AC-220 Vulture
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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10.0 meters (32.9 ft)[2] |
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182 metric tons (179 LT; 201 ST)[2] |
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- "Death From Above[3]"
The AC-220 Gunship, colloquially known as the Vulture, is a heavy gunship manufactured by Ushuaia Armory and fielded by the United Nations Space Command.[2] It is the preferred aerial combat vehicle during prolonged air-and-ground engagements, particularly against heavily fortified enemy strongholds.[4]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
The Vulture is the largest combat aerodyne currently fielded by the UNSC.[3][5] Unlike most smaller UNSC craft, the Vulture is suspended in the air by a series of ducted fans visible near the rear of the aircraft, housing jet engines like the D77 Pelican. Due to its much larger mass and cross-section, it is slower than other UNSC aircraft, such as the AV-14 Hornet and the AV-22 Sparrowhawk.
The Vulture requires a large number of highly trained UNSC pilots and gunners to operate servicing a crew of six.[3] This makes them expensive to deploy in terms of personnel (as opposed to the Sparrowhawk and Hornet, which require a single pilot and possibly a copilot). It lacks radiation shielding, preventing it from traveling in space.[4][6] Despite this, they have some level of spaceflight capability, and are typically deployed directly from an orbiting warship to the ground.[7]
Armaments[edit]
The Vulture is intended to act as a "flying tank", and boasts an according level of heavy weaponry. These include two twin medium-GAU-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannons, two top-mounted Argent V missile launchers and two pods of four internally-reloaded A-74 Sylver Vertical Missile Launchers, each boasting a single Anvil-IV air-to-surface missile[4][8] or Phoenix tactical missile.[5][2] The combined missile payload are specifically tailored to unleash a unified barrage on a given target, allowing it to overwhelm heavy armor and shielding.[4]
History[edit]
Development history[edit]
The Vulture's core attributes of design can be traced back to the older AC-47, AC-119, AC-130, and AC-163 gunships.[3][4] The Vulture's flying tank-like design was conceived in 2498 to curtail the spreading Insurrection in the Outer Colonies.[4] By 2545, few Vultures remained in service against the Covenant due to irreplaceable combat losses. By 2557, the Materials Group was considering the possibility of restarting production of the Vulture with the benefit of incorporating new technologies and applying improved materials.[9] During the Second Ark Conflict, AI Isabel's upgrades and logistical expertise was able to dramatically simplify Vulture production and maintenance.[5]
Operational history[edit]
The AC-220 Vulture was used during both the Insurrection and Human-Covenant War. During the Insurrection, Insurrectionist forces on Hellas stole a Vulture alongside a handful of