P-1112 Aigaion

P-1112 Aigaion
Manufacturer	Estovakia
Function	Heavy command cruiser
Creation	Between 2008 - 2013
Operators	Eastern Faction Estovakian Navy
Deployment	Estovakian Civil War Emmeria-Estovakia War
Destruction	February 20, 2016 Assault on the Aerial Fleet

"As I looked east, another aircraft came into my sight. At first, I thought it was a wingman of the jet that just passed by. But it wasn't. It was so enormous that its wings tore the clouds apart."

― Mr. Allen, The Aerial Fleet

The P-1112 Aigaion was an Aigaion-class heavy command cruiser created by the Eastern Faction during the Estovakian Civil War. The Aigaion later played a key role in Estovakia's initial success during the Emmeria-Estovakia War.

History

Creation

The P-1112 was conceived sometime in the early 21st century by Estovakian supreme commander Gustav Dvornik in his time as leader of the Eastern Faction in the Estovakian Civil War. Dvornik envisioned an "Aerial Fleet Initiative", a combat strategy designed to control large portions of Anea with the use of aerial launched aircraft and cruise missiles.

Despite the damage caused by the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid, the Eastern Faction succeeded in creating the Aigaion, along with her sister planes, the P-1113 Kottos and the P-1114 Gyges. The construction of the plane was backed by heavy command cruiser technology brought by the defecting engineers and exiles of the Principality of Belka after the Belkan War, among Lorenz Riedel, a former member of the elite Gault Squadron.

As the flagship of the new aerial fleet, the Aigaion was used to great effect by its creators, ultimately allowing the Eastern Faction to win the civil war in 2013. The cruiser was sighted over Estovakia by a Yuktobanian reconnaissance satellite in April 2015, and was tracked for three days before it vanished in the northeast of the country near an oil drilling facility controlled by the Eastern Faction, which became its main refueling site.

Emmeria-Estovakia War

In the latter half of 2015, the Aigaion became the central asset of the Estovakian Forces in the Emmeria-Estovakia War. The cruiser was involved in the initial Invasion of Gracemeria where it bombarded the Emmerian armed forces with Nimbus cruise missiles, forcing most of them to retreat after sustaining heavy casualties. From that point, it became the main base of operations of the Strigon Team. The Emmerian forces attempted to retake Gracemeria a total of four times, although these would all be repelled due to a combined defensive umbrella which included the Aigaion and the Strigon Team.

After these events, the plane was not involved in further attacks against Emmerian forces until February 2016, when it carried out Nimbus missile attacks on a large force of Emmerian troops and fighters moving through the Selumna Peaks. The Emmerian forces endured severe losses and destroyed the targeting drones used for the missile attacks. Later on, it carried out Nimbus attacks on Emmerian forces during the Battle of San Loma, but unsuccessful.

Acquisition of intelligence allowed Emmeria to destroy the Aigaion and her Aerial Fleet in a decisive mission over the Glaiva Islands on February 20. Taking advantage of the fact that its radar system was temporarily disabled during the mid-flight refueling operations, Garuda Team and allied air units attacked the Aigaion, severely damaging it and wiping out its escorts. The weakened Aigaion attempted to flee the combat zone, only to be struck in the cockpit by Talisman of the 28th Fighter Squadron. Having lost all control, the cruiser fell into the ocean, breaking apart midship.

Design

As a heavy command cruiser, the P-1112 was designed to act as a mobile base and long-range attack asset, a major development of the XB-0 Hresvelgr built by the former Belka. Physically resembling a giant manta ray, the girth of the Aigaion forces it to operate as a seaplane, as conventional take-off would be impossible. The aircraft houses an internal hangar bay with CATOBAR systems accommodated for carrier aircraft operations, such as the Su-33 Flanker-Ds used by the Strigon Team. A small helipad rests on top of the rear hangar entrance.

The main weapons of the Aigaion, the Nimbus cruise missiles, allow it to engage aerial and ground targets at near-continental ranges, and is armed with an array of anti-air cannons, AAM launchers and flak guns dotted across the lower, upper and rear fuselage. It is powered by a fossil fuel core built beneath the main canopy, above its "mouth", which propel twenty-four engines arranged in rows of six on its trailing edges, allowing it to operate for three day periods before refueling. A squadron of six KC-10 Extender tankers are required to simultaneously refuel it in mid-air, a process that disables its forward radar.

Due to its massive size the Aigaion cannot land on conventional runways, but it is possible for it to land on water for maintenance under the jurisdiction of the Estovakian Navy.

Specifications

• Beam: 963.77m
• Length: 433.3m
• Height: 102.39m

Gallery

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  The Aigaion being refueled

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  The Aigaion and the Strigon Team

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  The Aigaion in Heavy Command Cruiser (Ace of Aces)

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  The Aigaion in Emmeria

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  The Aigaion's Hangar

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  A Strigon member taking off from the Aigaion's hanger

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  Strigon Team landing on the Aigaion

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  The Aigaion in its final stand

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  Strigon Team preparing to land while being careful of the jet wash

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  A closeup of the Aigaion

Trivia

• The Aigaion and her escorts are named after the Hekatonkheires, the hundred-handed giants who were the offspring of Gaia in Greek mythology and fought with the Titans. Aigaion, also known as Briareos, ruled over sea storms and was the offspring of Gaia, the Earth, and Uranus, the Sky. Today the reference exists in the Greek name for the Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος).