Rhona W

Ace Combat: The Global War

I was out celebrating a friends birthday tonight, so I couldn't make an IC post. I'll get one up tomorrow though.

Ace Combat: The Global War

I've played Ace Combat all the way through on the main console titles. The only ones I haven't played are the PSP ones as I've never owned a PSP. Now I have a PS3, I can get them on the online store though, so that'll probably be something I'd do within the near future.
My favourite ones are probably 4,5 and 0, due to the selection of aircraft, the large amount and variety in the missions and the general way they play and their storylines. Not to mention I think they have some of the best music.

Rafale said it was okay for me to post some more helpful info about aerial ordnance, so I'll do so, along with some other general information and terminology.

First off - some lingo. Pilots tend to use a lot of acronyms, whether talking amongst themselves, in briefings, and especially when in the air for the sake of clarity over often scratchy and staticy lines that can make words sound confusing, or letters sound like other letters. A fairly good list can be found here, albeit somewhat Navy and 'Western' oriented
Aviator Slang

Second, some useful info on what the day of a pilot is like. I know we won't be playing everything exactly as it is, but keeping some structure related to reality could be good, and will give a good idea of how things work in general too, and what our characters would be doing if they're not flying, too.
Day in the life of a fighter pilot

Technical Info

Weapon Systems
Weapons in Ace Combat are broadly split into three categories:
'Machine Guns', which are the Internal Cannon for the aircraft being used. An aircraft's cannon is used as a multi-purpose short-range weapon, against both air and surface targets of many varieties.
Most aircraft cannon range from 20-30mm, and are used to attacks against other aircraft and 'soft' ground targets. Some ground-attack aircraft, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt and the SU-25 Frogfoot are designed with heavier cannon for use against armoured targets.
Aircraft cannon have a high rate of fire, as they are designed to get the maximum amount of fire on a target in the shortest time possible, due to the comparative speed of aircraft vs. their target.

'Missiles', which are the general-purpose multi-use missiles of any Ace Combat aircraft. In our game, these are represented by the SDM, as mentioned in the opening post. They are IR-Guided (i.e. heat-seeking) missiles with a secondary optical guidance mode for engaging ground targets.

Special Weapons
Special Weapons incorporate a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance. The names for these weapons in the Ace Combat series are listed below, along with typical type designations and a few details below.

Air-to-Air missiles

• XLAA - Long-range Air-to-Air missiles. Long-range radar-guided missiles. These would include the US AIM-54 Phoenix, European MBDA Meteor, and Russian Vympel R-33 and R-37.


• XMAA - Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air missiles. Mid-range radar-guided missiles. Examples would include the US-Manufactured AIM-120 AMRAAM, Russian Vympel R-77, British-made BAe Skyflash, French MBDA MICA, and Japanese Mitsubishi AAM-4


• QAAM - Quick Manoeuvre Air-to-Air missiles. Short-range but agile IR-Guided missiles. Examples would include the US-Manufactured AIM-9X Sidewinder and Russian AA-11 Archer, both coupled with helmet-mounted sights and other high agility features.


• SAAM - Semi-Active Air-to-Air Missiles. Mid-range missiles that have a longer distance lock-on and radar-guidance, but require the target to be constantly illuminated (i.e., within field-of-view of the nose of the aircraft). Examples would include the US and NATO AIM-7 Sparrow, French Matra Super 530D, and Russian Vympel R-27.

Air-to-surface Missiles
Air-to-surface missiles incorporate air-to-ground and anti-ship weapons. They are used to destroy both armoured and unarmoured targets, and have a variety of guidance systems.

• SOD - Standoff Ordnance Dispenser. A cruise missile or other bomblet dispenser which is launched at a locked-on target or cluster of targets, through optical or laser-guidance. It then flies ahead of the aircraft under it's own power, and dispenses numerous bomblets over the target area to destroy a cluster of structures or vehicles. Examples include the European MBDA SCALP-EG and MBDA-Storm Shadow.


• LASM - Long-range Anti-Ship Missile. A missile launched at long-range after a lock-on through optical guidance. Flying at low altitude and high-speed after launch, an anti-ship missile will penetrate the side of the target through high-velocity and an armoured nose-cone, and then detonate its' warhead inside a ship for maximum damage. Examples include the US and NATO AGM-84 Harpoon, European Sea Eagle and Exocet and Russian Kh-29.


• LAGM - Long-range Air-to-ground Missile. A missile launched after a lock on through optical, laser or IR guidance. It has a powerful explosive warhead that can destroy many targets in a small area, while the launch aircraft can remain at a stand-off distance. Many of these weapons in the Real World are designed to lock-onto and destroy hostile radar emitters to allow aircraft to disable enemy search and targeting radars. Examples include the AGM-88 HARM, ALARM and Kh-31p.


• XAGM - Advanced Air-to-Ground Missile. A short-ranged, multiple-target missile, launched in volleys. IR, Optical or Laser-guided, the XAGM represents individually small missiles that are designed for the attack of pin-point targets, such as vehicles, small sea vessels and other similar targets. Examples would be the NATO AGM-65 Maverick, European AS.30 and Brimstone missiles and the Russian Kh-29.

Bombs
Bombs are both guided and unguided. Unpowered but capable of gliding in some guided models, they have a high area-of-effect, and a massive destructive power, but are relatively indescriminate in their destruction.

• UGB - Unguided bombs, of standard sizes. This would include bombs of around the 500lb class, which are 'general purpose' munitions for use against most targets.


• UGBL - Unguided Bombs, Large. This would be bombs of 1000-2000lb class. Highly destructive and powerful, they also take up more space. Generally against the hardest targets, or against large concentrations of equipment and structures.


• SFFS - Self-forming Fragments Submunitions. This is essentially the same effect as a cluster bomb, in that it spreads a wide number of explosive fragments over a large area, that are effective against both hard and soft targets.


• FAEB - Fuel-Air Explosive Bomb. An explosive unguided bomb that distributes a vapourised cloud of fuel, and then ignites it over a large cluster of targets. The resulting change in pressure and heat can rip targets apart through the massive changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. Such weapons are massively destructive, and highly restricted in their deployment. The largest weapons, dropped from cargo aircraft or heavy bombers are comparable in effect to small nuclear weapons.


• GPB - Guided Penetration Bomb. A guided bomb, designed for pin-point accuracy on a single target. Guided by GPS or laser-guidance, the bomb glides to it's target after lock-on from a mid-range distance. Examples of such ordnance would be the Paveway family of laser-guided bombs and the JDAM GPS-Guided bomb family, as well as similar laser or other guided bombs.

Other Weapons
Other air-to-ground weapons or other weapons that do not fit in these families, and are not 'special' weapons such as lasers or burst-missiles do not always fit into the other families and are listed here.

• RCL - Rocket Launcher. An unguided short-range weapon designed for barrage-fire against lightly armoured targets. By using rudder or stick movements, the rocket launchers' barrage can be spread across a cluster of targets. A wide variety of rocket munitions are used by many nations, and rockets can be fitted with a variety of warheads.


• BDSP - Bomblet Dispenser. A fixed weapon, consisting of two large pods with holes honeycombed across the sides. Each tube launches a single sub-munition designed to spread over a wide area along either side of the aircrafts' path at low altitude. Especially effective against runways and large areas of buildings. The JP233 is the only widely-used type, and can be loaded with anti-runway and anti-personnel bomblets (to discourage repairs of the damaged target). JP233 dispensers can be fitted to Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier and FB-111 aircraft, with other potential carriers.


• MGP - Machine-Gun Pod. Otherwise known as 'gunpods' or 'cannon pods', these are self-contained units of a cannon and it's ammunition, as well as a power-source of some kind if also necessary. Generally used to augment an existing cannon, or if an aircraft has no internal cannon, they are not widely used other than against heavy concentrations of soft targets. Numerous types are available, from 7.62mm minigun pods, all the way up to 30mm cannon pods.

Ace Combat: The Global War

That's all really useful stuff, man, thanks!

Would you like me to put some stuff up about various weapon systems and their guidance, and the differences between them? I'd be happy to help with the technical side of things.

Ace Combat: The Global War

The Mage said
I feel like I'm the only one here who doesn't research that much into foreign naval stuff.......

I have a very curious nature and an insatiable desire to learn things. Especially about military organizations, and their hardware and how they use it. I do a lot of writing for fun, as well as running RPG's, and I also read a lot of military thrillers as well, and if something is mentioned, then I tend to go away and look it up afterward for my own interest to find out more about it. Plus I'm probably a lot older than most if not all of you, so I've had a lot of time to work on that knowledge as well.

The Royal Navy - if you've not guessed - isn't foreign to me, as the French Navy isn't foreign to Rafale, as I'm English. Living where I do, there's a lot of people who are or have been in the Navy, and I've also been aboard a couple of ships on open days, as well as taking the harbour tour a couple of times as well as visiting the museum here in Portsmouth. So you pick up things here and there. But that all pales alongside simply having the desire to read and research about things.

Ace Combat: The Global War

Lost Cause said
Technically, they aren't even Aircraft Carriers. To get them past the Bureaucrats they were classified as "through-deck cruisers" instead.

Well, exactly. Just goes to show what kind of strange beasts they are really, and how defence politics are just so weird and full of back-talk and double-speak to get things done.
That said, they are impressive to see coming into the harbour (or were, anyway, when there was more than one), and while they aren't massive juggernauts of airpower, they've still done a good job when called on.

Rafale said
I still think retiring the entire Harrier fleet just like that was a bad decision.Also, you wrote French aircraft carrier. As of right now, the Marine Nationale only has one aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, despite the official doctrine calling for two. The CDG is a mighty fine ship (perhaps the best in Western Europe), but I wonder if retiring/selling the Clémenceau class carriers was such a wise decision, considering how they were both adequate carriers. I hope the Foch (now called the Sao Paulo, in Brazilian service) gets used well, as it will always have a special place in my heart since my great uncle has loads of stories from when he served on it. I mean, the Clémenceaux were only built ten years before the Invincible classes, and the Illustrious is still used by the British... *grumble grumble, rant rant*

Couldn't agree more about the Harriers, and apparently the general opinion of the public is the same, as is that of the soldiers who'd served with the Harriers. It was a hugely unpopular decision, but one everyone was force to live with, sadly. At least they went to the USMC, rather than just to be scrapped or rot away somewhere. It's a shame that they'll be used for parts, but at least they're doing some good.

I didn't realise that about the French carrier, so apologies for the mistake there. I've always through the CDG was impressive as well.
I hope the Sao Paolo, as she's now named, is well looked after too. I've read she's been equipped with Skyhawks, which I approve of as I love the A-4. I hope that the Brazilian Navy gets a lot of use out of her, and that she does a lot of good in her role there, as she did with the Marine Nationale.

The Mage said
you guys get REALLY upset when it comes to Ships....

Ships cost a lot of money, and ship building and maintenance create masses of jobs for people - it can be pretty important to some regions economies, let alone for the political message an aircraft-carrying ship turn up on someone's doorstep can send. The UK and France also still have a lot of overseas dependencies as well, and have both historically had strong naval traditions (frequently in fighting each other xD)

Also, y'know. Ships are pretty cool.

Ace Combat: The Global War

Lost Cause said
Actually, think I will still use the Corsair for now, and stick her in a Hornet when I get the chance.

Woop-woop, Corsair-Five!

Rafale said
The Royal Navy (as far as I know) can only use V/STOL aircraft on their current carriers due to their size (the Harrier, for example). It's the main reason they decided to go for the VTOL F-35 (lol) instead of the dedicated carrier model, I think.EDIT: And if you look on the wiki, the Royal Navy is indeed the main customer of the Magnificent Lightning (export model).

Hi, I live in Portsmouth, where the Royal Navy keeps it's aircraft carriers... or used to.
The current class of aircraft carrier used by the RN is the Invincible-Class. They weren't designed for the same specifications as the US or French aircraft carriers, and are primarily anti-submarine warfare platforms that can carry helicopters and STOVL aircraft.
They're due to be replaced with the Queen Elizabeth-Class which will be much larger, and could be configured for standard CATOBAR (Catapult Take Off, Barrier Assisted Recovery) or STOVL landings, but have been ordered for STOVL (I believe) pending the delivery of the JSF.
Because the new carriers are so huge, they're having to dredge Portsmouth Harbour to make it deeper, and rebuild a lot of the berthing facilities at the quaysides to accommodate the new carriers.

Currently, due to the decision to retire the ENTIRE Harrier fleet of both the RAF and the RN, along with two of the three carriers we had in service, our Navy now has no fixed-wing aviation to launch from it's carriers. Instead, they're being used as 'helicopter carriers', and have deployed Apaches during the intervention in Libya.

Who's Checkerboard One and Two?

To be fair, you didn't ask me who Angels 1-8 are, so does it matter? I figured we'd just been plucked out of our units for whatever reason. Otherwise, are we all going to have to come up with names for full squadrons, or play flight leaders? I'm confused now.

GEARS - Mecha Sci-fi with Anthro characters. RP in a detailed, story-driven world.

I'll try and make my next post a bit more leading so everyone has something to talk about, or leads you all into having to talk to each other, since at the moment none of your characters hardly know one another's names, let alone anything else :P

Blackout 2030

It'd kind of be a nice character-building idea for the whole team that as we work together more and get to know each other (in character) as well, we all - for those of us who don't know it - start to pick up sign language by proxy and familiarity, since we spend more time together, so Anna can talk to everyone.
Just a thought, but it'd be nice for the warm-and-fuzzies

Blackout 2030

Lord Pie said
She actually just text me to say that this morning she went into the hanger where the commercial plan she is working with was supposed to be to find out it had been moved and replaced with a Royal Navy Merlin MK1 Helicopter, complete with missile carriers and top of the range radars and a glass cockpit :p

I really like the Merlin - seeing one up close at an airshow was pretty impressive. It was at Southend, so it was hovering over the water, probably a bit closer and lower than it should've been. The pilot and co-pilot waved to us xD
I'm doing okay, thanks, to answer as well. Similar to our esteemed GM, I'm without a job currently, which has left me feeling more than a bit low, and my GF may also be about to end up in the same position, so things aren't great on that front. However, I am applying for many things.

The knowing of many languages thing would probably adequately cover sign-language to get back to that topic, and my character would seem likely as a candidate given his background, but as said, I was planning to wait for a response from Rusalka too, as it's her character after all.

Blackout 2030

Would it be an unwelcome idea if I gave John some knowledge of sign-language? I imagine it might help with keeping conversation going amongst the group is all.
I apologize that my post isn't better, but I was just trying to get something up, and introduce my character to the group. I feel a bit left out of things both OOC and IC at the moment, so I should try and get more involved.