Broadsword

UNSC F-41E Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter   Hull: Armor:               The Broadsword Multirole Strike-Fighter is a powerful asset and a valuable part of the UNSC Infinity's battlegroup.

 

Overview

The very best in the UNSC Navy's considerable line of fighter craft, the energy shield equipped Broadsword is the only ship superior to YSS-1000 Sabres but is limited to being produced on the Infinity-class Supercarrier due to the costs of their shield emitters.

Weapons and Tactical Usage

Armament

_{*Though Broadswords can carry a myriad of arms they are fairly specialized and limited for their roles in the mod.*}

The F-41 Broadswords are fairly well armed compared to other UNSC strike craft carrying 2 M1075 autocannons as its main anti fighter complement as well as 2 M6080 Medusa Missile Pods and 1 class III hardpoint capable of carrying AAM-50XR anti-fighter missiles, AGM-79C anti ship missiles or most nuclear warheads including individual HAVOK nukes. These allow the fighter to be used in almost any role or capacity without substantial modifications or additional variants unlike the Longsword.

The F-41E variant also has added energy shielding and more advanced armor allowing it to operate under harsher conditions than previous fighters.

Tactics

Being a strike craft, there is not much one needs to do tactics wise. They should be held back until the enemy's anti-strikecraft frigates are destroyed, so they can roam free without being destroyed. Broadswords come into their own in destroying large numbers of enemy strike craft, but have little use against large ships. This makes them effective at protecting large ships that are vulnerable to bombers.

Variants

_{*Though there are two variants of the Broadsword in lore, only one is used in the mod and as such it is the more fitting refit F-41E variant.*}

F-41D : The Standard Broadsword utilized throughout the Human-Covenant war, utilized by the UNSC Airforce and as defensive contingents aboard orbital SMAC stations. This vessel was unshielded and as such was not very effective against space-faring fighter craft

F-41E : The post war refit of the Broadsword which added upgraded armor and energy shields allowing it to become the far superior advanced air superiority fighter of its time. This model would be used aboard the UNSC Infinity and in post war conflicts.

History and Role

Seeing widespread use in the post-war era and being one of the more commonplace strike craft used late in the Human-Covenant war prior to their refit, the Broadsword is the answer to those situations where even Sabres are not enough to deal with enemy fighters. Equipped with powerful shields, tough armor and piloted by the elite skills of SPARTAN-IV operators, a single squadron is more than a match for any foe willing to come under its guns.

The Broadsword is actually a war era design, designed and built by Misriah Armories around 2530 with the hope that the increased speed would allow it to out perform Covenant strike craft. It proved itself to be rather lackluster against its more advanced foes however against ground targets and the slower atmospheric Covenant assets it excelled, as such they were pressed into service with the UNSC Airforce and stationed in defense of orbital platforms. As the Covenant began showing their power the more well armed and armored Longswords became the only option as unshielded the thin hull of a Broadsword is fairly defenseless against plasma projectiles.

In 2554 the Broadswords began to be refit with Energy Shield Emitters, reformulated Titanium-A plating, advanced fusion reactors and upgraded targeting computers including cyberlink capabilities bringing their survivability and effectiveness back up to that of the Longsword. This along with their increased maneuverability, small frame and carrying capacity made them the premier starfighter in post war conflicts even with the speed decrease caused by the heavy reactors needed to power the shield systems.

Broadswords served in the Requiem Campaign throughout 2558, where they helped to secure the skies for the UNSC Infinity and her contingent of Strident-class Heavy Frigates during both operations. They later would provide direct fire support as part of Battlegroup Dakota in the defense of Earth from the Forerunner Station-ship Mantles Approach. Their shining moment came when one was piloted by legendary Spartan II, John 117; used to deploy the Spartan and a HAVOK tactical nuclear warhead inside the vessel before activating the device eliminating the ship.

In March of 2558 a flight of F-41E Broadswords were scrambled to defend against an attack on the UNSC Infinity by an Insurrectionist piloted vessel called the Pilgrims Pride. The vessel had been brought into the Infinities docking bay at which point it released a contingent of stolen UNSC Air assets originally belonging to the UNSC Spirit of Fire to assault the ship. These Broadswords would hold their own against several AV-22 Sparrowhawks and AV-220 Vultures, craft much above their tonnage.

Trivia

• The Broadsword is jokingly referred to as the Turtle due to its strange appearance.
• The F-41 was first seen and used by the player in Halo 4 as the vehicle for the Trench run in the level Midnight.
• The F-41 is a VTOL capable craft like the pelican.
• It is shown in Halo: Warfleet that Cairo station held several fighter craft such as the F-41D to act in a defensive role for its battle cluster.

Gallery

Broadswords deployed from the Infinity-class warship

Canon Reference

F-41 Broadsword (Halopedia)

Halo Warfleet

Made by

Model: Malcontent1692

Textures: Malcontent1692