Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Longbow Liberator

"Alliance gunship cleared for battle"

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The Longbow Liberator is the main attack helicopter of the Alliance of Hawke. This unit is set to be voiced by Nicole Sullivan

Tactical analysis

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History
"They outnumber us five-to-one. If they run away now, they "might" outnumber us three-to-one."

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Alliance High Command ordered the production of first-generation Aquilan-made Longbows in 1953 V.C. Serving with distinction throughout the Great Voshkod-Aquilan War's Hawke Theater (though admittedly, little more than fodder for MiG, Yak and Lavochkin pilots), the Longbow Mk. 1 continued to see action until late 1967 V.C., when 13 helicopters were lost in action during the Battle of Hyboria to anti-aircraft fire from flak troopers. It was a public relations nightmare, as the Longbow had been pushed at the "face" of the Allied military over the last few years due to its extreme effectiveness.

A new design was ordered and the old Longbows were unceremoniously dumped in the Boneyard. Within the space of a few months, Alliance engineers had unleashed a new Longbow design, one that was quickly put into production, while the Aquilans would do a similar way with the AH-64 Apache helicopter via the AAH program following the cancellation and sellout of the Cheyenne. From this humble origin, the completely re-worked Longbow Liberator was a masterpiece, passing every test and showing remarkable battlefield performance; the Liberator's 20mm "Pyrocumulus" autocannon was superbly effective against not only infantry but also light vehicles and even helicopters, while its "Dragonblaster" missiles packed enough power to level even the dreaded Apocalypse tanks. They served with distinction for the remainder for many years to come, though there were never quite enough to go around as Athel Loren, refused to order the Longbow Liberators and instead created their own successor of the Longbow in form of the Warhawk.

Originally, it was the intention of the designers that the Longbow Liberator should be equipped with a stealth system in order to make it invisible. The initial plans were to use either camoscanners or GAP technology, but camoscanners proved too bulky, and the best engineers of the Alliance failed to remove the bubble effect. With pressure to put the design into production at the time, the stealth system was put on hold. A stealth system would only be implemented after the war's end.

Research had already been ongoing into a way of reducing radar-cross sections before the start of the war, in hopes of developing a new bomber that could penetrate the Voshkod air defence network. Though a working aircraft was never produced, the Alliance have since shown interest in the possible application of this stealth technology to other aircraft. The most promising results so far have been the Longbow Liberators, which remains invisible even when firing tis weapons; but the intense amount of energy it consume when activated means that its normally shut off and can only activated periodically.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * AH-64E Apache Guardian (Aquila)
 * Longbow Liberator (Alliance)
 * Warhawk (Athel Loren)
 * Orca Fighter (ADI)
 * AH Hellhound (Protectorate)
 * Tiger Gunship (Andora)
 * Blackshark (Empire)
 * Han Gunship
 * T129 ATAK (Community)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Mi-28 Havoc (Voshkod)
 * Ka-68 Hellion
 * Harpy Mk2 (Brotherhood)
 * Looted Longbow (Horde)
 * Gazelle (MLA)
 * Druchii Hokum (Collective)
 * KA-65 Twinblade (Encantadia)
 * ... (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Stormtalon (Coalition)
 * Chaos Longbow (Heralds)
 * ... (Order)
 * Longbow MK I (Survivors)
 * Pegasus Combat Helicopter (Syndicate)
 * Ka-58 Black Ghost (Conglomerate)
 * ... (Legion)

Bonus Factions

 * AH-9 Pawnee (ASA)
 * A129 Mangusta (Bastion)
 * Gunship Creep (Rangers)
 * Dornier 205 Assaulter (Pirates)
 * AH-1 SuperCobra (Elona)
 * Simargl (Ascalia)
 * Banshee (Dominion)
 * Rooivalk (Security)
 * ... (Ascendancy)

DLC

 * ... (Federation)
 * Songbird Chopper (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * Brawler (Skynet)
 * ... (Elemental)
 * ... (Autocracy)
 * AH-1G Cobra (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * Raiquen (Confederation)
 * Ullr Gunship (Kingdom)
 * ... (Goo)
 * Bo 115 (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * Lanius Helicopter (Warlords)
 * ... (Cult)
 * Ka-52 Eragon (Raiders)
 * Assault Rotorcraft (Theocracy)
 * AH-1F Cobra (Insurgents)
 * ... (Guardians)
 * ... (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * Sky Tiger (Ecumene)
 * Westland Lynx (Concordat)
 * Contingent RAH-66 Commanche (Contingent)
 * Raider X (Eden)
 * Hounder (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * AH-56 Cheyenne (Commune)
 * AH-64A Apache (Clique)
 * Kayaba Assaulter (Guild)
 * BMS Stormcutter (Traders)
 * CS Navajo (Entente)
 * ... (Oblivion)
 * ... (Corporation)
 * ... (Covenant)
 * ... (Institute)
 * ... (Netstorm)
 * ... (Carnival)