A cruise missile is a missile that is guided and powered from launch all the way to its target. They do not rely solely on gravity as ballistic missiles do; instead, their engine(s) remain attached at all times and they use aerodynamics to reach their targets. They support a variety of warheads, including conventional and nuclear warheads.
Cruise missiles in the Ace Combat franchise normally appear in large groups. They tend to have long range but a slow flight speed.
Description[]
Cruise missiles can be fired from various launch platforms. Aircraft that have carried cruise missiles include the B-1B Lancer,[1] B-2A Spirit,[1][2] Rafale M,[3] and the Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser.[4] Ground vehicles[5] and naval vessels have also carried cruise missiles.[1]
Ace Combat Infinity and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown featured the Land Attack Cruise Missile special weapon on select aircraft, allowing the player to fire cruise missiles towards ground targets with a wide area of effect and powerful damage.
History[]
Strangereal[]
Erusea's armed forces launched a volley of cruise missiles towards the Independent State Allied Forces during the late stages of the Continental War. The cruise missiles targeted ISAF ground troops performing a landing operation in Ice Creek. Mobius 1 shot down all of the cruise missiles, allowing the troops to land and relinquish the northern coast from Erusean control.[6]
Estovakia deployed two types of cruise missiles during the Emmeria-Estovakia War. The first was the Nimbus missile, a large cruise missile carried by the P-1112 Aigaion. These missiles were guided by Marker Drone UAVs to strike their targets.[4][7][8] The second type was the Chandelier cruise missile, which were carried in multitudes within special shells fired from the Chandelier.[9] All of these cruise missiles were destroyed by the Republic of Emmeria Air Force.
Cruise missiles were used twice during the Lighthouse War: once in a failed attempt by the Alicorn's aerial squadron to strike a civilian center,[3] and once at the end of the war, during Operation Daredevil, in a failed attempt by an Osean-Erusean coalition to shoot down the Arsenal Bird Justice. In the latter scenario, cruise missiles were fired from multiple bomber aircraft and naval vessels.[1]
"SLBM"[]
The Dragonet-class submarines carried cruise missiles with multiple warheads and advanced AI during the Usean coup d'état. The head-up display in Ace Combat 2[10] and both Allied and rebel dialogue in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy erroneously referred to these cruise missiles as submarine-launched ballistic missiles, or SLBMs.[11] The only missile launched by a Dragonet-class submarine—fired by the Folkvangr to attack Saint Ark—was powered through its entire low-altitude flight to the city, making it a cruise missile.[10][11]
The head-up display in Ace Combat 2 also referred to the missile inside Fortress Intolerance as an SLBM. The missile was not inside of a submarine, therefore it could not be submarine-launched.[12] Since the missile was never launched, it is unclear if it was cruise or ballistic. Assault Horizon Legacy addressed this by labeling the missile inside Fortress Intolerance as an ICBM.[13]
Assault Horizon universe[]
Cruise missiles equipped with Trinity warheads were used repeatedly in the New Russian Federation uprising.
Gallery[]
The cruise missile ("SLBM") launched from the destroyed Folkvangr in Ace Combat 2
The "SLBM" approaching Saint Ark in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy
Estovakian cruise missile
A flight of Erusean cruise missiles
Erusean cruise missile
Close-up view of an Erusean cruise missile flying upside down
Yuktobanian cruise missile
a Moskit cruise missile carrying a Trinity warhead detonating
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mission 19: "Lighthouse", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
- ↑ Mission 06: "White Bird (Part I)", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SP Mission 01: "Unexpected Visitor", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mission 01: "Invasion of Gracemeria", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 12C: "Wild Card", Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.
- ↑ Mission 14: "Breaking Arrows", Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies.
- ↑ Mission 07: "Selumna Peak", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 08: "San Loma Assault", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ Mission 14: "Gracemeria Patrol", Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mission 29: "Last Resort", Ace Combat 2.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mission 22: "Last Resort", Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy.
- ↑ Mission 30: "Fighter's Honor", Ace Combat 2.
- ↑ Mission 23: "Fighter's Honor", Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy.