Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Vindicator

Note: It should not to be confused with the Coalition vehicle of the same name

"We're in good hands, my friend"

-Vindicator

The Vindicator Attack Bomber is the primary anti-vehicle bomber of the Alliance of Hawke. This unit will set to be voiced by

Tactical analysis

 * Death on Wings: Feared by any ground units that oppose the Alliance, the Vindicator is one of the most potent ground attack aircraft in any inventory. Its deadly accurate spectrum targeting system ensures its weapons hit their mark, and the massive BDX-8 makes short work of all but the most heavily armored vehicles.
 * Hit and Run: The Vindicator's advanced spectrum targeting system guarantees a hit even if the Vindicator breaks away immediately after releasing its bombs. This, coupled with relatively heavy armor, gives the Vindicator an extremely high survivability.
 * The Better Part of Valour: While the Vindicator is well armored, the nature of its mission exposes it to a wide range of enemy threats. When the situation gets too hot, the Vindicator is equipped with an autopilot mechanism that will return the plane to base immediately using an emergency afterburner. This allows the Vindicator to attack targets in heavily defended areas and then quickly exit the area before being overwhelmed by return fire.
 * Crash and burn: It should be noted that the Vindicator bomb is completely useless against buildings and infantry and it can only hold one bomb, meaning that it has to reload after each sortie.

History
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Ask any infantryman what they think about pilots and they will likely launch into a rant about the cushy life of the flyboy: the good food, the regular entertainment, the air conditioning, and perhaps most of all, the warm dry beds. To the infantryman who is used to doing without any of these creature comforts, living in such relative luxury is at best suspect, at worst degenerate. Ask them about Vindicator pilots, however, and the tone will change to one of respect. Most Tacitus-aligned soldiers have a story about a Vindicator helping them out of a tight spot, and more than a few owe their lives to these deadly ground attack aircraft.

It's not surprising that the Vindicator commands the respect of ground troops - it was designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of supporting ground forces by obliterating their opposition. The vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system allow them to deploy at forward air bases close to the front lines.

In fact, Vindicator crews spend the vast majority of their time forward deployed, and few enjoy the amenities so often attributed to them by the infantry. In addition, the tempo of the ground war dictates that crews fly missions almost non-stop, pausing only when days of continuous operations finally force the crews to take a brief rest lest they collapse from sheer exhaustion.

Once over their target, Vindicators employ one of the most potent and feared weapon systems of any military aircraft, the BDX-8 "Bandarilla Mk.II" Bombs, designed to pierce a small hole in any material it hits, filling the compartment it penetrates with molten metal and cryogenic warhead. The spectrum painter, housed in a pod on the underside of the aircraft, guides the bomb unfailingly to its target, resistant to nearly all known countermeasures. Any target that finds itself "designated" can look forward to a very brief existence before being smashed and rendered apart by the BD-8's massive warhead.

While all Vindicator pilots are highly esteemed by ground troops, a few have achieved almost legendary status. Consider the case of Marcos "Toreador" de la Concepcion. The scion of a wealthy Galbadia family, he was an unlikely hero for the less advantaged soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 42nd Infantry Division.

And yet, during the Battle of Hill 227, he flew continuously for over 29 hours, helping repel an attacking Brotherhood cybernetic regiment, until he was finally shot down by a patrolling Freestyle. Armed with only a pistol, he made his way through enemy-held territory to the 3rd Battalion perimeter.

He refused evacuation and remained with the troops, coordinating strikes for his fellow Vindicator pilots over the next three days until a wave of Raider Buggies finally overran his position. 3rd Battalion survived the assault, in no small part due to the efforts of de la Concepcion. In his honor, the 3rd Battalion commander's Commendation for Valour is now known as "El Toreador". The Vindicator strike bomber remains in heavy use to this day, alongside their more common Panavia Tornado and Harriers in tandem.