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 and much lower yields; 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 rarely 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 the armor of enemy warships.

The C-709 primarily acts as a Bomber and as such its main combat armaments usually 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 warheads these bomber craft could carry any number of smart munitions with modular payloads for a variety of purposes.

Tactics

Longswords are ubiquitous throughout the UNSC in canon, as such in the mod they are the primary fighter-bomber unit, deployed (As depicted and only physically possible) from nearly every capital ship barring the Artemis-class battlecruiser and including the Eion-class light carrier.

The longsword has both a fighter and bomber variant in the mod, these both have distinct visual depictions to differentiate the two, the bomber utilized for attack runs on enemy warships (most effectively against smaller vessels) and stations while the fighter is utilized in countering enemy strike craft which might otherwise deal damage to their local battlegroup.

As with all strike craft it is recommended to use fighters either from carriers at the edge of a gravity well out of range of enemy defenses to wear down enemy numbers and assault orbital stations from afar or to hold them back in defense of your fleet until enemy anti-fighter vessels are out of the battle so that their numbers can be best utilized against enemy warships.

The Epoch-class heavy carrier's Heavy Strike Craft ability maximizes damage output per Longsword while the carriers themselves are more durable than their smaller counterparts.

In combat, C-712 Fighters 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.

Variants

^{*Sins of the Prophets only uses the two primary subclasses of the craft the C-709 & C-712.*}

C-708 Longsword Bomber

Not much is known of this variant of the Longsword, however some speculate that it is an exclusively atmospheric craft meant specifically for bombing of planet side targets.

The C-708 could be the Longsword depicted in Halo: Origins the short story from Halo: Legends.

C-709 Longsword Bomber

The C-709 Longsword is the more well worn of the two variants in the mod, armed with a 110mm rotary cannon specialized to dealing damage to heavier targets. At 64m long (double the size of the C-712) 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 faster than damage can be dealt to them. Longsword bombers are useful on raids against enemy territory, as their carriers can stay well out of the reach of enemy defenses. However, Longsword bombers are very vulnerable to both anti-strikecraft vessels and enemy fighters - either the C-712 or the Banshee will fly rings around them.

The C-709 is best known from its depictions in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3.

C-712 Longsword Interceptor

This Longsword serves as an interceptor armed with a complement of anti air coilguns 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.

The C-712 is best known from its depictions in Halo: Reach, Halo CE: Anniversary and Halo 2: Anniversary.

History and Role

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.

Manufactured and designed by Misriah Armories at some point during the 25th century, there have been several variants of the vehicle developed to accommodate a number of positions across the UNSC. Longswords have been In service in some capacity since as early as 2492 when they were purportedly used in reaction to a Code: Bandersnatch initiating a nuclear attack on the rebelling colony of Far Isle.

While surpassed in later years by the experimental Sabre-class Inteceptor and shielded refits of the War Era Broadsword-class 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 bombing of Far Isle (The first known use of the craft) 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 to the post war era.

Trivia

• The Longsword is manufactured by Misriah Armories.
• The GA-TL1 designation is actually a nod to the designers of the craft Gov Aukland and Thomas Lavasque.
• 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 64.1 meters in length depending on the variant.
• The C-712 has a mass of 180 metric tons.
• There is a C-708 variant of the Longsword which has never been seen or described.
• 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

Longsword Renders by Malcontent1692 via Artstation

Made By

• Texture - Malcontent1692
• Model - Malcontent1692