Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Skyfortress

"Skyfortress bomber, prepared for a sortie."

-Skyfortress

The Skyfortress is the strategic bomber used by the Survivors. Planned to be voiced by *TBA*

Tactical analysis

 * The Flying Fortress: The Skyfortress is an aging GVAW heavy bomber. The Skyfortress mainly serves as a strategic bomber, crippling enemy bases with seismic bombs that shake the earth, collapsing buildings with ease.
 * Strategic Bombing at its Best: The Skyfortress also carries another type of bomb, which it can switch to dropping instead. Napalm bombs, which are small but numerous, burn for a significant amount of time, which lets them be used for land denial.
 * Live to die another day: Skyfortresses are infamously for their ability to resist damage. With each Skyfortress crew a master at damage control procedures, they can lock down almost any wound the plane might sustain in the air and quickly fix the problems.
 * Bullseye on wings: The Skyfortress does have its Achilles heel though. Fast-moving ground-based AA systems can avoid the deadly rain of bombs from the Skyfortress while dishing out hurt and interceptors can easily bring down these bombers, though their gunners do afford Skyfortresses with a limited degree of protection.

History
"Bomb goes in; corpse comes out. I can explain that."

-Skyfortress

The B-15 Skyfortress was already integrated into the Aquilan Air Force before GVAW had even started. It had yet to see any combat, but maneuvers had hinted at a useful future. As soon as Aquila had entered the war, entire squadrons of B-15s were shipped to Fereldan to begin strategic bombing (as the Aquilans replaced their old B-15, B-17, B-24, B-26 and B-29 bombers in favor of B-36, B-45, B-47, B-57 and the then-new at the time, the B-52). While Voshkod industry was dampened, and many factory complexes were smashed, the B-15 had a severe vulnerability to interceptors. The ball turrets of the Skyfortresses had trouble following jet fighters, and entire wings of these planes were lost.

It wasn't until each bomber had a fighter escort that losses were minimized, but the damage had been done. These bombers were also shifted to front-line duty, destroying Voshkod bases and armor columns. To increase Skyfortress crews' drained morale, they were given the best luxuries in the Allied army. Colour televisions, ample leave time, actually prepared food, and high combat pay were made available to Skyfortress crews. This caused them to be resented throughout the Allied military, but they were quick to point out they'd gladly trade places with anyone else.

By the war's end, the Skyfortress was obsolete, as newer fighters and anti-aircraft systems were developed and deployed, limiting the bomber's effectiveness. Most Skyfortresses were retired in order to cut costs, dumped in the Embry island of Arizona and left to slowly rust. There they stayed, however, until the fledgling Minutemen decided they needed a stronger punch against Aquilan installations. However, this was easier said than done. Warfare had changed, and the Skyfortress was even more vulnerable to interception.

To that end, Minutemen sympathizers tuned the aging Skyfortresses to the best of their ability. Engines were supercharged, while the aircraft were stripped of as much weight as was possible to maximize speed. Old turrets were replaced by faster-moving equivalents to better track modern fighters. The original bomb load, however, had to go due to weight issues.

Mechanics replaced the high explosive "dumb" bombs with a smaller amount of lighter bombs, which were more specialized and designed to cause more damage. Seismic bombs used the initial blast upon hitting the ground to force the heavier warhead underground, which itself detonated and caused a miniature earthquake below the structure. Napalm bombs are much less subtle; when they hit the ground, they spread napalm around, a jelly-like substance that ignites, causing a devastating firestorm!

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * B-2 Spirit (Aquila)
 * B-21 Raider (Task Force Eagle)
 * Tornado (Alliance)
 * Orca Bomber (ADI)
 * Mitsubishi A-2 Apollo Bomber (Protectorate)
 * Century Bomber (Andora)
 * H-6K (Empire)
 * Pitohui Assault Bomber (Community)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Tu-22M Backfire (Voshkod)
 * Vertigo Bomber (Brotherhood)
 * Tu-4 Bull (Horde)
 * MiG-19 Hyena (MLA)
 * Dybbuk-E (Collective)
 * Tu-16 Badger (Encantadia)
 * Scourge (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Thunderbarge (Coalition)
 * Century Plague (Heralds)
 * B-17 Flying Fortress (Order)
 * Skyfortress (Survivors)
 * Iron Rain (Syndicate)
 * XSB-1 (Conglomerate)
 * Marauder Bomber (Legion)

Bonus Faction

 * Saturn Bomber (ASA)
 * Mino Bomber (Bastion)
 * Strategic Bomber Creep (Rangers)
 * Masararia Medium Bomber (Pirates)
 * Tu-16K Badger (Ascalia)
 * Majesty Bomber (Elona)
 * ... (Dominion)
 * Ramiel Bomber (Security)
 * ... (Ascendancy)

DLC

 * Pteranodon (Federation)
 * Pangu War-Bomber (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * ... (Skynet)
 * ... (Elemental)
 * Wyvern Bomber (Autocracy)
 * Avro Malta (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * Rayo Tactical Bomber (Confederation)
 * Níðhöggr Bomber (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * Ju 287 (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * Pe-8 (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * Voidraven Bomber (Raiders)
 * Muromets (Theocracy)
 * Ju-88
 * Gendarme Bomber
 * B-47 Stratojet (Insurgents)
 * Resolver of Disputes (Guardians)
 * Fearmonger Destroyer (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * ... (Ecumene)
 * Victory Bomber (Concordat)
 * Albatross Strategic Bomber
 * PAK DA(Contingent)
 * XSB-2 (Eden)
 * Honey Badger Bomber (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * B-58 Hustler (Commune)
 * ... (Clique)
 * Renzan (Guild)
 * ... (Threat)
 * ... (Traders)
 * ... (Entente)
 * ... (Oblivion)
 * ... (Corporation)
 * ... (Covenant)
 * ... (Institute)
 * ... (Commonwealth)
 * ... (Netstorm)
 * ... (Carnival)
 * ... (Wraiths)
 * ... (Chronophage)
 * Kazan Maritime Bomber (Privateers)
 * ... (Foundation)