AC-220 Vulture: Difference between revisions

|manufacturer=[[Ushuaia Armory]]<ref>'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 202''</ref>

|length={{Convert|35.1|m|ft}}<ref>[http://halo.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_scalecomparison/1280h.html?display=unsca '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Determining the Real Sizes of Objects in Halo - Update'']</ref>

|crew=6

|era=[[Human-Covenant War]]<br>[[Reclamation conflict]]

{{Quote|The Vulture is one of the UNSC's most powerful units. Basically a highly armed flying assault [[tank]] packed to the brim with weapons, the Vulture is the largest aircraft fielded by the UNSC. It is designed to deliver massive damage to enemy ground troops after air superiority has been achieved. It is slow moving but carries an impressive armament of two twin-autocannons and rocket silos that can be used to deliver a devastating barrage to enemies in a wide area.<br>Crewed by highly trained UNSC pilot and gunners, the Vulture is an expensive unit and is usually reserved for difficult or lengthy battles. Being slow, it is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and enemy aircraft, but it is surprisingly resilient.|Official Halo Wars website<ref>Halo Wars official website</ref>}}

The '''AC-220 Vulture''' is a heavy gunship used by the [[United Nations Space Command]] during the [[Human-Covenant War]]. It is the preferred aerial combat vehicle during prolonged air-and-ground engagements, particularly against heavily fortified enemy strongholds.<ref name="waypoint">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us#/intel/theuniverse/tech/gallery/vulture/d7c47141-fe31-43ff-8698-3ec01a19b356?filter=all '''Halo Waypoint''': ''AC-220 Vulture gunship''] (defunct, backup on [https://web.archive.org/web/20110325090514/http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/related/gallery/vulture/d7c47141-fe31-43ff-8698-3ec01a19b356 Archive.org])</ref>

The Vulture is a successor of the older [[wikipedia:Douglas AC-47 Spooky|AC-47]], [[wikipedia:Fairchild AC-119|AC-119]], [[wikipedia:Lockheed AC-130|AC-130]], and [[AC-163 Gunship|AC-163]] gunships. It was designed in [[2498]] to combat the [[Insurrection]] in the [[Outer Colonies]].<ref name="waypoint"/>

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-TC 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]], but is armed with a number of missile pods for use against air and ground units, as well as a pair of hull-mounted autocannons.<ref>''[[wikipedia:GamePro|Gamepro]]'', July 2009 edition</ref>

The Vulture requires a large number of highly trained UNSC pilots and gunners to operate, making 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. These factors, coupled with the amount of time it takes to build one, means that the Vulture is usually only reserved for difficult and lengthy battle situations and eliminating dug-in enemy forces.<ref name="waypoint" /><ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 250''</ref>

The AC-220 Vulture was used during both the [[Insurrection]] and [[Human-Covenant War]]. In [[2531]] the crew of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} used several Vultures during the [[Battle of the Etran Harborage]] against the [[Covenant]], [[Flood]] and [[Sentinel]]s. Following the [[Human-Covenant War]], few Vulture gunships remained in service with the [[UNSC Armed Forces]] due to irreplaceable combat losses by [[2545]]. However, by [[2557]], the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s [[Materials Group]] began considering the possibility of restarting production of the Vulture with the benefit of incorporating new technologies and applying improved materials.<ref name="Bulletin">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/bulletins/the-halo-bulletin-knowledge-drop '''Halo Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 9.24.14'']</ref> By [[2553#April|April 2553]], the [[Insurrectionist]]s on [[Venezia]] had acquired several Vultures and hid them in the old sandstone quarry next to [[Mount Longdon Road]] for use by the [[Venezian Militia]].<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''page 103''</ref> On [[2558#March|March 11, 2558]] several AC-220 Vultures belonging to the ''Spirit of Fire'', alongside multiple [[AV-22 Sparrowhawk]]s, attacked the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} when the ''[[Pilgrims' Pride]]'' was pulled into the ''Infinity's'' docking bay.<ref name="HE4">'''Halo: Escalation''', ''Issue #4''</ref>

A slow unit which can take massive amounts of damage before destruction, the Vulture is the largest ground-based aircraft fielded by the UNSC.<ref>[http://www.halowars.com/GameInfo/airpad.aspx#vulture  ''Halo Wars'' Official Site: Information on the Vulture]</ref> It is able to fight against both air and ground units due to its weapon configuration: [[Argent V missile]] pods are used against enemy aircraft, while [[GAU-23/AW/Linkless Feed Autocannon|GAU-23 autocannons]] are designed for engaging ground targets. It can use its [[A-74 Sylver Vertical Missile Launcher|A-74 missile launcher]] to launch several [[Anvil-IV air-to-surface missile]]s and deliver massive damage to slow and/or static units. The Vulture's main drawbacks are its cost and the large amount of time it takes to build one; it is also vulnerable to fast counter-attacks and takes a great deal of time to repair. The Vulture should be reserved for buildings and ground units for the greatest effect. Although Vultures possess adequate anti-aircraft ordnance, they should be escorted by [[M9 Wolverine]]s to lessen the threat of aerial attacks. The Vulture is also equipped with the ability to launch the powerful [[Phoenix missile]].