XFA-33 Fenrir

The Fenrir (フェンリア Fenria) is a fictional fighter aircraft featured in Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception and Ace Combat: Joint Assault. Built by the Democratic Republic of Leasath, the Fenrir is a prototype fighter jet that employs cutting-edge flight technology, such as heat-tracking plasma weaponry and digital camouflage technology. A particularly futuristic design, the Fenrir is the reason behind Leasath's invasion of Aurelia, and the driving force behind the events of Skies of Deception.

Under the player's control, the Fenrir boasts a combination of varied special weapons and high performance, allowing it to confront any threat without breaking a sweat. The Fenrir's arsenal includes the Long-range Shock Wave Missile (LSWM), a miniaturized Shock Wave Ballistic Missile designed for aircraft use which allows the Fenrir to devastate enemy forces within seconds.

Operational history
The Fenrir was first conceived of during the Leasath Civil War in 2019, which was triggered by the collapsing economy of the country. Leasath's economy by itself was unable to provide the massive funds required for the Fenrir project. The Republic of Aurelia provided financial support to Leasath throughout the civil war, which leader Diego Gaspar Navarro used to fund the development of Fenrir, while at the same time using propaganda to brainwash and mislead the citizens of Leasath into believing that Aurelia was the responsible for the war. In 2020, Navarro declared war on Aurelia, followed by a swift invasion of the northern borderlines, justifying the invasion as "retribution for years of explotation." Diego used the war to sell weapons, thus funding the Fenrir project.

In late 2020, as Aurelia had pushed the occupying forces out of their territory, reconaissance detected a massive Leasathian force moving through the northern Danern Straits, which included the elite Alect Squadron, that was heading towards Archelon Fortress, Leasath's final stronghold & main Fenrir production facility.

The final battle between the Gryphus 1 and the Leasath military took place in the last Leasathian stronghold, Archelon Fortress. The Fenrir, piloted by Leasath's elite Alect Squadron, were scrambled to intercept the approaching Gryphus and Aquila squadrons. The threat was too high to assault head on, and to at least have a chance of destroying the Fenrirs, the Aurelian military sent a fleet to destroy the electrical facility needed by the Fenrir to power its optical camouflage. The navy's attempt to destroy the facility was a success and Gryphus 1 destroyed every Fenrir which took off from the fortress.

In an alternate scenario, if the player chose to engage the Alect Squadron in Operation Alect Squadron, the HPM weapon will be shipped to Archelon Fortress, forcing the player to fight the full-powered version of Fenrir in Operation End of Deception I, with intact DOS, yet piloted by inferior pilots. After all Fenrirs were destroyed, Archelon's base commander decided to activate the base's Shock Cannon as a last resort, with a complete disregard for the lives of any airborne Leasath pilots. However, the Shock Cannon was destroyed, and the battle ended. In the ocean below, groups of Leasath reporters watched the action on small boats, broadcasting Leasath's last stand in live television. Meanwhile, back at Leasath's capital of Alendai, Navarro himself was leading a convention within the city's megastadium, showing the Fenrir's combat capabilities. As the images of Archelon Fortress engulfed in flames appeared in the screen, the Leasathian citizens, now filled with rage, started a riot within Alendai. In the end, everything inside the stadium was destroyed, wiith Diego being nowhere to be seen.

The fate of Fenrir after the war is uncertain, although it can be presumed that Aurelian forces secured confidential documents concerning the aircraft's development during the Archelon Fortress assault.

Design
The Fenrir was built sometime during the Leasathian Civil War and is the very reason for Leasath's invasion of Aurelia because of the massive funds needed to continue the creation of the Fenrir. Due to the massive funds needed only 5 were ever recorded to be built to the original planning. The technology used was heavily based on the battle data from Leasath's flying fortress, the Gleipnir. The Fenrir is equipped with Digital Optical Stealth (DOS), allowing it to cloak itself when prompted, and a High-Power Microwave weapon (HPM) that fires a slow-moving ball of plasma which tracks its target, however, its accuracy is greatly reduced if it lacks satellite support. Like all super-fighters, the Fenrir is a multi-role aircraft.

In the Ace Combat X version, it is speculated that under optimal conditions the Fenrir can reach speeds approaching Mach 2.4 (2,535km/h) at sea level and Mach 4.0+ (4100km/h) at operational ceiling. It uses a smaller, more portable version of the Gleipnir's Shock Wave Ballistic Missile (SWBM), called the Long-range Shock Wave Missile (LSWM) and it is equipped with unique twin 30mm Gatling Cannons which are the most powerful and accurate in Ace Combat X. Fenrir is also the only super-fighter in the recorded history of the Ace Combat series to use DOS, which renders the aircraft almost invisible to pilots and conventional radar systems. The only way to spot a "cloaked" aircraft is to know its general location in the sky and keep a sharp eye open for the transparent orange color of the DOS and the characteristic waves that ripple across its surface. The optical camouflage on Fenrir was developed from the Gleipnir's version. Fenrir also uses the HPM, a weapon which further enhance its already superior capabilities. HPM works like this: Fenrir and Archelon Fortress emit invisible microwave beams (also referred to as the plasma). The two beams interfere with each other, thus causing any fuel caught in between to heat up and detonate. The three engine nozzles have limited thrust vectoring, but the center nozzle is able to rotate 90 degrees downward, suggesting the Fenrir has V/STOL capabilities.

The Fenrir can link with and use battle data from the Gleipnir, which gives the aircraft and its pilot an edge when fighting adversaries. The Connection for Flight Interface (COFFIN) system used in the YR-99 Forneus, YR-302 Fregata and ADF-01A/F FALKEN is also installed giving the pilot a distinctive edge in control and reaction times during combat, albeit it has a slightly different outward appearance from that on the previously mentioned aircraft. Fenrir is the only fighter in the game that has its own electronic countermeasure system (Fenrir ECMS) that interferes with lock-on capabilities of other aircraft, making it the most powerful and safest aircraft to be used not only in Ace Combat X, but probably in the entire Ace Combat series.

Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
The player-controllable version of the Fenrir can be unlocked in Ace Combat X by unlocking SP stage "Operation X" and after it finishing a Campaign Mode playthrough in Ace difficulty. The Fenrir possesses all-around excellent statistics, except for stability, which is rather average. Although it is a "superfighter", the Fenrir has the lowest missile capacity of all aircraft in the game, carrying only 50 missiles. The Fenrir is the only original aircraft in Ace Combat X that cannot be upgraded, although it comes with an integral Fenrir ECMS, which distrupts enemy missile lock-on.

LSWM Equipped

 * Speed: 99
 * Air-to-Air: 98
 * Air-to-Ground: 98
 * Mobility: 81
 * Stability: 87
 * Defense: 90

LASM Equipped

 * Speed: 99
 * Air-to-Air: 72
 * Air-to-Ground: 98
 * Mobility: 81
 * Stability: 87
 * Defense: 90

XMAA Equipped

 * Speed: 99
 * Air-to-Air: 98
 * Air-to-Ground: 75
 * Mobility: 81
 * Stability: 87
 * Defense: 90

Paint schemes

 * Original paint scheme: Light gray.
 * Leasath: Jet black (Alect Squadron paint.) Unlock all paint schemes in the game to unlock.
 * Special 1: Navy blue. Unlocked by S-ranking Operation X in Ace difficulty.
 * Special 2: Egg white w/ black nose and wingtip coloring. Fill the aicraft's Kill Bar to unlock.

Armaments

 * Gun: two Gatling guns
 * Missile (MSSL): x50 AA-8 Aphid
 * XMAA: x14 AIM-120C AMRAAM. Price: $100,300.
 * LASM: x18 AGM-84 Harpoon. Price: free, comes with aircraft.
 * LSWM: x2. Price: $129,000.

Ace Combat: Joint Assault
In Ace Combat: Joint Assault, the Fenrir can be unlocked by finishing mission #21, Reprisal with any in Ace difficulty.

Paint schemes

 * Original paint scheme: White.
 * 2nd paint scheme: Jet black.
 * 3rd paint scheme: Navy blue.
 * 4th paint scheme: Egg white w/ black nose and wingtip coloring.
 * 5th paint scheme: Crimson w/ black nose and wingtips and God Eater designs in wings and back.
 * 6th paint scheme: Light blue.

Aces

 * Dandelion
 * Alect Squadron

Armaments

 * Gun: 2x Equalizer 30mm Cannons
 * MSSL/STDM: 2x R-60MK (AA-8 Aphid) (ACX/ACX2)
 * High Accuracy Missile (HACM): 2x AIM-9X Sidewinder (ACX2)
 * Lightweight Missile (LGWM): 2x Python 4 (ACX2)
 * Heavyweight Missile (HVWM): 2x ASRAAM (ACX2)
 * XMAA: AIM-120C AMRAAM (ACX/ACX2)
 * LASM: AGM-84 Harpoon (ACX/ACX2)
 * LSWM: Long-Range Shock-Wave Missile (ACX/ACX2)
 * SFFS: CBU-97 (ACX2)

Trivia:

 * In Norse mythology, Fenris is a Wolf, the son of Loki. Odin's son, Vioarr, slays Fenrs in battle. One of the medals in the game is The Mark of Vioarr, which the player obtain by destroying the Fenrir in Archelon Fortress.
 * The Fenrir bears an uncanny 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.
 * If you play the Ace Combat Zero mission Bastion, during the the takeoff if you listen to radio chatter in the background you can hear a pilot say "Fenrir 6 you're cleared for take-off, Fenrir 7 hurry up and taxi" and, Fenrir 4, please respond! . You can also hear the squadron during the mission. However, since Ace Combat X was made after Ace Combat Zero, this is probably mere coincidence.
 * 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, But 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 exaust downward, similar to an AV-8B Harrier II's thrust vectoring nozzles.
 * The Fenrir`s LSWM is also available in Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault in two planes, the GAF-1 Varcolac and the Fenrir itself. The Fenrir also carries 4 missiles instead of 2, while the Varcolac can carry 3, giving them both tremendous destruction capabilities.
 * The Fenrir`s LSWM in Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault strangely has a shorter flight range than in Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception and the devastation radius is less than 1/3 the size of the Spiridus, but the Fenrir carries 4 LSWM, unlike 2 in Ace Combat X.
 * When the LSWM explodes on the ground the explosion acts like the ion cannon from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn (seen below).
 * Even though it is the "Safest" aircraft to fly it is still prone to colliding, and crashing by the hands of an unexperienced player.
 * In another Namco-made game, called God Eater: Burst, there is a company within the game called Fenrir, most likely suggesting a reference to the Fenrir plane in the Ace Combat series.
 * Just like the Gleipnir, if Fenrir takes enough damage (One missle should do it.) it will lose its camouflage.

thumb|300px|left|The close up of the LSWM explosion