Operation Sighthound

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SPOILER WARNING -- FULL ARTICLE

This entire article contains spoilers from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Proceed at your own discretion.

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SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Proceed at your own discretion.

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This article is about an in-universe event. For the in-game mission, see Unexpected Visitor.

Operation Sighthound
Preceding	Operation Magic Spear
Following	Operation Werewolf
Details
Date	September 4, 2019
Part Of	Lighthouse War
Locations	Artiglio Port, Usea
Outcomes	Osean defeat Alicorn escaped
Combatants
Osea
Erusea
Unknown
Commanders
Clemens Long Caster Wiseman
Matias Torres Erusean HQ
Unknown
Strength
Osean Air Force LRSSG Strider Sq. Drake Sq. Enchanter Osean Navy Puffin Flycatcher Babbler Hamerkop Kite Night Jar Parrotbill
Erusean Air Force Glamrock Sigurd Sq. Erusean Navy Alicorn Sacs Sq.
Mimic Sq.
Casualties
All deployed naval forces
Sacs Squadron

"Our objective is to capture an advanced submarine in harbor at Artiglio."

― Brigadier General Howard Clemens

Operation Sighthound was an Osean operation during the Lighthouse War. The aim of the operation was to capture the Erusean Navy's advanced nuclear-submarine, the Alicorn, while it was docked in the harbor of Artiglio. The Long Range Strategic Strike Group's Strider Squadron participated in this operation, and were assisted by OIA weapons analyst David North's intel and an OMDF fleet.

Prelude

With the loss of their IRBM base and the destruction of an Arsenal Bird, Erusea was running out of options. Their best naval power, the Njord Fleet, was sunk on August 10th, 2019 during Operation Siren's Song, and Erusea had to make up for that deficit somehow. On August 11th, they commissioned the advanced nuclear submarine Alicorn, and by September 4th, 2019, it had appeared in Artiglio Port. Brigadier General Howard Clemens and OIA analyst David North approached the Long Range Strategic Strike Group on September 4th with a mission - to capture the Alicorn, and seize its weapons of mass destruction in order to gain an advantage in postwar peace negotiations. The plan was for allied squadrons, an ESM team, codename "Enchanter", and an OMDF landing fleet to sortie at Artiglio, defeat the Erusean forces, and capture the sub without damaging it.

Battle

The ESM craft and friendly squadrons arrived late to the operation, with Strider Squadron having to battle dozens of Erusean aircraft on their own.

As the friendly aircraft arrived, the Eruseans began launching anti-ship aircraft to destroy the landing fleet, but Trigger defended the flert successfully.

At that moment, two mysterious Su-47 Berkuts sporting Osean markings appeared, downing an Erusean aircraft and furiously engaging Trigger in a dogfight. After a quick engagement, the two aircraft, callsigns Scream and Rage, retreated from the airspace, promising "Three Strikes" that they would kill him the next time they met.

As the fleet approached the port area, Erusean HQ officers ordered Alicorn captain Matias Torres to scuttle the sub to prevent the Oseans obtaining it. In spite of these orders, Torres rebelled, declaring that the Alicorn no longer belonged to the Erusean Navy, and set sail, obliterating the flagship Puffin and the rest of the landing fleet with one blast of the sub's railguns. A detachment of Rafale Ms from the Alicorn took off from the sub, with a WMD cruise missile in tow. The squadron attempted to flee the airspace with the WMD under order from Torres, but all aircraft were shot down by Trigger, eliciting anger from the captain, who vowed vengeance against "Three Strikes". In the confusion and scramble to shoot down the Rafales, however, the Alicorn submerged and quickly fled the area.