Megalith (facility)

Megalith (メガリス Megarisu) is a massive anti-asteroid planetary defense structure built in the Twinkle Islands, west of the Usean Continent. Megalith is one of the weapons built to protect Strangereal from the Ulysses 1994XF04 Asteroid and appears to use ICBMs and laser systems to do so.

History
Megalith was one of the four known superweapons designed to protect Earth during the planetfall of Ulysses. Its development started some time in the decade of the 1990s, however it was halted in July 1999, when the asteroid passed the Earth's Roche limit, shattering into thousands of smaller fragments. The continents of Anea and Usea suffered severe damage as a result of the fragments, killing hundreds of people, displacing thousands more and plunging certain countries into political chaos, as is the case of Estovakia and its civil war.

The Megalith project was left abandoned for several years until mid-2005, when it was taken over by the military of Erusea during the Usean Continental War, following the destruction of the Stonehenge Turret Network. The Independent State Allied Forces dispatched a single U-2 recon plane named "Leopard" to conduct a reconnaissance mission on Twinkle Islands. After Leopard was escorted back to base by ace pilot Mobius One, the ISAF high command investigated the information gained, and decided to accelerate their efforts to end the war before Megalith's development was finished.

Following the fall of Farbanti, Erusea's capital, in September 19, 2005, a large group of Erusian soldiers, including the remnants of the once-feared Yellow Squadron, took over the facility, which had been nearly completed since the fall of Stonehenge. A week later, in September 26, ISAF command discovered the Erusian forces' plans, mounting an operation to eliminate Megalith and end the war once and for all. Before the mission, the ISAF had commissioned the 118th Tactical Fighter Wing "Mobius" in honor of Mobius One. the pilot that singlehandedly managed to help the ISAF recover during the course of the war.

Early that same day, the Mobius Squadron launched in their final sortie towards Megalith, accompanied by Sky Eye, their AWACS. They arrived to the facility at 08:00 in the morning, just as Megalith was becoming active. A massive battle ensued between the Mobius and Yellow squadrons. although the latter was eventually overwhelmed and taken out. During the assault on Megalith, a group of ISAF commandos infilitrated the facility, preparing to fight their way into the facility's sub control room. In order to assist them in their mission, Mobius One flew through missile launch grooves into Megalith's inside, destroying several energy generators to allow the commandos to advance.

After the generators were destroyed, the ISAF soldiers entered the sub control room, opening the central groove leading to Megalith's main missile silo, as several missiles launched from the facility. Mobius One flew into the facility's core and into the central missile silo, destroying the main ICBM as it launched, fleeing through the silo's doors before the missile destroyed Megalith's central area in a massive explosion.

Design
Megalith is a massive facility designed to shoot down asteroids from orbit. The facility is armed with two laser systems, which "paint" the target asteroid(s) for the ICBMs, which are used to knock them out of orbit or break them apart into smaller fragments, which then burn up in the atmosphere. Megalith's potential as weapon can be harnessed by launching the ballistic missiles at targets anywhere within the weapon's operational range; as well, they can be used to knock asteroids close enough to Earth out of orbit, thus making them potential weapons of their own.

Several open grooves are located behind and in front of Megalith, which lead to the energy generators that power many of its systems. Deep within the facility's core is a large missile silo, which houses a "giant" ICBM. Most of Megalith's systems are operated from a sub-control room located in the 13th floor of the structure.

Weapon Information

 * Purpose: Terrestrial Planetary Defense and ICBM Launching
 * Manufacturer(s): Erusea
 * Started: Unknown
 * Completed: September 26th, 2005
 * Destroyed: September 26th, 2005
 * Firing Range: Spans just beyond North Point and may possibly reach the eastern Osean Continent
 * Energy Source: Electrical and Diesel Generators

Trivia

 * Megalith's namesake comes from the word "megalith", which is a large stone used in conjunction with other large stones to build a structure or monument. Megalith's design also resembles a real megalith, with the different sections of the installations serving as megaliths.
 * The design of Megalith seems to have served as a basis for the Estovakian-built Chandelier railgun system, built in the Anean Continent. In fact, the former looks exactly like Megalith.
 * Megalith is commonly regarded as the most iconic superweapon in Ace Combat history, not only for it's respective mission's setting, but also for it's musical pieces.
 * Megalith bears an uncanny resemblance to Fortress Intolerance, the military facility faced at the end of Ace Combat 2. As well, both sites are taken out in the same way: the player character flies into the facility's core, destroys a missile as it launches and escapes before said missile explodes.