Tactical Laser System

The TLS pod of the ADF-01 FALKEN in action,

The Tactical Laser System (TLS) is a military-grade energy weapon developed by Gründer Industries of Belka.

History

The TLS weapon was originally developed by the South Belka Munitions Factory, the precursor of Gründer, as part of the research on energy weapons of the Project Pendragon program initiated in 1985. Developed for use with the "Morgan" experimental aircraft, the weapon, codenamed "Zoisite", was originally developed to destroy ballistic and cruise missiles in their boost phase.

The first iteration of the system was a bulky pod mounted on top of the ADFX unit, equipped with a swiveling irradiation lens to project beams in a 45° degree angle. To maintain its physical integrity, it had a maximum strength of up to 7G. Larry Foulke used a Zoisite weapon on the ADFX-02 Morgan at the end of the A World With No Boundaries uprising in 1995, using it to kill Patrick James Beckett at Avalon Dam. While fighting Cipher, the weapon's hydraulic systems suffered damage, and thus he ejected the weapon to become more agile.

After the end of the Belkan War, Gründer Industries continued to refine the Tactical Laser System, and developed an advanced model for the ADF-01 FALKEN. The new version of the weapon underwent various visual and functional changes, the most important of which was a massive reduction in size, taking the shape of a roughly human-sized pod. As well, its beams changed into a blue tinge. It is unknown whether the model was deployed in combat.

Behind the scenes

The Tactical Laser System is a fictional weapon that first debuted in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War as the secondary weapon of the ADF-01 FALKEN, appearing in virtually all subsequent games where it appears, with the exception of Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion, and is considered as the jet's signature weapon.

Apart from the model used by the ADF-01, the ADFX aircraft from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War are able to use the original TLS model. However, the Zoisite unit differs from the FALKEN's in virtue of having a four-second irradiation time, a small ammunition supply and a lengthy recharging time. In addition, it lacks its successor's ability to fire and reload simultaneously, putting it at a disadvantage.

In Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, the mission "Zero" contains incongruencies in regards to the weapon's power; Pixy's laser kills Beckett by hitting the cockpit, piercing the body and sending the aircraft towards the ground while trailing black smoke, whereas in gameplay either model will destroy any enemy aircraft in one hit regardless of health.

For its Ace Combat: Infinity iteration, the Morgan's TLS was severely weakened; in addition to losing some fire time, its payload was reduced to 1 shot. Probably to balance it out in multiplayer, it also does not destroy a few targets in a single swipe, such as the Scinfaxi-class submarine.

Trivia

Ace Combat 5

The Unsung War

• The acronym "Z.O.E" is displayed in both sides of the weapon's control panel. However, the relationship between the Zone of Endless project and the Tactical Laser System, if any, is unknown.
• In a mission which ends with a landing sequence (e.g. "Desert Lightning"), firing the Tactical Laser System before the landing segment started would cause the beam to remain during the ending portion. However, it would have grown in size, and have a golden tint.
• In Arcade Mode, if Mobius One hits a target with gunfire while the laser is active, there is a chance that the laser will lock onto the target.

Ace Combat Zero

The Belkan War

• As per The Unsung War, the "Z.O.E" acronym is featured once more in the ADF-01's control panel.
• The FALKEN and Morgan models of the Tactical Laser System have notable functional differences. The Morgan model has shorter irradiation time (around four seconds), a lengthy recharge time and a small ammunition payload, while the ADF-01's has an eight-second irradiation time, is capable of simutaneously recharging and firing, and has a larger payload. This is perhaps because the weapon inherited all of its qualities from the AC5 rendition, including the larger payload, longer beam irradiation time and the ability to fire and reload at the same time, and for some reason Namco did not degrade the FALKEN's performance when using the TLS. In fact, the only change that the FALKEN's TLS recieved was the beam's change of colour.
• If you fire the TLS directly at Pixy right at the start of the final dogfight in Zero, it will destroy Pixy and say Hold Fire. This goes for both the Falken and the Morgan.

Ace Combat X

Skies of Deception

• The Tactical Laser System is used by enemy aircraft in the side mission "Operation X", where it is used by two of the ADF-01s Gryphus One must confront at the end. The pair of FALKENs will attack the player by firing the laser and swinging it in a sword-style fashion, dealing low to medium damage with each slash. In addition, it is also used by the ace FALKEN unit "Z.O.E.", which fires directly at the player instead of slashing at them.
• An upgrade called the "Laser Extender" can be applied to the ADF-01, which extends the weapon's irradiation time.

Ace Combat

Joint Assault

• The ADF-01 "Z.O.E", a "legacy" ace in the side mission "Ace of Aces" uses a Tactical Laser System as its main weapon.

Ace Combat

Assault Horizon Legacy

• The Tactical Laser System returns as an enemy weapon in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy. Although never used in the main campaign, it is used a number of times by hostile aircraft in bonus missions, one of which involves fighting four replicas of the original Zone of Endless ADF-01 fought in "Fighter's Honor" armed with TLS pods.

General

• The Tactical Laser System is tied with the Orbital Satellite Laser from Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere as one of the most powerful weapons in the Ace Combat series. The OSL is compatible with nearly all playable aircraft and can destroy all targets in a single shot, however it has a long reload time and tracks a single target. Conversely, the TLS can be mounted exclusively in ADF aircraft and demands greater user input, but can be used to destroy multiple targets in a single shot, and has the advantage of simultaneously reloading and firing.

Gallery

• ADF-01TLS.jpg

  The FALKEN's TLS.

• ADF-01 Falken Laser.gif

  Click image to see ADF-01 Falken laser in action.

• 
• MorganTLS.jpg

  The ADFX with the TLS mounted above the fuselage.

• 

  TLS in use.

• 

  ADFX-01/02 Morgan's TLS.

• 

  an unknown aircraft firing TLS in Ace Combat Infinity.

•