm Unit, managed to destroy the tower's firing radome after neutralizing the weapon's defensive railguns, thus effectively disabling Excalibur. Afterwards, the attacking pilots commenced striking its main body, slowly causing the central tower to tilt sideways with each attack. Eventually the attacks caused Excalibur to collapse, the central area breaking in half and causing massive damage to the remaining installations above and below ground.

Design
As designed, the Excalibur takes the form of a massive tower approximately a kilometer or so in height. At the top of the tower is a large radome from whence the laser is fired. Around the tower's surface are four smaller pillar-like structures, presumably to balance the weapon. Excalibur draws the majority of the energy needed to power the chemical laser from four energy stations located around the perimeter of the site; as these power sources are destroyed, the tower's laser takes longer to recharge. However, the destruction of all generators does not stop the weapon from firing, implying that a fifth generator is located within, or likely underneath the Excalibur itself.

Excalibur's perimeter is protected by a net of radar jamming stations located south of the weapon's site, which affect missile targeting capabilities. Inside the defensive line formed by the ECM network, Excalibur itself is defended by four small trains armed with Tactical Laser System cannons.

In order to fire at ranges beyond the curvature of the planet, Excalibur is assisted by a series of satellites in low orbit outfitted with special mirrors. These satellite mirrors deflect the weapon's laser beams back to the Earth and into the target.

Weaknesses
Despite its power and precision, Excalibur possesses several weaknesses. Being originally designed to interdict ICBMs (which tend to have a predictable trajectory), it has difficulty engaging fast moving targets such as fighters. A capable pilot can evade Excalibur's fire with ease. The laser also takes time to charge to full power, and cannot redirect quickly at close ranges. Excalibur is incapable of engaging ground targets unless the weapon's satellite mirrors are used. The laser's design renders it incapable of engaging multiple targets unless they are clustered together, and the laser can be"swept" across the targets.

Trivia

 * The weapon is named after Excalibur, the mythical sword wielded by King Arthur in mythology. To further emphasize the mythological basis, following Excalibur's fall a Ustio pilot can be heard exclaming that Cipher "pulled the sword from the stone". However in Arthurian myth the "Sword in the Stone" is not Excalibur.
 * If the radome of Excalibur is hit with either ADF aircraft's Tactical Laser System, the weapon as a whole will instantly shatter in half. This may be due, canon-wise, to the feedback of a concentrated TLS beam back into the weapon resulting in an enormous overload, a scenario it was never designed for.
 * In Merlon, the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft hit by Excalibur, interestingly, do not explode immediately after being hit. Instead, the three transports start trailing black smoke, then catch alight. This might be explained by the fact that Excalibur's attack was a quick swipe, as opposed to a fully concentrated attack.
 * Timeline-wise, this is the first known superweapon ever built.