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.

Tactical Usage

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.

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.

Variants and Armaments

^{*Sins of the Prophets only uses the two primary subclasses of the craft the C-709 & C-712. Though Longswords can carry a myriad of arms they are fairly specialized and limited for their roles in the mod.*}

Armament

Longswords can carry a variety of primary and secondary armaments including a massive quantity of modular payloads.

C-709 Longsword Bomber

The C-709 Longsword is the more well worn of the two variants in the mod. At 64 meters long (double the size of the C-712, over the size of a modern day airliner) and primarily acting as a bomber 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. Its secondary armament consisted of a single 110mm rotary cannon which fires depleted uranium shells capable of causing even more damage to Covenant hulls, it is also possible that rarely some Longswords could be fit with a pair of ventral mounted 120mm cannons acting as swiveling turrets.

Its enormous size allows it to 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.

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

C-712 Longsword Interceptor

The C-712 Longsword also known as the SS-110 by the UNSC Airforce is an interceptor armed with a primary armament of 8 M9109 coilguns specialized for eliminating other bombers and fighters. These weapons fire sub caliber hyper-dense projectiles at excessive speeds 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. These allow the fighters to attack larger vessels however with very little effect.

Due to its role as a fighter 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