GA-TL1 Longsword

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Template:Ship The C709 Longsword-Class Interceptor is the main UNSC single ship, and a mainstay starfighter, filling a variety of roles simultaneously.

Design Details

Role

Repeatedly described as a space fighter or interceptor, intended to engage enemy fighters, dropships, and boarding craft in route to their capital-ships, Longswords have also been seen in a variety of roles, making for an extremely versatile craft. It is relatively inexpensive to produce.Template:Fact They are capable of holding their own even against technologically superior fighters used by the Covenant, using missiles and cannons to deal tremendous firepower (without having much in the way of defenses) and with a skilled pilot, may even be superior to the Covenant fighters, and escorting UNSC dropships as they deliver their passengers/various cargoes to planet surfaces or larger ships.^[1]^[2] They are also used in attack runs against Covenant capital ships, delivering high-yield missiles^[2], Shiva-class nuclear warheads^[3], or even free-floating Moray space mines^[4], to or near their targets. They can also be used in planetary environments by functioning as fighter-bombers, destroying ground targets from the air^[5]^[6], and escorting larger capital ships.^[7]

Structure

File:Longsword-Specs.jpg

A schematic of the C709 Longsword-class Interceptor.

The inside of the Longsword presents a small corridor leading to the rear, stairs, and a higher corridor to the cockpit.^[8] In the two corridors, there are several equipment lockers, along with two secondary crew stations. The cockpit consists of two pilot chairs and two more auxiliary crew stations. With a known total crew complement of four, along with the equipment and weapon lockers, the ship presents itself as less of a fighter-bomber and more of a dedicated bomber and close support craft.

The cockpit design stayed the same between Halo and Halo 2 but was changed in Halo 3. Previously, the cockpit had four windows (two on each side, but none in the front) and a view screen. In Halo 3, the Longsword has windows wrapping around the cockpit like the traditional aircraft. Many changes occurred from Halo 2 to Halo 3 in the aesthetics of the ship. The first version in Halo: CE and Halo 2 had the diamond-shaped intakes which were removed for the Halo 3 version, so it can be proposed that the ship in Halo 3 is a different version of the Longsword. It may be noted, however, that all of the Longswords seen in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 are used in space combat, while those seen in Halo 3 are primarily used in an atmospheric fighter-bomber role.

Propulsion

There are two main engines discernible on a Longsword fighter. Their precise nature is not known, but they are able to function in space and they are strong enough to reach Earth's and Installation 04's escape velocity. The drive system cannot be purely chemical rocketry, as putting even a modest mass into orbit requires hundreds of tons of fuel. Likely, it is nuclear-powered, and the electrical energy or heat generated is used to power an electric drive or to heat regular fuel into a much higher impulse. There are multiple RCS points for maneuvering.

Weapons

The Longsword's main weapons are 110mm rotary cannons,^[9] as well as 120mm ventral guns, for dog-fighting Seraph fighters in space and strafing ground targets when the need arises. This versatile fighter can be armed with an assortment of secondary weapons including ASGM-10 Missiles, bombs, Moray Space Mines, Scorpion Missiles, and can even heft a single Shiva-class nuclear warhead. It can also be remote piloted, carrying a single Shiva Nuclear Warhead, as was the case when Captain Keyes destroyed a Covenant Supercruiser^[10]

Known Longswords

Trivia

The Chief later captures a Covenant flagship by using a Longsword to get on board with the distraction of an unmanned Pelican carrying mines that took down the ship's Seraphs. Cortana took down the ship's shields and weapons, allowing the Longsword to land on board.Template:Fact
The Longsword is one of the few UNSC vehicles that are not named or modeled after animals (Warthog, Hornet, etc.).
The Longsword fighter underwent many design iterations, as seen in The Art of Halo.
It is disputed whether the Longsword is black or gray, as it looks gray in the final level of Halo: Combat Evolved, but when it is seen in space (and in Halo 3), it looks darker. This may be due to lighting or graphical enhancement. It also could be that it has two different paint jobs like the modern day jet fighters.
In Halo: First Strike, four Longswords are used to cover a single Pelican. This, however, seems impractical due to how large the Longsword is compared to the Pelican. This is probably due to the importance of the Pelican's cargo.
Longswords may or may not have working gravity. At the end of Halo: Combat Evolved, John-117 got up out of his seat and walked over to the side screen to witness the destruction of Installation 04. However, in Halo: First Strike, it is said that the Spartan "floats" to the weapons locker at the back of the Longsword, and that when he picks up the remaining Marines, they too float about. However, this might be because the Longsword (or its artificial gravity) was powered down at the time.
In Halo: Combat Evolved the Chief fits perfectly in the Longsword´s pilot seat, yet in Halo: First Strike, it said that the Chief could not fit well because of his MJOLNIR armor.

Gallery

A formation of Longswords in Halo: Combat Evolved.
A formation of Longswords near Installation 04's atmosphere.
LongswordBattle2.jpg

Longswords chasing after a Seraph-class Starfighter in the Battle of Earth.
Close up on a Longsword.
A Longsword being neutralized by a Loyalist Anti-Air Artillery.
Longsword flying.jpg

Longsword flying above Voi.
Three Longswords assaulting the Forerunner Dreadnought in the Battle of Voi.
Longsword.png.png

Two Longswords engaged in an upper atmospheric flight above Earth.
HRS C709 Longsword top.jpg

A top-down view of a C709 Longsword Interceptor, illustrating the Manta-ray profile, long and thin tail section, and bulky engines.
HRS C709 Longsword front.jpg

A front-on view of the Longsword, demonstrating its thin horizontal profile.
Three Longswords prepare to airstrike a UNSC ship decommissioning site.
A squadron of Longswords fly in formation.