Aerial warship

An aerial warship, sometimes referred to as an aerial fortress is a fictional variant of a that can perform flight. They have been featured numerous times in the Ace Combat series, dating back to Air Combat. In addition to tunnel flights and canyon flights, aerial warships are considered a staple of the series.

Description
Aerial warships can feature any number of different weapons and features. Typically, these include Air-to-Air Missile launchers and anti-aircraft guns, used both offensively and defensively. Various non-conventional weapons have been used as well, including Shock Wave Ballistic Missiles and Nimbus missiles. Some aerial warships have also included a form of deceptive defense, ranging from radar jamming to optical camouflage.

Heavy command cruisers are a special type of aerial warship. They are generalized for usage as a mobile command post and can almost act as an entire base. Heavy command cruisers have typically featured some form of launcher for aircraft, usually a runway.

While aerial warships are known for their immense power, their size makes them an easy target for precision attacks by, relatively, smaller jet aircraft. An Airborne Warning and Control System can identify an aerial warship's weak points, and even provide an estimated time of impact for any major attacks such as the aforementioned SWBMs. Typically, aerial warships have been shot down by a fighter destroying its engines, cutting off its power supply and forcing it to crash into the ground.

Units
Numerous aerial warships have been featured in the Ace Combat games.

Sky Fortress
At the end of the Skully Islands insurrection as depicted in Air Combat the rebel forces deployed their Sky Fortress, a large aerial warship that acted as their final line of defense. It only featured conventional missile launchers and anti-aircraft guns for defense; however, it also acted as an aerial aircraft carrier in being able to launch fighter aircraft from an internal hangar. It was engaged and destroyed by Phoenix, who destroyed its engines and caused it to crash into the ocean.