Longsword

UNSC GA-TL1 Longsword Build Time: 22 seconds.   Hull: 140/190 (Interceptor/Bomber) Armor: 1 Experience value: 3.5   Autocannon (Fighter) Damage: 23 Autocannon (Fighter) Cooldown:   Missile (Bomber) Damage: 5 Missile (Bomber) Cooldown:

 

Overview

One of the mainstay starfighters of the UNSC, the GA-TL1 Longsword Fighter-Bomber is equally capable of countering enemy strike craft and dealing damage to warships far above its tonnage.

Weapons and Tactical Usage

Armament

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

C-712

The C-712 Longsword also known as the SS-110 by the UNSC Airforce is armed with a primary armament of 8 M9109 coilguns which fire sub caliber hyper-dense projectiles at excessive speeds. These projectiles are capable of overwhelming the shields and tearing through hulls of small vessels such as Seraphs and Banshees.

In addition to the coilguns these Interceptors can carry a complement of 4 ASGM-10 missiles: AI driven anti-ship missiles or other munitions of varying types. These missiles are compact versions of capital-scale weapons used by fleet vessels but with shorter ranges; usually stored within internal bays to protect them during flight.

C-709

The C-709 Longsword has a primary armament of a single 110mm rotary cannon which fires depleted uranium shells, it is also possible that some Longswords could be fit with a pair of ventral mounted 120mm cannons acting as swiveling turrets. These armaments further add to their damage versus enemy warships.

The C-709 primarily acts as a Bomber and as such its main combat armaments can contain proximity-fused nuclear warheads of varying type and yield either in single missiles/bombs or through rotary launchers, these would be replaced later in the war by more complex and specially designed warheads made to defeat Covenant defenses.

As well as the Nuclear payloads these bomber craft could carry any number of smart bombs ranging from ground targeting bombs, bunker busters, and any of the numerous modular payloads available to the UNSC.

Tactics

While ubiquitous throughout the UNSC in Halo canon, the Longsword while still being the primary fighter is somewhat less common in SotP, only deployed from capital ships (other than the Artemis-class battlecruiser) and the Eion-class light carrier. In addition, the Longsword is limited to interceptor and bomber variants, stripping away many of its canon capabilities (for example, its ability to deliver Shiva-class nuclear missiles and utilize some of its more egregious armaments) for the sake of gameplay balance.

The Longsword's GA-TL1 designation actually refers to the fighter's original designers, Gov Aukland and Thomas Levesque of Misriah Armories- Sins of the Prophets uses the two primary subclasses of the craft.

C712 Longsword Interceptor

The C712 is the Longsword as seen in Halo: Reach and Halo 2 Anniversary - here, it serves as an interceptor armed with a 110mm rotary cannon and specializes in eliminating other bombers and fighters; as such, it is just half the size of its larger cousin, giving it much better maneuverability in combat at the expense of combat payload. However, being only lightly armoured, it is highly vulnerable to anti-air weaponry and anti-strike craft vessels such as the Stalwart-class light frigate or CAR-class frigate, and its high damage is severely reduced by even the lightest of armour.

In combat, C712s are fairly effective against Covenant strike craft, but need to be manually commanded to attack Seraphs - the autocast function will send them against Banshees, ensuring space superiority but leaving your ships exposed. Bear in mind that, while their raw DPS seems far greater than that of the Longsword bomber, most of this is blocked by the armour system when attacking larger vessels - you should not be attacking any non fighter vessels with these strike craft.

C709 Longsword Bomber

The C709 Longsword is the more well worn of the two variants and is the standard Longsword in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. At 64m long (double the size of the C712) and over the size of a modern day airliner, it can carry a sizable payload that can pack a punch even against larger starships, although its effectiveness is limited by the powerful shields of many Covenant vessels - in particular, those of CDA-class Battlestations, capital ships and titans which will regenerate as fast or faster than the damage dealt to them. Longsword bombers are useful on raids against enemy territory, as their carriers can stay well out of the reach of enemy defences, or even on the other side of a gravity well - the Artemis-class, which can serve a similar role, is a far more powerful yet risky proposition. However, to make up for this, far greater numbers are needed - the Epoch's Heavy Strike Craft ability maximises damage output per Longsword while the carriers themselves are more durable than their smaller counterparts. However, Longsword bombers are very vulnerable to both anti-strikecraft vessels and enemy fighters - either the C713 or the Banshee will fly rings around them.

History and Role

Manufactured and designed by Misriah Armories at some point during the 25th century In service since as early as 2492, the GA-TL1 Longsword is one of the most versatile and well known vehicle platforms the UNSC has to offer. It can be equipped with various weapons and a plethora of payloads to serve almost any role imaginable; from air/space superiority, anti-ship bombing, close air support, and even stealth infiltration.

While surpassed in later years by the experimental Sabre-class Inteceptor and shield refits of the War Era Broadsword strike fighters, the Longsword's versatility has seen it used in front-line service throughout the entirety of the Insurrection and Human-Covenant war, from the Battle of Chi Ceti (the first space battle of the war) to the Battle of Voi (the war's final action in UNSC territory) and beyond.

Trivia

• The Longsword was designed and manufactured by Misriah Armories sometime prior to 2492.
• The Longswords Hull code is SS designating it as a Anti ship spaceplane.
• Longswords typically had a complement of 4 crew members.
• Specialized variants of Mjolnir armor were designed specifically with piloting Longswords in mind.
• Longswords can vary from 33.5 to 64 meters in length.
• The C712 has a mass of 180 metric tons.
• There is a C-708 variant of the Longsword which acts as an atmospheric bomber.
• The Longsword can carry a moray mine launcher or act as a remote delivery system for shiva warheads, sacrificing themselves to deliver their payload.

External Reference

Halo Warfleet

Ga-TL1 Longsword Halopedia

GA-TL1 Longsword-class Interceptor  halo.wikia

Made By

• Texture - Malcontent1692
• Model - Malcontent1692