| Property | Value |
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| rdf:type | |
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| rdfs:comment | - The role of a gunship is nothing new to warfare - first fielded in limited numbers during the various conflicts of the mid 20th Century, i.e.; the Korean and Vietnam wars, even the earliest gunships had adopted profiles that would be recognisable hundreds of years later - either VTOL-capable helicopter gunships, capable of striking targets at comparatively close range using their agility and mobility to their advantage, or larger airplane gunships that engaged at considerably longer range, circling an area to provide heavy machine gun and howitzer support against enemy forces. By the Vietnam war, the US Air Force had perfected the process, producing the AH1 Cobra attack helicopter and the AC-47 Spooky Gunship. The Gulf War and War on Terror would see their replacement in most circles with
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| Era | - *Colonisation
*Insurrection
*Human-Covenant War
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| firstuse | |
| dbkwik:halo-fanon/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate | |
| dbkwik:halofanon/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate | |
| Role | - *Close Air Support
*Air Interdiction
*Force Protection
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| Name | |
| Model | - *AC-173A "Red Cobra"
*AC-173B "Blue Eagle"
*AC-173C "Black Owl"
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| Manufacturer | |
| Class | |
| Armament | - *LRS-224 Electronic Warfare Suite
*2 x 7.62x51mm Minigun
*2 x 12.7x99mm AIE-A Heavy Machine Gun
*1 x DEW-1A
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| abstract | - The role of a gunship is nothing new to warfare - first fielded in limited numbers during the various conflicts of the mid 20th Century, i.e.; the Korean and Vietnam wars, even the earliest gunships had adopted profiles that would be recognisable hundreds of years later - either VTOL-capable helicopter gunships, capable of striking targets at comparatively close range using their agility and mobility to their advantage, or larger airplane gunships that engaged at considerably longer range, circling an area to provide heavy machine gun and howitzer support against enemy forces. By the Vietnam war, the US Air Force had perfected the process, producing the AH1 Cobra attack helicopter and the AC-47 Spooky Gunship. The Gulf War and War on Terror would see their replacement in most circles with a variety of helicopter gunships produced by various companies, thought he AC-130 Specter/Spooky II Gunships would continue to fill the latter role for a considerable time almost unopposed well into the 21st Century. In this regard, the AC-173 may be regarded as the spiritual successor of the Specter gunship of the US Air Force. A dedicated ground attack aircraft, the Eidolon is designed to carry a variety of weapons packages for engaging hostile ground targets, ranging from infantry units to vehicle formations to enemy bases of operations, providing ground troops and battle commanders with various forms of signals intelligence, and to operate at extreme long range, well out of the line of sight and range of fire of enemy hostiles. Introduced in 2483, the Eidolon has the dubious honour of being the first UNSC combat aircraft to be equipped with a directed energy weapon, the now infamous DEW-1A, and would serve throughout the Insurrection. The introduction of the AC-220 Vulture Gunship was intended to replace the Eidolon, though many CMA units preferred the older craft due to its reliability and effectiveness. When the CMA was disbanded, many of these units were appropriated by the UNSC Air Force, and would continue to support UNSC Army and Marine ground troops in combat operations until 2536, when the last of them were retired from active duty.
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