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Sabre

The Sabre is a space fighter operated by the UNSC Defense Force.

Description
The Sabre is a space based combat fighter which can be launched vertically from a ground-based launch platform, and uses a system of detachable multi-stage rockets to propel itself out of a planetary atmosphere.

The fighter's armament includes twin autocannons, as well as missile pods with a lock-on feature. The Sabre also possesses Energy Shields. The Sabre is capable of snap rolls and its targeting computer can identify enemy contacts from a distance, as well as show the distance to a target.

History
The Sabre was the result of the "Sabre program", a top-secret UNSC project in which SPARTAN-B312 was involved at some point. Reach had multiple Sabre fighters stored in launch facilities on the planet surface, used to reinforce the UNSC Navy, should they require assistance in battle. In addition, the orbital platform Anchor 9 had Sabres stored in its launch bays. SPARTAN-B312 and Jorge-052 of Noble Team used one of these vehicles to assist the Epsilon Eridani Defense Fleet during the Fall of Reach in an operation known as Operation: UPPERCUT, in which multiple Sabres were deployed to defend Anchor 9 over Reach.

Gameplay
The Sabre is playable in the space combat segment of the Halo: Reach campaign mission Long Night of Solace.

Like other vehicles in the Halo games, the Sabre is piloted from third-person view. The Heads Up Display, located near the center of the screen, shows the weapon currently in use, thruster heat, as well as the hull and shield integrity of the Sabre. Enemy ships are identified by type and highlighted with a distance marker once the targeting reticle is moved on them. The HUD is slightly different depending on the weapon used at the time.

Roll and direction change is controlled by the right thumbstick, while the left stick controls speed. The Sabre also has a boost function, which uses its wing-mounted thruster engines. This fills up the thruster heat bar which needs to cool down after continuous usage. A variety of maneuvers such as a barrel roll or an immelmann turn can also be performed using the left bumper. The weapon in use can be switched between the machine guns and missiles with the Y button. The machine gun has an additional reticle leading the target, and the missiles can lock on enemy ships.

Trivia

 * Like the UNSC's Longsword-class Interceptor and Shortsword-class Bomber, the Sabre is named after a type of sword.
 * Although Bungie experimented on implementing the Sabre into multiplayer, it will only appear in the campaign due to balance issues.
 * Close observers of the launch cinematic of the Sabre will note that the part of the sequence is a homage to the Space Shuttle program, in both components and angles used for the cinematic. Several angles of the Sabre's launch sequence use similar camera angles seen during shuttle launches, the on-board cameras are used on the shuttle to examine foam loss on the external tank. The design of the Sabre's own tank is somewhat based off the external tank used on the shuttle.