Falcon (deleted aircraft)

"The UNSC Falcon is the primary air attack unit of the UNSC Army. With swift attacks and exceptional manoeuvrability a small squad of Falcons can be devastating to enemy vessels. Armed with sidewinder missiles and heavy armor piercing guns."

- Ensemble concept art description

Falcon

The Falcon was a twin seater fighter aircraft planned to be in Halo Wars, used by the UNSC Army. Originally intended to be a usable unit, stored in the UNSC Airpad, it filled the role of strike fighter, packing enough firepower to destroy enemy vehicles and infantry with "Sidewinder" missiles and heavy armor-piercing guns. Like several other units, it was cut from the final game before it shipped.

In terms of design, the Falcon uses forward-swept wings, giving it an appearance similar to the 20th Century Sukhoi Su-47, and used to provide stability during steep dives, indicating an emphasis in air-to-ground combat. Another, smaller set of wing flaps are attached to the ventral hull, possibly to improve stability. It also possesses two inward-angled vertical stabilisers at the rear, and missile pods attached to the base of the wing and the ventral hull. At the rear of the craft are twin jet thrusters, capable of tilting to allow VTOL capability. Retractable landing gear appears to be located at the wing tips.

Trivia

 * There is a 20th and 21st Century fighter craft, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, for which it may have been named.
 * It is likely that the Falcon ended up being replaced by the Vulture in the final and current version of Halo Wars.
 * It seems to bear a slight resemblence to the ADF-01 FALKEN featured in Namco-Bandai's Ace Combat series.